Understanding BRK A and BRK B Shares

What if the most expensive stock in the world was also one of the most accessible? For Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, this paradox is the key to understanding how everyday people can invest alongside the “Oracle of Omaha.” The secret lies not in two different companies, but in two different types of shares for the exact same company.

To grasp the difference, think of Berkshire Hathaway as one giant pizza. The original Class A (BRK.A) share is a huge, full-sized slice—it’s big, carries a hefty price tag, and represents a significant piece of the pie. The Class B (BRK.B) share is like a “party slice” cut from that very same pizza. It’s much smaller and far more affordable.

This isn’t just an analogy; the economic relationship is precise. According to the company’s structure, a Class B share is designed to have exactly 1/1500th of the economic value of a Class A share. This fixed ratio creates the massive price difference and explains the core distinction between BRK.A and BRK.B.

Ultimately, whether you own the expensive A-share or the affordable B-share, you own a piece of the same legendary portfolio. Your stake in iconic brands like GEICO, Dairy Queen, and See’s Candies is just packaged differently. For anyone interested in investing in Berkshire Hathaway for beginners, this distinction is the first and most important step.

Why a $600,000+ Price? Buffett’s “No-Split” Philosophy

That staggering price tag on a single BRK.A share isn’t an accident; it’s a deliberate choice rooted in Warren Buffett’s core investment philosophy. To understand why, you first need to know what most other companies do when their stock price gets high: they perform a stock split. Think of it like trading a $100 bill for two $50s. The total value is the same, but the smaller bills make it much easier for more people to handle and spend. Companies split their stock for the same reason—to make individual shares more affordable for everyday investors.

Warren Buffett, however, famously resisted this for his Class A shares. He believed that an astronomically high price would act as a natural filter, attracting a specific kind of shareholder. He wasn’t interested in attracting people who trade stocks day-to-day, trying to make a quick profit from small price swings. Instead, he wanted to attract serious partners who were buying a piece of the business to hold for the long run—people who thought like co-owners, not speculators.

This “no-split” philosophy ensured that Berkshire’s A-share investors were deeply committed and less likely to panic-sell during market turbulence. For decades, the strategy worked exactly as intended, cultivating a base of loyal, long-term shareholders.

But as Berkshire’s success pushed the share price from thousands to hundreds of thousands, it created an obvious problem. While the high price kept short-term traders out, it also locked out nearly everyone else. This growing demand from regular people who wanted to invest alongside Buffett, but couldn’t afford the entry fee, eventually led to a brilliant solution.

The Birth of “Baby Berks”: How BRK.B Made Investing Possible for Everyone

Facing immense demand from investors who couldn’t afford a six-figure share price, Berkshire Hathaway introduced a clever solution in 1996: the Class B shares. Quickly nicknamed “Baby Berks,” these shares represented a small fraction of the economic value of a Class A share but were priced accessibly for the everyday person. For the first time, you didn’t need a fortune to own a piece of Buffett’s legendary company.

This move also dramatically improved the stock’s liquidity—a term that simply means how easily an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price. Think of it like trying to sell a very rare, expensive painting versus a popular paperback book. The book has far more potential buyers, so you can sell it much faster. By creating affordable BRK.B shares, Berkshire made it much easier for people to trade their ownership stake.

The “Baby Berks” became even more accessible in 2010. To help finance a major acquisition, Berkshire split its Class B stock 50-for-1, a landmark event in the BRK.B stock split history. A share that might have cost a few thousand dollars suddenly dropped to under a hundred, putting it firmly within reach for almost anyone wanting to invest.

This combination of the initial offering and the later split cemented BRK.B as the go-to option for individuals. It provides the exact same exposure to Berkshire’s business success as the A-shares, just in a smaller, more manageable piece. But price and accessibility aren’t the only differences. The two classes of stock also part ways on a crucial, often invisible, feature: voting rights.

More Than Price: The Real Difference in “Voting Rights”

Beyond just the price tag, owning a share of stock means you own a piece of the company, and with that ownership comes a voice. This voice is exercised through “voting rights,” which allow shareholders to weigh in on major decisions, like electing the board of directors. Think of it like having a vote in a club election—the more power your vote has, the more influence you have on who leads the organization.

This is where the difference between the A-shares and B-shares becomes most stark. Warren Buffett designed the structure to keep control in the hands of the most significant, long-term investors. The disparity in Berkshire Hathaway Class A voting rights is immense and intentional:

• A Class A share (BRK.A) carries one full vote.
• It takes 10,000 Class B shares (BRK.B) to equal the same voting power as a single A-share.

