# Berkshire has paid one dividend in 60 years

> Buffett handed out cash exactly once in 1967, and Greg Abel is not about to start now.
- Title: Berkshire has paid one dividend in 60 years · Yahoo Finance
- Summary: Buffett handed out cash exactly once in 1967, and Greg Abel is not about to start now. Berkshire keeps every dollar it earns as long as it can turn that…
- Keywords: berkshire hathaway, dividends, warren buffett, greg abel, investing, business, finance, Berkshire, paid, one, dividend, years
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/berkshire-hathaway-paid-exactly-1-205000365.html
- Published: 2026-09-12T20:50:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: berkshire hathaway, dividends, warren buffett, greg abel, investing, business, finance
## One dividend, 60 years
Buffett took control of Berkshire in 1965 and paid shareholders cash exactly once: ten cents a share in 1967. Nothing since.

> Berkshire Hathaway has paid a dividend just once: a $0.10-per-share cash distribution in 1967.
## The math that justifies it
Over Buffett's 60 years as CEO, Berkshire shares compounded at an average 19.9% a year. Money left inside the company grew faster than money handed back.
## Abel inherits the rule
Greg Abel became CEO in January 2026 and used his first shareholder letter to restate the policy word for word. No new era for the cash.

> Berkshire will not pay dividends so long as more than a dollar of market value for shareholders is reasonably likely to be created by each dollar of retained earnings.
## He is already spending it
Berkshire closed an $8.5 billion buy of homebuilder Taylor Morrison on July 24, and added $17 billion to its Alphabet stake in Q2, $10 billion of it in newly issued shares.
## Buybacks beat dividends on tax
A dividend is taxable to every holder whether they want the cash or not. A buyback returns capital and only taxes the people who choose to sell.
## Repurchases are accelerating
Berkshire bought back just $235 million of stock in Q1 2026, then $4.5 billion in Q2 and $3.5 billion since. The rule is unchanged: only below intrinsic value.

> conservatively determined
## A $350 billion cash pile
More than $350 billion of Berkshire's $1.26 trillion in assets sits in cash and equivalents. Abel is splitting it between acquisitions and repurchases, not payouts.
## Do not wait for a check
Berkshire will never be a dividend stock. You get paid through the share price, which is exactly the deal that made it worth owning.
## Key takeaway

Berkshire keeps every dollar it earns as long as it can turn that dollar into more than a dollar of market value, and buybacks handle the rest.