Common stock (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Equity [Abstract]

Changes in issued, treasury and outstanding Berkshire common stock

Changes in Berkshire’s issued, treasury and outstanding common stock during the three years ending December 31, 2022 are shown in the table below. In addition to our common stock, 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock are authorized, but none are issued.

	Class A, $5 Par Value (1,650,000 shares authorized)									Class B, $0.0033 Par Value (3,225,000,000 shares authorized)
	Issued			Treasury			Outstanding			Issued		Treasury			Outstanding
Balance December 31, 2019		719,307			(17,337	)		701,970			1,408,183,852		(23,702,319	)		1,384,481,533
Conversions of Class A to    Class B common stock		(40,784	)		—			(40,784	)		61,176,000		—			61,176,000
Treasury stock acquired		—			(17,255	)		(17,255	)		—		(95,614,062	)		(95,614,062	)
Balance December 31, 2020		678,523			(34,592	)		643,931			1,469,359,852		(119,316,381	)		1,350,043,471
Conversions of Class A to    Class B common stock		(12,622	)		—			(12,622	)		18,933,000		—			18,933,000
Treasury stock acquired		—			(14,196	)		(14,196	)		—		(78,501,968	)		(78,501,968	)
Balance December 31, 2021		665,901			(48,788	)		617,113			1,488,292,852		(197,818,349	)		1,290,474,503
Conversions of Class A to    Class B common stock		(14,451	)		—			(14,451	)		21,676,500		—			21,676,500
Treasury stock acquired		—			(11,098	)		(11,098	)		—		(9,896,927	)		(9,896,927	)
Balance December 31, 2022		651,450			(59,886	)		591,564			1,509,969,352		(207,715,276	)		1,302,254,076