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Contingencies and Commitments

We are parties in a variety of legal actions that routinely arise out of the normal course of business, including legal actions seeking to establish liability directly through insurance contracts or indirectly through reinsurance contracts issued by Berkshire subsidiaries. Plaintiffs occasionally seek punitive or exemplary damages. We do not believe that such normal and routine litigation will have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Berkshire and certain of its subsidiaries are also involved in other kinds of legal actions, some of which assert or may assert claims or seek to impose fines and penalties. We believe that any liability that may arise as a result of other pending legal actions will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

We lease certain manufacturing, warehouse, retail and office facilities as well as certain equipment. Rent expense under operating leases was $1,649 million in 2018, $1,579 million in 2017 and $1,573 million in 2016. Future minimum rental payments for operating leases having non-cancellable terms in excess of one year are as follows (in millions).

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

After

2023

Total

$1,360

$1,317

$1,098

$872

$708

$3,658

$9,013

Our subsidiaries regularly make commitments in the ordinary course of business to purchase goods and services used in their businesses. The most significant of these relate to our railroad, utilities and energy businesses and our fractional aircraft ownership business. As of December 31, 2018, estimated future payments under such arrangements were as follows: $15.7 billion in 2019, $4.5 billion in 2020, $3.7 billion in 2021, $3.2 billion in 2022, $2.9 billion in 2023 and $17.3 billion after 2023.

Pursuant to the terms of agreements with noncontrolling shareholders in our less than wholly-owned subsidiaries, we may be obligated to acquire their equity interests. If we had acquired all outstanding noncontrolling interests as of December 31, 2018, we estimate the cost would have been approximately $5.6 billion. However, the timing and the amount of any such future payments that might be required are contingent on future actions of the noncontrolling owners.