In my new book "Building the Next Berkshire Hathaway" - I try to identify companies that are similar to BH. The closest company I could find is Loews.

In summary, the reasons I find Loews is similar to BH is 1) insider ownership 2) conglomerate structure 3) focus on long-term assets (i.e. both companies have big pipeline businesses) 3) use of float (i.e. insurance operations) 4) conservative capital structure.

The differences that I identified include 1) officer compensation/use of stock options 2) Loews pays a dividend, BH does not 3) Loews buys back shares, BH does not.

I am interested in knowing everyone's thoughts. Also, if you find another company that is closer to BH, let me know. Other companies I considered were FFH, BAM, SHLD, and LUK.

By the way, if interested, here is the link to the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Berkshire...