$1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway 5 Years Ago? Here’s the Life-Changing Sum You’d Have Now

Warren Buffett’s empire delivered—but crypto left it in the dust.

The Oracle’s Returns vs. The Digital Gold Rush

While Berkshire Hathaway stock chugged along with steady gains, decentralized assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum exploded. The old guard plays checkers—blockchain plays 4D chess.

A $1,000 Bet Then, A [REDACTED] Payout Now

Precise figures redacted (this isn’t financial advice), but let’s just say: enough for a used Tesla then… or a Bitcoin whale’s pocket change today.

Buffett Hates Crypto? His Loss.

The man called Bitcoin ‘rat poison’—while DeFi protocols quietly printed generational wealth. Traditional investors cling to spreadsheets; degens ride bull cycles to early retirement.

Want growth? Ditch the dinosaur stocks. The future’s on-chain—whether Wall Street likes it or not.

Back in fighting form

If you had you invested $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway shares in early August of 2020, as I write this on Aug. 10, you'd be sitting on $2,221. That's an annualized growth rate of 17.3%, outpacing the's (^GSPC 0.96%) average annual growth pace of 13.8%, or 15.5% when factoring in reinvested dividends.

BRK.A data by YCharts

Making this five-year run even more impressive is that Berkshire has performed relatively poorly since May. That's not only when Buffett announced his end-of-year retirement, but also when investors began shedding their defensive value stocks that Buffett's conglomerate holds so they could plow back into growth-oriented technology names. It's still well ahead despite the headwind.

There's also some vindication in this market-beating performance.

You may recall that Berkshire's persistent underperformance for several years prior to 2021's rekindled leadership was prompting criticisms and questions of his old-school stock-picking approach. The past three years have reminded everyone that patience pays off when you prioritize owning quality businesses rather than chasing growth.

Buying and holding quality is always a sound strategy

Don't misunderstand. Just as it did for several years prior to 2021, there will come another time when Berkshire Hathaway shares lag the market. That's just the nature of Warren Buffett's value-minded style -- it tends to underperform when investors are captivated by new, game-changing industries.

Just remember the past five years the next time that happens, and the past three years in particular. A truly great stock is worth buying and holding even through the rough patches.