Differences Between BRK A and BRK B

Have you ever seen a stock price so high you were sure it was a typo? For one company, a single share costs more than a new Ferrari. This isn’t an error; it’s the real price of Berkshire Hathaway’s famous Class A stock, making it the most expensive public stock in the world. The story of why BRK.A is so expensive is one of the most fascinating in finance.

Behind this legendary company is an equally legendary investor: Warren Buffett. For decades, he built Berkshire Hathaway into a global powerhouse, and the soaring price of its original stock became a symbol of its success. But as common knowledge of the company grew, Buffett realized this incredible price tag also locked the doors for most everyday people who wanted to be a part of the journey.

So, what if there was a secret entrance? What if you could own a piece of Buffett’s empire for the price of a nice dinner out instead of a six-figure sports car? This is exactly what Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B stock provides. For nearly everyone, it represents the practical answer to the question of how to invest in Berkshire Hathaway without needing a fortune.

While it sounds simple, the existence of these two stocks often creates confusion. Here’s the story behind Berkshire’s two “doors,” why they both exist, what makes them different, and which one is the right choice for everyday investors.

What Are ‘Share Classes’? The Two Doors to Buffett’s Company

When you look for Berkshire Hathaway on the stock market, you’ll immediately notice something odd: it has two listings. One is called BRK.A and the other is BRK.B. These short codes are the company’s “ticker symbols”—think of them as simple nicknames used for trading. The letters A and B at the end signify that Berkshire Hathaway offers two different types, or “classes,” of stock.

The easiest way to understand share classes is to think of them like tickets to a huge concert. The Class A shares (BRK.A) are the original, ultra-exclusive VIP passes. They are rare, give the holder more say in how the show is run (what’s known as voting rights), and come with a very high price tag. The Class B shares (BRK.B), on the other hand, are like the general admission tickets. They get you into the exact same show and let you enjoy the performance, but they’re much more affordable for the average person.

Whether you own a Class A or Class B share, you are a part-owner of the same company—you’re just holding a different type of ticket. But this doesn’t explain why one of those ‘tickets’ costs more than most houses.

Why Does One Share Cost More Than a House?

One share of BRK.A costs hundreds of thousands of dollars because Warren Buffett has almost never performed a stock split on it. Think of the original Berkshire Hathaway stock as a single, giant, very expensive chocolate bar. A stock split is when a company decides to break that bar into more, smaller, and cheaper pieces. If you had one big bar, a split might turn it into 10 smaller squares. You still own the same amount of chocolate, but each piece is now more affordable and easier to trade.

This wasn’t an accident; it was a deliberate choice. From the beginning, Warren Buffett wanted to attract serious, long-term investors who saw themselves as partners in the business, not speculators looking to make a quick buck. By keeping the price of a single share incredibly high, he created a natural filter. The high cost of entry discouraged rapid trading and ensured that his shareholders were deeply committed to the company’s long-haul journey.

For perspective, consider other giant companies like Apple or Amazon. They have split their stocks multiple times over the years. If they had never done so, their individual share prices would also be astronomically high, likely costing tens of thousands of dollars each. The price of BRK.A isn’t high because the company is necessarily worth more than every other company combined, but because each share represents a much, much larger “slice” of the corporate pie.

While this strategy successfully attracted the kind of investors Buffett wanted, it also created a huge barrier for the general public. As Berkshire Hathaway became more and more successful, its “price of admission” grew out of reach for almost everyone. This exclusivity problem eventually led to a brilliant and accessible solution.

The “Pizza Slice” Solution: How BRK.B Made Investing Accessible

That exclusivity problem didn’t sit well forever. By the 1990s, Warren Buffett realized that many dedicated followers wanted to invest in Berkshire Hathaway with less money. So, he introduced a brilliant solution: a new class of stock that would serve as an open door for everyday investors. This move was a classic example of a stock split, but done in a unique Berkshire way.

To understand how this worked, imagine the original BRK.A share as one giant, family-sized pizza that costs $600,000. It’s the same incredible pizza everyone wants, but almost no one can afford the whole pie. In 1996, Berkshire Hathaway effectively took one of these giant pizzas and cut it into thousands of individual slices. These new slices were much, much cheaper, finally allowing people to buy a piece of the pie without needing a fortune.

These smaller, more affordable shares were given the ticker symbol BRK.B and quickly earned the nickname “Baby Berkshires.” They represented a way to join the Berkshire family and invest right alongside Buffett, but at a price point that was accessible to nearly everyone. The creation of BRK.B instantly solved the barrier-to-entry problem, making it possible for you to own a piece of the legendary company for the price of a nice dinner out, not the cost of a new house.

