In a candid reflection on his storied career, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett recounted the irony of his most “unpromising” purchase—Berkshire Hathaway itself. Despite ultimately transforming the struggling textile manufacturer into a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, Buffett revealed why buying control of Berkshire was, in his words, the “worst investment” he ever made:
“My first mistake, of course, was in buying control of Berkshire. Though I knew its business — textile manufacturing — to be unpromising, I was enticed to buy because the price looked cheap. … In a difficult business, no sooner is one problem solved than another surfaces — never is there just one cockroach in the kitchen.”
