Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company

The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (Cleveland-Cliffs) was a major American mining and natural resources company that was a significant common stock holding for Berkshire Hathaway in 1980.

📝 The Investment

• Portfolio Concentration: Listed in the 1980 letter as a major holding with a position size of ~$15 million.
• Position (1980): Berkshire held 475,217 shares with a cost of $12.9 million and a market value of $15.9 million.
• Context: Cleveland-Cliffs was a dominant producer of iron ore pellets for the North American steel industry. The investment fit Buffett’s 1970s theme of acquiring stakes in "asset-rich" industrial companies that were trading at attractive multiples of their earning power.

🔗 Connections

• Company: Aluminum Company of America (Industrial peer)
• Source: 1980 Letter