BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
                               NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            November 11, 1996

     Earnings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries
for the third quarter and first nine months ended September 30, 1996 and
1995 are summarized below.  Amounts are stated on an after-tax basis (dollar
amounts are in millions except per share amounts):
                                              Third Quarter           First Nine Months
                                            1996       1995 *         1996       1995 *    
					--------     --------     --------     --------
Earnings from operations . . . . . . . .$  201.4     $  151.3     $  555.3     $  435.5   
Realized investment gain . . . . . . . .    62.6         43.2      1,568.6         90.2   
 					--------     --------     --------     --------
Net earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$  264.0     $  194.5     $2,123.9     $  525.7   
                                        ========     ========     ========     ========

Average shares outstanding . . . . . . .1,210,762    1,193,512    1,202,704    1,184,942   

Earnings per share:
  Earnings from operations . . . . . . .  $166         $127         $462         $368    
  Net earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $218         $163       $1,766         $444    

* Restated

  Earnings from operations in 1996 include the results of GEICO Corporation.  On
January 2, 1996, Berkshire completed the acquisition of the approximately 49% of
GEICO common stock not previously owned.  In prior years Berkshire's investment in
GEICO common stock had been carried at market value.  As a result of obtaining
control of GEICO in 1996, generally accepted accounting principles require that prior
year results be restated to reflect Berkshire's prior investment in GEICO under the
equity method.  Accordingly, the 1995 results have been restated.
  On May 8, 1996, Berkshire issued 517,500 shares of Class B Common Stock having
economic rights equal to one-thirtieth of the economic rights of Class A Common Stock. 
Average shares outstanding for the 1996 periods include average Class A Common
shares and average Class B Common shares determined on an equivalent Class A
Common Stock basis.  Shareholders' equity at September 30, 1996 was $21.2 billion or
$17,500 per equivalent Class A Common share.
  Warren E. Buffett, Berkshire’s CEO, commented  Though we are pleased that our
gain in per-share book value during the first nine months of 1996 outpaced the gain of
the S&P 500, the real news at Berkshire this year is the exceptional performance of
GEICO.  There has been a substantial acceleration in the growth of voluntary auto
business accompanied by outstanding underwriting profitability.  We expect
continued growth in new business. 
  The net earnings figures for the first nine months of 1996 are meaningless in
evaluating the Company or charting its progress: 1996's first nine months earnings
included $1.6 billion of after-tax realized investment gains compared to after-tax
realized investment gains of $90.2 million in the comparable prior year period.  Most of
1996's realized gain arose in connection with The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.  While the realized gain had a material impact on Berkshire's
reported earnings, it had a very minor impact on Berkshire's shareholders' equity. 
Berkshire records its investments at market value and the appreciation in the Capital
Cities stock had been previously reflected as a component of shareholders' equity in
periods prior to 1996's first quarter.
  Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in a number of diverse business
activities among which the most important is the property and casualty insurance
business conducted on both a direct and reinsurance basis.  Common stock of the
Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.


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