So, when comparing BRK.A vs BRK.B stock, should this influence your decision? For almost every individual investor, the answer is no. You are likely investing to benefit from the company’s financial performance, not to influence corporate policy. The reduced voting power of B-shares is the simple trade-off for their affordability and accessibility. While their influence is different, the shares are still fundamentally connected. In fact, Berkshire allows you to swap one for the other—but only if you’re heading in one direction.

Can You Swap an ‘A’ for a ‘B’? The One-Way Street of Conversion

This brings up a key question: can you convert BRK.A to BRK.B? The answer is yes, but it’s a one-way street. An owner of a single Class A share can, at any time, choose to convert it into 1,500 Class B shares. The reverse, however, is impossible. You cannot bundle 1,500 B-shares and trade them in for a coveted A-share, a rule that protects the concentrated voting power of the original stock.

But why make that swap? It comes down to flexibility. An A-share is like a gold bar—immensely valuable but hard to spend in small amounts. By converting, an owner can create smaller portions for gifting to family or charity. It also allows them to sell just a fraction of their stake to raise cash without liquidating their entire high-value asset, a notable benefit for a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder.

This one-way conversion is a key part of the dynamic between the two share classes, offering liquidity to large investors. For everyone else, the story begins with the affordable B-shares. So, how can you buy your first piece of the Berkshire Hathaway pie?

How to Buy Your First “Piece of the Pie” with BRK.B

Now that you know the B-share is the accessible choice, the question of how to buy Berkshire Hathaway B shares is surprisingly straightforward. Investing in Berkshire Hathaway for beginners doesn’t require a secret password or a massive bank account; it just requires a tool that anyone can get: a brokerage account. Think of a brokerage account from a company like Fidelity, Schwab, or Robinhood as a bank account specifically for buying and selling investments like stocks.

Once you have an account set up, the process is simple and takes just a few minutes. Here’s all it takes:

1. Open and fund a brokerage account. This is the online platform where you’ll manage your investments.
2. Add money to your account. You can usually link your regular bank account to transfer the amount you wish to invest.
3. Search for the stock and place an order. Every stock has a unique code called a ticker symbol. To find Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares, you’ll simply type BRK.B into the search bar and decide how many shares you want to buy.

That’s it. By purchasing BRK.B, you become a part-owner of the exact same company as the A-shareholders, just on a scale that fits your budget. Of course, knowing how to buy a stock is only half the battle. The next logical question is whether you should. A good way to start is by seeing how it has performed against other common investments.

BRK.B vs. the S&P 500: A Quick Performance Glance

When deciding if an investment is a good choice, one of the first questions to ask is, “Compared to what?” For most American stocks, the standard measuring stick is the S&P 500. This is simply a collection of 500 of the largest and most influential companies in the U.S., and its performance is often seen as the scorecard for the overall stock market. If you can’t “beat the market,” many people just invest in the S&P 500 itself through an index fund.

This is where Berkshire Hathaway’s story gets interesting. Warren Buffett’s core investment philosophy has always been to find exceptional companies and hold them for the long haul, with the goal of outperforming the market average. And historically, he has succeeded spectacularly. From 1965 to 2023, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock delivered an average annual return of nearly double that of the S&P 500. This long-term outperformance is the primary reason so many people are interested in investing in Berkshire Hathaway.

However, it’s critical to remember a core rule of investing: past performance does not guarantee future results. While Berkshire’s track record is legendary, the company is now much larger, and its future growth may look different. This performance history gives you context, not a crystal ball. With this in mind, let’s bring it all together and answer the final, most practical question.

The Simple Answer: Which Berkshire Share Should You Buy?

Before today, the six-figure price of a single Berkshire Hathaway share likely seemed like an impenetrable wall, blocking everyday investors from owning a piece of Warren Buffett’s company. You can now see past the sticker shock. You understand the clever structure of BRK.A vs BRK.B stock, recognizing it as a deliberate design balancing long-term control with accessibility for all. You’ve moved from seeing a confusing price tag to understanding a purposeful plan.

So, if you were to invest, should you buy BRK.A or BRK.B? For virtually every individual, the answer is clear: the Class B share is the logical choice. It was designed to provide the exact same proportional ownership of Berkshire’s businesses, just in a smaller, more affordable package. The powerful voting rights of Class A are vital for Buffett’s long-term vision and for large institutions, but for most people, the accessibility of BRK.B is what matters.

The mystery is gone. The next time you see that headline-grabbing BRK.A price, you won’t feel mystified; you’ll feel informed. You now have a genuine understanding of BRK.A and BRK.B shares—empowered not just to know the difference, but to explain exactly why it exists.