Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$6,467
+$5,467 profit6.47x13.5% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $7,968
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$5,647
US federal long-term rates: 15% for most people, 0% on lower incomes, 20% + 3.8% on high incomes. No state tax included; none inside a Roth IRA.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$6,466.92
Total Profit
$5,466.92
Multiplier
6.47x
CAGR
13.5%
Max Drawdown
-24.3%
Inflation-Adjusted
$4,554.61
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2012 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway | $6,466.92 | 6.47x |
| S&P 500 | $7,967.85 | 7.97x |
| Gold | $2,691.57 | 2.69x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,339.11 | 1.34x |
Dividends
Berkshire Hathaway paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2012
- In May 2012, Berkshire's BH Media Group agreed to buy nearly all of Media General's newspapers, except its Tampa group, for $142 million. sec.gov
- In 2012, a gallon of gas averaged $3.62, a movie ticket averaged $7.96 and the new iPhone 5 started at $199 with a two-year contract. eia.govtechcrunch.comdeadline.com
- During 2012 itself, Berkshire Hathaway rose 20%, #32 of the 74 investments we track. The best was Bitcoin (+152%); the worst was AMD (−54%). Full 2012 results →
$1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway, year by year
Of the 74 investments we track that were available at the start of 2012, Berkshire Hathaway ranks #45 by growth to today — just behind Merck and ahead of Citigroup. See the full 2012 ranking →
Berkshire Hathaway started 2012 16% below its start-of-2008 high, after falling 3.4% in 2011. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $6,467 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 13 of the 14 full years since. It fell behind the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2024 and hasn't caught up. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Mar 2022 ($4,547) to Sep 2022 ($3,440), a drop of 24%.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2012 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2013 | $1,200 | +20% | $1,160 |
| Start of 2014 | $1,513 | +26% | $1,536 |
| Start of 2015 | $1,920 | +27% | $1,746 |
| Start of 2016 | $1,683 | −12% | $1,770 |
| Start of 2017 | $2,109 | +25% | $1,982 |
| Start of 2018 | $2,539 | +20% | $2,414 |
| Start of 2019 | $2,611 | +2.8% | $2,309 |
| Start of 2020 | $2,940 | +13% | $3,036 |
| Start of 2021 | $2,941 | +0.0% | $3,594 |
| Start of 2022 | $3,872 | +32% | $4,626 |
| Start of 2023 | $3,990 | +3.0% | $3,788 |
| Start of 2024 | $4,666 | +17% | $4,784 |
| Start of 2025 | $5,807 | +24% | $5,981 |
| Start of 2026 | $6,396 | +10% | $7,050 |
| Today | $6,467 | +1.1% | $7,968 |
Values at the start of each year (first trading day for stocks). The S&P 500 column includes reinvested dividends, like the stock values.
Historical Context
At the start of 2012, Berkshire Hathaway was priced at $77.68 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 12.87 shares. Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett's holding company, owning businesses such as GEICO and BNSF Railway plus a large stock portfolio. This page uses its Class B shares.
Measured from one January to the next, Berkshire Hathaway's best year since then was 2021 (+32%) and its worst was 2015 (−12%).
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway at the start of 2012 would be worth approximately $6,466.92 today — a 6.47x return ($5,466.92 profit) over 14.7 years.
Methodology & Sources
Price data: Historical prices are the closing price on the first trading day of each year, adjusted for splits and dividends (so returns assume dividends were reinvested), from Yahoo Finance and MacroTrends. Current prices come from Yahoo Finance and refresh hourly; if that source is unavailable, the last saved price is used.
Calculation: Assumes a single purchase at the start of 2012 (or the first trading day, for companies that listed that year), held until today. No transaction fees, taxes, or slippage are included.
Benchmarks: The S&P 500 comparison uses the S&P 500 Total Return index (dividends reinvested, like an index fund) at the start of2012 and today. Gold uses the price per troy ounce. Savings account assumes a 2% APY compounded annually.
Inflation adjustment: Uses U.S. CPI-U annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2026 CPI value is estimated.
Educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.
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$1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway, by year
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