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Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Earns $4.2B
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Defies Sluggish Economy, Making $4.2 Billion in Comeback


OMAHA, Neb. March 8 —
Despite the sluggish economy, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made dramatic gains for 2002, pulling in $4.2 billion in net income just one year after it posted earnings of only $795 million.

Insurance gains fueled the increase, compared with 2001 when it paid out huge claims following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Buffett said Saturday in his annual letter to shareholders.

Berkshire owns businesses and stock in a wide variety of industries, including insurance, furniture, restaurants, candy and newspapers.

Earnings per share for the period ended Dec. 31, 2002, were up 436 percent to $2,795 from $521 per share in 2001. Net worth for the company grew by $6 billion, a turnaround from the $3.77 billion loss in value the year before.

Buffett also addressed corporate scandals at Enron and other companies accused of dishonest accounting, saying major investors should watch chief executive officers closely and keep boards of directors honest.

"Twenty, or even fewer, of the largest institutions, acting together, could effectively reform corporate governance at a given company, simply by withholding their votes for directors who were tolerating odious behavior," he said. "In my view, this kind of concerted action is the only way that corporate stewardship can be meaningfully improved."