← Table of contents

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) The machine that buys machines

EventTimestampPriceShares
BuyAug 31, 2026, 5:47 PM ET$504.521.982
Avg cost: $504.52Last close: $507.00 (Sep 10, 2026)Return so far: +0.5%

Since the buy

$499.9$502.8$505.6$508.5$511.4bought $504.52Aug 31 ’26Sep 10 ’26
BRK-B since the buy · each candle = one day · dashed line = what I paid · live, updates after each market close

The exit plan — written on day one

I'll sell if the discipline and culture that built Berkshire clearly change after its founders — or if, over a couple of years, my code's signals show no real edge and I conclude I was just guessing.

How you know this is real
  1. Timestamped by GitHub, not by me. This chapter is a public commit — GitHub stamps the exact time it was published. It can't be backdated, and it's never edited (corrections are only appended, dated). See the commit history →
  2. The price is on the tape. The buy price sits right on the real BRK-B candle in the chart above — cross-check it against Aug 31, 2026 market data anywhere. A made-up price wouldn't line up.
  3. The broker's own confirmation. Fidelity's fill slip — ticker, time, price, and quantity — with account details redacted.
  4. Anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain. This chapter's fingerprint is locked into Bitcoin block #964,946 (Aug 31, 2026) — a timestamp nobody can forge or backdate, not even me.✅ See this proof checked for you, step by step →Prefer to do it yourself? Grab the .ots proof and the chapter file and drop both into opentimestamps.org.

What it is — Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger's holding company. It owns whole businesses (insurance, a railroad, energy, retail) and big stakes in public companies. The Class B shares (BRK-B) are the affordable way to own a slice.

Why now — The trigger was my code — the small signal system I've been building to tell me when it might be a sensible time to start a position. It flagged Berkshire today, so I opened a small starter position and I'm sitting tight.

The bet — I can't value Berkshire myself yet. What I'm really counting on is two things: that a diversified, conservatively-run collection of good businesses is a sensible place for a beginner to start, and that my code's timing, tested over time, adds a little edge. Mostly it's a position I'm happy to hold for a very long time while I learn.

What could go wrong — My code is new and unproven; the signal could be noise. Berkshire is also moving into a future beyond its founders, and no company stays great forever. "It's Buffett's company" is not, by itself, a reason — I have to keep learning why it's actually a good business.

The record continues below this line — append-only, each entry dated. The original text above is never touched. Quarterly checks, splits, dividends, and any options hedge on this position go here.