Wesco Financial

Not to be confused with WESCO International or WESCO oil.
Wesco Financial Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInsurance, Renting, Steel
Founded1959; 65 years ago (1959)
FateAcquired by Berkshire Hathaway
Headquarters301 East Colorado Boulevard,
Pasadena, California
,
United States
Key people
Charlie Munger
(Former Chairman and CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$12.236 billion (2020) [1]
Increase US$347 million (2020) [2]
Decrease US$70 million (2020) [3]
Total assetsIncrease US$11.880 billion (2020) [4]
Total equityIncrease US$3336.389 million (2020) [5]
OwnerBerkshire Hathaway
Number of employees
2291 (14 at KBS, 2100 at CORT, 172 at Precision Steel, 5 at Wesco) (as of 2010)
Websitewww.wescofinancial.com
CORT moving van

Wesco Financial Corporation was an American diversified financial corporation headquartered in Pasadena, California. Wesco was originally the holding company for Mutual Savings, a savings and loan association. Mutual Savings' thrift operations were sold to CenFed Bank in 1993.[6] It was for a long time 80.1% owned by Blue Chip Stamps, which is now completely and fully owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett. Charlie Munger, the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett's business partner, was CEO and chairman of Wesco from 1984 to 2011. Munger, formerly a practicing attorney, is known for his straight-shooting style and his conduct at the now discontinued Wesco shareholder meetings in Pasadena, where he used to interact with the outside investors at considerable length.[7] In June 2011, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the approximately 20% of Wesco that it did not already own, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of that company.[8]

Wesco Financial was previously likened to a miniature version of Berkshire Hathaway by certain observers, although Buffett and Munger cautioned investors that this was not an appropriate comparison. Like its parent company, Wesco provided insurance and reinsurance; it does so through subsidiaries Wesco-Financial Insurance Company and Kansas Bankers Surety. It also held shares in some of the same companies as Berkshire, like Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, and Wells Fargo. Controlling interests include CORT Business Services and Precision Steel Warehouse, which has steel service centers in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina.

  1. ^ "WESCO Revenue 2006-2021 | WCC".
  2. ^ "WESCO Operating Income 2006-2021 | WCC".
  3. ^ "WESCO Net Income 2006-2021 | WCC".
  4. ^ "WESCO Total Assets 2006-2021 | WCC".
  5. ^ "WESCO Balance Sheet 2005-2021 | WCC".
  6. ^ Cenfed on a roll as its rivals suffer in L.A. downturn[dead link]
  7. ^ "Charlie Munger's Last Meeting".
  8. ^ "BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY AND WESCO FINANCIAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCE PER SHARE MERGER CONSIDERATION" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-29.