13F-HR 1 v51307e13fvhr.txt FORM 13F-HR UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Form 13F Form 13F COVER PAGE Report for the Calendar Year or Quarter Ended: December 31, 2008 Check here if Amendment [ ]; Amendment Number: ______ This Amendment (Check only one.): [ ] is a restatement. [ ] adds new holdings entries. Institutional Investment Manager Filing this Report: Name: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Address: 1440 Kiewit Plaza Omaha, NE 68131 Form 13F File Number: 28-4545 The institutional investment manager filing this report and the person by whom it is signed hereby represent that the person signing the report is authorized to submit it, that all information contained herein is true, correct and complete, and that it is understood that all required items, statements, schedules, lists, and tables, are considered integral parts of this form. Person Signing this Report on Behalf of Reporting Manager: Name: Marc D. Hamburg Title: Vice President Phone: 402-346-1400 Signature, Place, and Date of Signing: (s) Marc D. Hamburg Omaha, NE February 16, 2009 ------------------------------- -------------------- ----------------------- [Signature] [City, State] [Date] Report Type (Check only one.): [ ] 13F HOLDINGS REPORT. (Check here if all holdings of this reporting manager are reported in this report.) [ ] 13F NOTICE. (Check here if no holdings reported are in this report, and all holdings are reported by other reporting manager(s).) [X] 13F COMBINATION REPORT. (Check here if a portion of the holdings for this reporting manager are reported in this report and a portion are reported by other reporting manager(s).) List of Other Managers Reporting for this Manager: Form 13F File Number Name 28-5194 General Re - New England Asset Management, Inc. Form 13F SUMMARY PAGE Report Summary: Number of Other Included Managers: 21 Form 13F Information Table Entry Total: 108 Form 13F Information Table Value Total: $51,869,961 (thousands) List of Other Included Managers: Provide a numbered list of the name(s) and Form 13F file number(s) of all institutional investment managers with respect to which this report is filed, other than the manager filing this report. [If there are no entries in this list, state "NONE" and omit the column headings and list entries.]

NO. FORM 13F FILE NUMBER NAME --- -------------------- ----- 1. 28-5678 Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Co. of Nebraska 2. 28-10388 BH Columbia Inc. 3. 28-719 Blue Chip Stamps 4. 28-554 Buffett, Warren E. 5. 28-1517 Columbia Insurance Co. 6. 28-2226 Cornhusker Casualty Co. 7. 28-06102 Cypress Insurance Company 8. 28-11217 Fechheimer Brothers Company 9. 28- GEC Investment Managers 10. 28-852 GEICO Corp. 11. 28-101 Government Employees Ins. Corp. 12. 28- Medical Protective Corp. 13. 28-1066 National Fire & Marine 14. 28-718 National Indemnity Co. 15. 28-5006 National Liability & Fire Ins. Co. 16. 28-11222 Nebraska Furniture Mart 17. 28-717 OBH Inc. 18. 28- U.S. Investment Corp. 19. 28-1357 Wesco Financial Corp. 20. 28-3091 Wesco Financial Ins. Co. 21. 28-3105 Wesco Holdings Midwest, Inc.

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. Form 13F Information Table December 31, 2008