Ultimately, whether you own the whole pizza or just one slice, you’re still eating the same delicious pizza. Owning a BRK.B share means you are an owner of the exact same underlying companies—from GEICO to Dairy Queen—as the person who holds a hugely expensive BRK.A share. The only difference is the size of your stake. But as you’ll see, price isn’t the only thing that separates these two shares.

Beyond Price: The Key Difference in ‘Voting Power’

So if price is the most obvious difference, what’s the hidden one? It all comes down to something called voting rights. Think of it this way: because a stock represents ownership, it also gives you a small say in major company decisions, like electing the board of directors. Shareholders cast their votes at annual meetings. The more voting power you have, the louder your voice is in that meeting. This distinction was a crucial part of Warren Buffett’s plan when creating the two share classes.

Following this logic, the original, full-sized BRK.A shares were designed to have significant voting power. Holding even one A-share gives you a real voice in the company’s future. The smaller BRK.B shares, however, were given drastically fewer voting rights. By some estimates, a Class A share carries 10,000 times the voting power of a Class B share. This structure was intentional, designed to keep control of the company in the hands of long-term, significant investors while still allowing everyone else to share in the financial success.

For the vast majority of people, this difference in voting power is purely academic. Most investors buy BRK.B shares not to influence management, but to bet on the world-class management team already in place. You’re buying a ticket to enjoy the show, not to tell the director how to run it. The goal for a BRK.B holder is to profit from the company’s growth, making the reduced voting rights a non-issue. But this does raise another interesting question: are the shares themselves interchangeable?

Can You Trade an A for a B? Conversion and Trading Explained

This leads to one of the most interesting features of Berkshire’s structure: the share conversion rule. A holder of a single BRK.A share has the right, at any time, to convert it into a large number of BRK.B shares. It’s a one-way street, however. You can’t bundle up BRK.B shares and trade them back in for a Class A share. Think of it like a solid gold bar versus a pile of small gold coins. You can always melt down the big bar (BRK.A) to create many small, easy-to-spend coins (BRK.B), but you can’t easily glue the coins back together to remake the original bar.

Beyond this conversion feature, there’s another crucial difference that affects everyday investors: the ease of buying and selling, a concept known as liquidity. Because BRK.A shares cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the pool of potential buyers is extremely small. It’s like trying to sell a rare painting or a mansion; finding the right buyer at the right price can take time. In contrast, with its affordable price, millions of BRK.B shares are traded every single day. This high liquidity means it’s incredibly easy to buy or sell BRK.B shares instantly.

For the average investor, this distinction is more than just a technicality; it’s a huge practical advantage. The high liquidity of BRK.B stock means you can access your money when you need it without having to wait for a rare, ultra-wealthy buyer to appear. While both shares give you ownership in the same great company, the Class B stock was specifically designed to be flexible and accessible for a much broader audience.

The Final Verdict: Which Berkshire Share Is Right for You?

After exploring the price, purpose, and mechanics behind Berkshire Hathaway’s two stock classes, the choice becomes refreshingly simple. For nearly every person asking, “Should I buy BRK.A or BRK.B?”, the answer is the same. Unless you are managing a multi-million dollar fund or have a net worth comparable to a small country, the BRK.B share was designed specifically for you. It’s the practical and intended path for most people to own a piece of this legendary company.

To see why the decision is so clear-cut, a simple side-by-side comparison helps. Think of it as choosing between buying an entire apartment building (BRK.A) versus buying one of the apartments inside it (BRK.B). Both give you a stake in the property, but one is vastly more accessible.

BRK.A vs. BRK.B at a Glance

Ultimately, BRK.B isn’t a lesser version of the stock; it’s a more modern and accessible one. It provides the exact same proportional ownership in Berkshire’s collection of businesses, from insurance to railroads, but in a package that’s easy to buy, sell, and fit into a normal investment plan. It stands as the best way for most people to own Berkshire Hathaway stock, delivering all the benefits of ownership without the six-figure barrier to entry.

A simple, clean graphic of the side-by-side comparison table described in the list description, using icons (e.g., a money bag vs a single coin) to visually reinforce the points

Your Path to Owning a Piece of an American Icon

That shocking, six-figure stock price is no longer just an intimidating number. It’s the original Class A share—the ‘whole pizza’ intended for major investors. And the ‘slice’—the Class B share—is the brilliant solution that made a piece of this legendary company accessible to almost anyone.

This shift from confusion to clarity is a powerful step in building financial literacy. You are now equipped to look past complex ticker symbols and see the simple human logic that often drives the market, demystifying concepts like a Warren Buffett investment.

So the next time you hear about Berkshire Hathaway, you won’t just see a price. You’ll see the full picture: an iconic company, a legendary investor, and a clear, open door (BRK.B) that makes investing in Berkshire Hathaway a possibility for everyone, not just a select few.