What if you invested in Berkshire Hathaway in 1996?
BRK-B · Financial · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1996
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $19,797(+1879.7%)
The S&P 500 returned $19,797 on the same $1,000. Berkshire Hathaway beat the market by $4,731.
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What if Berkshire Hathaway keeps this up?
Project forward at Berkshire Hathaway's 11% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
Berkshire Hathaway vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 1996 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway starting January 1996
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | $20.40 | $1,000 | - |
| 1997 | $23.10 | $1,132 | +13.2% |
| 1998 | $33.54 | $1,644 | +45.2% |
| 1999 | $43.00 | $2,108 | +28.2% |
| 2000 | $32.92 | $1,614 | -23.4% |
| 2001 | $45.00 | $2,206 | +36.7% |
| 2002 | $49.06 | $2,405 | +9% |
| 2003 | $44.48 | $2,180 | -9.3% |
| 2004 | $59.62 | $2,923 | +34% |
| 2005 | $59.88 | $2,935 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | $58.64 | $2,875 | -2.1% |
| 2007 | $73.35 | $3,596 | +25.1% |
| 2008 | $91.00 | $4,461 | +24.1% |
| 2009 | $59.78 | $2,930 | -34.3% |
| 2010 | $76.43 | $3,747 | +27.9% |
| 2011 | $81.75 | $4,007 | +7% |
| 2012 | $78.37 | $3,842 | -4.1% |
| 2013 | $96.93 | $4,751 | +23.7% |
| 2014 | $111.60 | $5,471 | +15.1% |
| 2015 | $143.91 | $7,054 | +29% |
| 2016 | $129.77 | $6,361 | -9.8% |
| 2017 | $164.14 | $8,046 | +26.5% |
| 2018 | $214.38 | $10,509 | +30.6% |
| 2019 | $205.54 | $10,075 | -4.1% |
| 2020 | $224.43 | $11,001 | +9.2% |
| 2021 | $227.87 | $11,170 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | $313.02 | $15,344 | +37.4% |
| 2023 | $311.52 | $15,271 | -0.5% |
| 2024 | $383.74 | $18,811 | +23.2% |
| 2025 | $468.67 | $22,974 | +22.1% |
| 2026 | $480.53 | $23,555 | +2.5% |
What this return means
A $1,000 position in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) opened in 1996 is worth $24,529 today. That works out to +2352.9%, about 25x the original stake, as of 2026-06-01.
That is about 11% a year compounded, broadly in line with long-run stock market averages. By comparison the S&P 500 returned about $19,797 on the same stake, putting Berkshire Hathaway ahead by close to $4,731. The index compounded at about 10.3% a year over that period.
The path was not smooth. The best single year was 1998 at +45.2%, and the worst was 2009 at -34.3%. At its lowest point the position was down about 34% from an earlier high. These figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, trading fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.
This is historical math, not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
What if you invested $100 a month instead?
Most people do not drop a lump sum in on day one. They add a fixed amount every month. Putting $100 into Berkshire Hathaway at the close of every month from May 1996 through June 2026 means 362 buys and $36,200 contributed over about 30.2 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$240,224
+563.6% on $36,200 in
Same $36,200, all in at the start
$887,947
+2,352.9% on $36,200 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $647,723. That is the usual result when a stock trends up: each monthly buy pays a higher price than the last, so the average cost climbs. Averaging in also meant an average buy price of $75.41 per share across the whole stretch, so the monthly buyer never had to time a single low. Neither number counts dividends, taxes, or trading costs.
Illustrative fixed $100/month example, not a recommendation. Figures are computed from BRK-B split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Berkshire Hathaway at different times
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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.