Notes payable and other borrowings (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Insurance and Other [Member]

Schedule of short and long term outstanding debt disclosure

Notes payable and other borrowings are summarized below (in millions). The weighted average interest rates and maturity date ranges shown in the following tables are based on borrowings as of September 30, 2016.

	Weighted Average  Interest Rate		September 30,  2016		December 31,  2015
Insurance and other:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) due 2016-2047		2.2%	$	18,108	$	9,799
Short-term subsidiary borrowings		2.2%		2,019		1,989
Other subsidiary borrowings due 2016-2044		4.0%		7,387		2,811
			$	27,514	$	14,599

Railroad, Utilities and Energy [Member]

Schedule of short and long term outstanding debt disclosure

	Weighted Average   Interest Rate		September 30,  2016		December 31,  2015
Railroad, utilities and energy:
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (“BHE”) and its subsidiaries:
BHE senior unsecured debt due 2017-2045		5.1%	$	7,817	$	7,814
Subsidiary and other debt due 2016-2064		4.7%		28,828		28,188
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (“BNSF”) due 2016-2097		4.8%		22,166		21,737
			$	58,811	$	57,739

Finance and Financial Products [Member]

Schedule of short and long term outstanding debt disclosure

	Weighted Average  Interest Rate	September 30,  2016		December 31,  2015
Finance and financial products:
Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) due 2017-2043	2.5%	$	14,421	$	10,679
Other subsidiary borrowings due 2016-2036	5.0%		1,052		1,272
		$	15,473	$	11,951