The investment performance of a share in Berkshire Hathaway had astonished most observers. In 1977, the firm’s year-end closing share price was $102; on May 24, 2005, the closing price on its Class A shares reached $85,500. Over the same period, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index grew from 96 to 1,194. Some observers called for Buffett to split5 the firm’s share price to make it more accessible to the individual investor. He steadfastly refused.6