INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT

  
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

     We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of 
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1996 and 
1995, and the related consolidated statements of earnings and cash 
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 
1996.  These financial statements are the responsibility of the 
Company's management.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion on 
these financial statements based on our audits.

     We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted 
auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform 
the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial 
statements are free of material misstatement.  An audit includes 
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and 
disclosures in the financial statements.  An audit also includes 
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates 
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial 
statement presentation.  We believe that our audits provide a 
reasonable basis for our opinion.

     In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present 
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Berkshire 
Hathaway Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and 
the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the 
three years in the period ended December 31, 1996 in conformity with 
generally accepted accounting principles.




DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Omaha, Nebraska
March 7, 1997