If You Bought 1 Share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) When Buffett Took Control, Here's How Many Class B Shares You'd Own Now

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) , the cross-industry conglomerate led by investing genius Warren Buffett , has long been a fascinating study in investment success. For those fortunate enough to have bought Berkshire stock early, the returns have been nothing short of remarkable.

Here's a look at how many shares you would own today if you had bought a single share at the company's IPO and eventually converted it into Class B shares, as Berkshire Class A owners can do any time.

Berkshire Hathaway's stock structure

The company manages two classes of stock : Class A (BRK-A) and Class B (BRK-B). The BRK-B shares were introduced in 1996 to provide an affordable entry point for smaller investors (but the lower-priced shares also come with fewer votes). Each Class A share is convertible into a larger number of Class B shares -- originally 30, but 1,500 stubs nowadays to account for the Class B security's 50-for-1 stock split in 2010.

Imagine you had bought a single BRK-A share when Buffett took control of the struggling textile company in 1965. You then converted it into BRK-B shares when they were introduced and held through the 50-for-1 split in 2010. You would have:

• Initial purchase: 1 BRK-A share
• Conversion in 1996: 1 BRK-A share converted to 30 BRK-B shares
• 2010 stock split: 30 BRK-B shares split 50-for-1, resulting in 1,500 BRK-B shares.

Long-term returns on early Berkshire investments

The end result would have been the same if you had held that first share longer and converted it after the Class B split. Either way, you'd have 1,500 Class B shares today.

Or you could have held on to that original stub, watching it rise from about $20 in 1965 to $657,600 today. This strategy would greatly increase your voting power, though the money-making returns would be nearly identical.

Either way, you'd enjoy a 3.3 million percent return on your investment, or a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3% over 59 years. There's financial magic in robust annual returns across several decades of patient ownership.

Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .