Common stock (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Equity [Abstract]

Changes in issued, treasury and outstanding Berkshire common stock

Changes in Berkshire’s issued, treasury and outstanding common stock during the first quarter of 2023 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
Balances at December 31, 2022		651,450			(59,886	)		591,564			1,509,969,352		(207,715,276	)		1,302,254,076
Conversions of Class A to    Class B common stock		(359	)		—			(359	)		538,500		—			538,500
Treasury stock acquired		—			(5,103	)		(5,103	)		—		(6,716,864	)		(6,716,864	)
Balances at March 31, 2023		651,091			(64,989	)		586,102			1,510,507,852		(214,432,140	)		1,296,075,712