Column 6 Investment Discretion Column 8 Column 4 Column 5 -------------------- Voting Authority Column 2 Column 3 Market Shares or (b) (c) -------------------------- Column 1 Title of CUSIP Value (In Principal (a) Shared- Shared- Column 7 (a) (b) (c) Name of Issuer Class Number Thousands) Amount $ Sole Defined Other Other Managers Sole Shared None --------------- -------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ---- ------- ------- -------------------- ----------- ------ ------- American Express Co. Com 025816 10 9 319,531 17,225,400 X 4, 2, 5, 17 17,225,400 148,300 7,994,634 X 4, 13, 17 7,994,634 2,230,747 120,255,879 X 4, 14, 17 120,255,879 36,045 1,943,100 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 1,943,100 25,965 1,399,713 X 4, 16, 17 1,399,713 15,579 839,832 X 4, 8, 17 839,832 36,212 1,952,142 X 4, 17 1,952,142 Bank of America Corp. Com 060505 10 4 70,400 5,000,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 5,000,000 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Com 12189T 10 4 5,306,440 70,089,829 X 4, 14, 17 70,089,829 Carmax Inc. Com 143130 10 2 138,976 17,636,500 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 17,636,500 Coca Cola Com 191216 10 0 18,108 400,000 X 4, 17 400,000 80,400 1,776,000 X 4, 15, 17 1,776,000 326,198 7,205,600 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 7,205,600 1,817,210 40,141,600 X 4, 2, 5, 17 40,141,600 6,335,337 139,945,600 X 4, 14, 17 139,945,600 413,731 9,139,200 X 4, 13, 17 9,139,200 21,730 480,000 X 4, 16, 17 480,000 41,286 912,000 X 4, 7, 17 912,000 Comcast Corp CLA SPL 20030N 20 0 193,800 12,000,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 12,000,000 Comdisco Holding Co. Com 200334 10 0 9,502 1,218,199 X 4, 14, 17 1,218,199 2,363 302,963 X 4, 2, 5, 17 302,963 134 17,215 X 4, 13, 17 17,215 ConocoPhillips Com 20825C 10 4 3,724,227 71,896,273 X 4, 14, 17 71,896,273 103,600 2,000,000 X 4, 13, 17 2,000,000 310,800 6,000,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 6,000,000 Constellation Energy Group, Inc. Com 210371 10 0 499,224 19,897,322 X 4 19,897,322 Costco Wholesale Corp. Com 22160K 10 5 275,835 5,254,000 X 4, 14, 17 5,254,000 Eaton Corporation Com 278058 10 2 159,072 3,200,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 3,200,000 Gannett Inc. Com 364730 10 1 27,581 3,447,600 X 4, 14, 17 3,447,600 General Electric Co. Com 369604 10 3 126,002 7,777,900 X 4 7,777,900 GlaxoSmithKline ADR 37733W 10 5 56,296 1,510,500 X 4, 14, 17 1,510,500 Home Depot Inc. Com 437076 10 2 85,174 3,700,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 3,700,000 Ingersoll-Rd Company LTD. CLA G4776G 10 1 11,045 636,600 X 4 636,000 123,983 7,146,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 7,146,000 Iron Mountain Inc. Com 462846 10 6 83,395 3,372,200 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 3,372,200 ----------- 23,174,228 -----------

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. Form 13F Information Table December 31, 2008

Column 6 Investment Discretion Column 8 Column 4 Column 5 -------------------- Voting Authority Column 2 Column 3 Market Shares or (b) (c) -------------------------- Column 1 Title of CUSIP Value (In Principal (a) Shared- Shared- Column 7 (a) (b) (c) Name of Issuer Class Number Thousands) Amount $ Sole Defined Other Other Managers Sole Shared None --------------- -------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ---- ------- ------- -------------------- ----------- ------ ------- Johnson & Johnson Com 478160 10 4 258,615 4,322,500 X 4 4,322,500 808,279 13,509,591 X 4, 14, 17 13,509,591 19,463 325,300 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 325,300 543,687 9,087,200 X 4, 13, 17 9,087,200 47,385 792,000 X 4, 2, 5, 12, 17 792,000 34,402 575,000 X 4, 18 575,000 Kraft Foods Inc. Com 50075N 10 4 2,395,621 89,222,400 X 4, 14, 17 89,222,400 826,720 30,790,300 X 4, 2, 5, 17 30,790,300 268,500 10,000,000 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 10,000,000 6,976 259,800 X 4, 2, 5, 12, 17 259,800 214,800 8,000,000 X 4 8,000,000 Lowes Companies Inc. Com 548661 10 7 139,880 6,500,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 6,500,000 M & T Bank Corporation Com 55261F 10 4 344,653 6,003,360 X 4, 14, 17 6,003,360 31,346 546,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 546,000 9,513 165,700 X 4, 13, 17 165,700 Moody's Com 615369 10 5 648,517 32,280,600 X 4, 14, 17 32,280,600 315,803 15,719,400 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 15,719,400 NRG Energy, Inc. Com 629377 50 8 167,976 7,200,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 7,200,000 Nalco Holding Co. Com 62985Q 10 1 100,849 8,739,100 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 8,739,100 Nike Inc. Com 654106 10 3 389,691 7,641,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 7,641,000 Norfolk Southern Corp. Com 655844 10 8 90,948 1,933,000 X 4, 2, 5, 17 1,933,000 Procter & Gamble Co. Com 742718 10 9 3,443,394 55,700,318 X 4, 14, 17 55,700,318 1,253,710 20,280,000 X 4, 2, 5, 17 20,280,000 385,756 6,240,000 X 4, 13, 17 6,240,000 385,756 6,240,000 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 6,240,000 48,220 780,000 X 4, 15, 17 780,000 96,439 1,560,000 X 4, 7, 17 1,560,000 70,518 1,140,692 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 1,140,692 270,462 4,375,000 X 4 4,375,000 Sanofi Aventis ADR 80105N 10 5 15,710 488,500 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 488,500 93,140 2,896,133 X 4, 14, 17 2,896,133 5,445 169,300 X 4, 13, 17 169,300 11,250 350,000 X 4, 2, 5, 12, 17 350,000 Sun Trusts Banks Inc. Com 867914 10 3 69,259 2,344,600 X 4, 14, 17 2,344,600 25,404 860,000 X 4, 2, 5, 17 860,000 Torchmark Corp. Com 891027 10 4 3,467 77,551 X 1, 4, 14, 17 77,551 20,102 449,728 X 4, 2, 5, 17 449,728 74,063 1,656,900 X 4, 14, 17 1,656,900 28,595 639,700 X 4, 13, 17 639,700 ----------- 13,964,314 -----------

