What Makes These Four Berkshire Hathaway Holdings Your Personalized Jewels for Long-Term Wealth Building?

The Core Engine Behind Buffett’s 55-Year Investment Legacy

When Warren Buffett took the helm of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, few could have predicted the company would generate a staggering 2,810,526% return by 2020. The secret wasn’t luck—it was identifying and nurturing what Buffett himself called “jewels” within the portfolio. A decade and a half later, with Berkshire Hathaway shares up another 40% through 2025, these same four personalized jewels continue to be the driving force behind the conglomerate’s outperformance.

But what exactly are these assets, and more importantly, why have they remained so resilient in delivering value?

The Four Pillars of Berkshire’s Enduring Strength

Apple: The Crown Jewel Under Pressure

Positioned as the company’s single largest holding at $64.8 billion (representing 20.7% of all holdings), Apple has been nothing short of extraordinary. With Berkshire generating over $100 billion in profits from its initial $40 billion investment, the mathematics alone justify Buffett’s description of it as “probably the best business I know in the world.”

Yet recent years have told a different story. Since 2023, Buffett has been methodically reducing exposure, offloading roughly 70% of the position. This strategic retreat wasn’t a vote of no-confidence—instead, Buffett revealed in 2024 that the selling was driven by tax optimization strategy. As of the latest quarter, Apple remains Berkshire’s flagship position despite the reductions, demonstrating the company’s continued faith in the technology giant’s fundamentals.

The Underrated Advantage: Insurance Float as a Perpetual Money Machine

Few investors grasp the true profitability machine embedded within Berkshire’s property & casualty insurance operations. The business model is elegantly simple yet powerful: collect premiums upfront, invest that capital, and retain all profits generated—a privilege most financial entities only dream of.

By 2020, this division had amassed $138 billion in floating capital. By 2025, that figure had swollen to $171 billion—an additional $33 billion of other people’s money available for deployment. Simultaneously, underwriting operations transformed dramatically, generating $32 billion in after-tax profits while operating earnings surged to $9 billion in 2024, nearly doubling from the prior year’s $5.4 billion.

The float itself has become the ultimate personalized jewel—$13.6 billion in operating earnings from float management in 2024, up sharply from $9.5 billion in 2023. This is compounding at its finest.

Energy Infrastructure: Steady Growth in an Unpredictable Sector

Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), controlled through a 91% stake, represents a utility business transformed. When Buffett acquired what would become BHE in 1990, annual earnings stood at $122 million. By 2020, they had multiplied to $3.4 billion—a 27-fold increase over three decades.

The trajectory has continued, with 2024 showing $3.73 billion in earnings and operating earnings jumping 60% year-over-year. While the recent growth rate appears modest compared to its explosive earlier history, BHE’s current annual earnings represent nearly 3,000% of what Berkshire originally paid for the acquisition. In infrastructure investing, patience has paid off handsomely.

The Railroad Dividend Machine: BNSF’s Persistent Performance

Acquired in 2010 for approximately $34 billion, BNSF Railway—America’s largest by freight volume—has quietly become one of Berkshire’s most disciplined investments. By 2020, the railroad had already returned $41.8 billion in cumulative dividends, effectively paying back the entire purchase price.

The model is built for reliability rather than explosive growth. BNSF only distributes dividends after meeting all operational needs and maintaining a $2 billion cash cushion that enables low-cost borrowing without Berkshire guarantees. In 2024, the railroad generated just over $5 billion in earnings. Buffett himself predicted in 2023 that “a century from now, BNSF will continue to be a major asset of the country and of Berkshire.”

The Personalized Jewel Framework: Why These Four Still Shine

Each of these holdings represents a personalized jewel with distinct characteristics. Apple captures extraordinary competitive moats and pricing power. The insurance operation generates recurring profits while deploying vast amounts of capital. Energy infrastructure provides stable, inflation-resistant cash flows. The railroad delivers reliable dividends with minimal capital reinvestment requirements.

Together, they’ve created a portfolio where Berkshire’s 238 million Apple shares alone generate $62 million in quarterly dividends, while the other three divisions compound value through different mechanisms—earnings growth, float expansion, and dividend repatriation.

Looking Ahead: The Succession Question

The real test arrives in January when Buffett steps down as Chairman and CEO. Will these four personalized jewels maintain their luster under new leadership? The data suggests they should. Each operates independently with strong competitive advantages:

• Apple’s brand loyalty and ecosystem lock-in remain intact
• Insurance float continues expanding on its own momentum
• BHE’s essential utility function provides visibility
• BNSF’s rail network is irreplaceable infrastructure

The personalized jewel aspect of each business—its unique value proposition—isn’t dependent on Buffett’s personal involvement in daily operations.

The Bottom Line for Investors

These four holdings have proven their worth not through hot momentum or speculative factors, but through the most unglamorous path: consistent execution, capital discipline, and compounding. Whether investors should allocate to Berkshire Hathaway itself depends on their conviction in management continuity and these personalized jewels’ ability to sustain outperformance, but the historical record suggests underestimating Buffett’s selections has been a costly mistake for decades.