Warren Edward Buffett is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of October 2024, he had a net worth of $147 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the world.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger (1978–2023). Greg Abel now oversees most of the company's investments and has been named as the successor to Buffett. Buffett personally owns 38.4% of the Class A voting shares of Berkshire Hathaway, representing a 15.1% overall economic interest in the company.
See's Candy Shops, Inc., doing business as See's Candies, is an American manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolates. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San Francisco, California. See's kitchens are located at its headquarters and are also maintained at its original factory in Los Angeles, where there are also retail shops. It also has an office in Carson, California. The company has been owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation since 1972.
NFM is a home furnishing store in North America that sells furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics. It is the largest of its kind in North America. NFM was founded in 1937 by Belarus-born Rose Blumkin, who was known as Mrs. B., in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Under the motto "sell cheap and tell the truth," she worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs. B. sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway on a handshake deal with Warren Buffett for $60 million.
Wesco Financial Corporation was an American diversified financial corporation headquartered in Pasadena, California. Wesco was originally the holding company for Mutual Savings, a savings and loan association. Mutual Savings' thrift operations were sold to CenFed Bank in 1993. It was for a long time 80.1% owned by Blue Chip Stamps, which is now completely and fully owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett. Charlie Munger, the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett's business partner, was CEO and chairman of Wesco from 1984 to 2011. Munger, formerly a practicing attorney, is known for his straight-shooting style and his conduct at the now discontinued Wesco shareholder meetings in Pasadena, where he used to interact with the outside investors at considerable length. In June 2011, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the approximately 20% of Wesco that it did not already own, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of that company.
James Franklin McIngvale, also known as "Mattress Mack", is an American businessman. He is known for owning and operating the Gallery Furniture retail chain, based in Houston, Texas.
Jordan's Furniture is an American furniture retailer in New England. There are currently eight retail locations—three in Massachusetts and five in other New England states —plus a corporate office and warehouse in East Taunton, Massachusetts. Since 1999, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Blue Chip Stamps started as a trading stamps company called "Blue Chip Stamp Company." They were a competitor of S&H Green Stamps. Blue Chip stamps were a loyalty program for customers, similar to discount cards issued by pharmacies and grocery stores in the digital era. A customer making a purchase at a participating store would be given stamps in proportion to the dollar amount of the purchase. The stamps were dispensed by machines adjacent to the cash register. The customer would paste the stamps into books. The books could then be taken to a redemption center and redeemed for merchandise, such as lawn furniture, dining tables, tableware, and many other items. The redemption centers did not maintain a full inventory of items but would order from a catalog on behalf of the customer.
RC Willey Home Furnishings is an American home furnishings company in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California. It was founded in 1932 by Rufus Call Willey in Syracuse, Utah, RC. He began selling Hotpoint-brand appliances door-to-door out of the back of his pickup truck. RC Willey has 13 locations across the Western United States and specializes in furniture, electronics, home appliances, mattresses, and flooring. In 1995, the holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought RC Willey in a deal with Warren Buffett.
Rose Blumkin was an American businesswoman who founded the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1937. Businessman Warren Buffett said of her, "One question I always ask myself in appraising a business is how I would like, assuming I had ample capital and skilled personnel, to compete with it. I’d rather wrestle grizzlies than compete with Mrs. B and her progeny. They buy brilliantly, they operate at expense ratios competitors don’t even dream about, and they then pass on to their customers much of the savings.
Helzberg Diamonds is a jewelry retailer founded in 1915 by Morris Helzberg that has 210 stores in 36 US states.
Clayton Homes is the largest builder of manufactured housing and modular homes in the United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
HomeServices of America is the United States' largest residential real estate services company, based on closed transactions. The company provides real estate brokerage services, mortgage loan origination, franchising, title insurance/escrow and closing services, home warranties, property insurance, casualty insurance, and relocation services.
Lewis Food Town, Inc., which does business as Food Town, is an independent grocery chain with 29 stores throughout Greater Houston. The chain got its start with founder Ross Lewis and six associates in late 1993, but officially launched on April 28, 1994, with the opening of its first store in Pasadena, Texas. Although the company’s founder died in December 2020, younger generations continued the family business. Food Town was named among the honorees for the Houston Business Journal’s inaugural Family-Owned Business Awards in 2023. Today, its footprint extends throughout the Houston metro region, from Spring down to Webster, and from Sugar Land to Baytown.
Sleepy's was a retail mattress chain with over 1,000 stores, primarily situated in the northeastern United States. The company was founded in New York City in 1931. Sleepy's was acquired by Mattress Firm in December 2015 and all stores were rebranded under the Mattress Firm name on January 1, 2017, but the website continued as an online retailer until 2018. Mattress Firm now uses the Sleepy's name for their private label mattresses.
Levin Furniture is a furniture and mattress retailer with 28 stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Mattress World, Inc. orMattress World of Michigan was a mattress retail chain in Michigan and Indiana in the Midwestern United States. Its headquarters were in Genoa Township, Michigan. Stores were usually freestanding and located in bedroom communities instead of big box store corridors.
Ben Bridge Jeweler is a high-end American jewelry retailer that sells engagement rings, diamonds and watches, including Rolex, among other luxury product and is currently owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. It was established in Seattle, Washington, in 1912 and currently operates over 80 stores in the United States.
American Freight Appliances & Furniture, or American Freight, is a soon-to-be-defunct American retail furniture chain founded in Lima, Ohio in 1994. The company was acquired in 2020 by Franchise Group and combined with former Sears Surplus and Sears Outlet stores under the American Freight name.
