Warren Buffett is the largest holder of Berkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) stock. He owns around 227,416 shares of Class A stock, and 276 shares of Class B stock. These stakes combine for a value of roughly $136 billion, representing a 31.6% voting interest in the company.
Who is the second-largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway? That depends on exactly what you're looking at.
This is who owns the second-most shares of Berkshire Hathaway
When looking at who owns the second-most shares of Berkshire Hathaway, it's important to distinguish between share classes. Berkshire has both Class A and Class B shares, each of which have different prices with different levels of voting power. Class A shares currently trade for $600,000 apiece, while Class B shares trade for just $400 apiece.
When it comes to who has the most individual financial interest in Berkshire besides Buffett, it would be his daughter, Susan Alice Buffett. She owns roughly 4.4 million Class B shares, but only 80 Class A shares. She therefore controls only 0.1% of the company's voting power.
If you want to know who has the most voting power, you need to look beyond individuals and at institutions. The Vanguard Group, for instance, owns roughly 146 million class B shares, representing 11% of the total Class B shares outstanding. Its aggregate voting power is far greater than Susan Alice Buffett's, but nearly all of these shares are actually controlled by the many individuals who own Vanguard funds.
So while Susan Alice Buffett is the second largest Berkshire shareholder, that's only if you ignore massive institutions like Vanguard that control giant blocks of shares.
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Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