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. Form 13F Information Table December 31, 2008

Column 6 Investment Discretion Column 8 Column 4 Column 5 -------------------- Voting Authority Column 2 Column 3 Market Shares or (b) (c) -------------------------- Column 1 Title of CUSIP Value (In Principal (a) Shared- Shared- Column 7 (a) (b) (c) Name of Issuer Class Number Thousands) Amount $ Sole Defined Other Other Managers Sole Shared None --------------- -------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ---- ------- ------- -------------------- ----------- ------ ------- US Bancorp Com 902973 30 4 582,916 23,307,300 X 4, 2, 5, 17 23,307,300 519,428 20,768,826 X 4, 14, 17 20,768,826 209,209 8,365,000 X 4 8,365,000 250,100 10,000,000 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 10,000,000 54,372 2,174,000 X 4, 2, 5, 12, 17 2,174,000 43,642 1,745,000 X 4, 18 1,745,000 29,794 1,191,300 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 1,191,300 USG Corporation Com 903293 40 5 137,260 17,072,192 X 4, 14, 17 17,072,192 Union Pacific Corp. Com 907818 10 8 425,707 8,906,000 X 4, 2, 5, 17 8,906,000 United Parcel Service Inc. Com 911312 10 6 78,835 1,429,200 X 4 1,429,200 United Health Group Inc. Com 91324P 10 2 167,580 6,300,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 6,300,000 Wabco Holdings Inc. Com 92927K 10 2 42,633 2,700,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 2,700,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Com 931142 10 3 1,065,045 18,998,300 X 4, 14, 17 18,998,300 53,033 946,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 946,000 Washington Post Co. Cl B 939640 10 8 349,002 894,304 X 4, 14, 17 894,304 57,878 148,311 X 4, 5, 1, 6, 14, 17 148,311 252,946 648,165 X 4, 13, 17 648,165 14,433 36,985 X 4, 15, 17 36,985 Wells Fargo & Co. Del Com 949746 10 1 1,576,868 53,489,420 X 4, 2, 5, 17 53,489,420 372,722 12,643,200 X 4, 3, 17, 19, 20, 21 12,643,200 1,129,468 38,313,040 X 4, 13, 17 38,313,040 82,190 2,788,000 X 4, 15, 17 2,788,000 29,480 1,000,000 X 4, 17 1,000,000 3,808,270 129,181,488 X 4, 14, 17 129,181,488 47,455 1,609,720 X 4, 16, 17 1,609,720 50,116 1,700,000 X 4, 8, 17 1,700,000 24,174 820,000 X 4, 7, 17 820,000 589,600 20,000,000 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 20,000,000 471,680 16,000,000 X 4, 1, 6, 14, 17 16,000,000 235,840 8,000,000 X 4 8,000,000 77,596 2,700,000 X 4, 2, 5, 12, 17 2,700,000 58,960 2,000,000 X 4, 18 2,000,000 Wellpoint Inc. Com 949773V 10 7 201,268 4,777,300 X 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 4,777,300 Wesco Finl Corp. Com 950817 10 6 1,641,919 5,703,087 X 4, 3, 17 5,703,087 ----------- 14,731,419 ----------- GRAND TOTAL $51,869,961 ===========