Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders, and their annual shareholders meeting, are writ large on the calendar for investors. The same can be said for professionals who are in or researching – or in – the manufactured home industry.
Clayton Homes – led by company founder Jim Clayton’s son, Kevin Clayton – become the largest producer of manufactured homes the year that Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett bought the company in 2003. It became the largest builder or HUD Code manufactured homes later that same year – 2003 – when Buffett’s Berkshire purchased Oakwood Homes, and rolled it into the Clayton ‘family of brands.’
Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates
compete in the annual newspaper toss
to a Clayton Homes front door at shareholders meeting.
That was one of an ongoing string of acquisitions since then, which in more recent years have included purchases of site-builders, as well as other factory producers.
Kevin Clayton talks about barracks for the military, tiny homes
annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.
Why did Buffett do all this? Why has he endured the ‘drama’ that has gone along with Clayton Homes and manufactured housing?
Pay close attention to what you see, hear and read, and you’ll get it. Short answer? Listen to Buffett explain his own principles. Mr. Buffett wants a business that is easy to understand. He wants a business with “a moat.” During an affordable housing crisis, what business is easier to understand than manufactured homes?
Short Warren Buffett On Clayton Homes
Allegations of Discrimination, CNBC
Two quick quotes, and then on to the rest of the videos.
“I call investing the greatest business in the world … because you never have to swing…All day you wait for the pitch you like; then when the fielders are asleep, you step up and hit it,” – Warren Buffett, per Wikiquotes.
“Draw a circle around the businesses you understand and then eliminate those that fail to qualify on the basis of value, good management, and limited exposure to hard times.” Warren Buffett, in “About Investing.”
Kevin Clayton, Clayton Homes CEO
on military barracks, tiny houses more…Fox Business.
Warren Buffett, Kevin Clayton, Clayton Homes Related Videos
For those in or new to manufactured housing, these videos offer a peek inside the world of Berkshire, and their dominance of manufactured home:
- construction,
- retail,
- lending,
- suppliers,
- insurance and other financial services arena.
- You’ll also get a peak into their move towards conventional housing, and they were already doing modular home construction.
Berkshire Hathaway’s
Clayton Homes Moving into New Conventional Housing Markets
– The Street
Warren Buffett’s “The Moat” Strategy – How to Dominate Competitors, in Buffett’s and Kevin Clayton’s Own Words
For those who are researching concerns over monopolies or alleged monopolistic practices – and how that had played out in manufactured housing – the videos below are must viewing.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman,
Competitive Advantages and “The Moat” per Buffett, Video Interview Clips
– MHLivingNews.com
For those looking for a deeper dive in reading and research on related topics, the links below provide arguably the most comprehensive research by an informed, pro-industry expert and witness to the evolution of the industry from its early days as trailer houses, to the mobile home era, and to industry since June 15, 1976, when it formally became HUD Code regulated manufactured housing.
The solution to the affordable housing crisis is hiding in plain sight. That’s been a subtext for closing in on a decade on MHProNews.com as well as on our public focused sister site, ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com, both of which also looks at modular, prefab, conventional, and pre-HUD Code mobile homes.
For first timers, to industry veterans, this is the number one site of its kind. Who says? Besides third party traffic data, there’s the widespread praise for these twin platforms that has flowed for years from many pros, including from the founder of Clayton Homes, Jim Clayton, as well as from independents and others. The video praised captured below is just a sampling of spoken and written praise.
While we are pro-industry, we are also pro-consumer, and are strong believers in free enterprise.
Kevin Clayton Interview, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway,
Clayton Homes CEO, Manufactured Homes, Affordable Housing News – MHProNews
Unlike much of the trade media in our industry, we do not shy away from controversial topics. So, for example, the question of the impact of alleged monopolistic practices by Buffett, Berkshire and Clayton Homes, or other charges against the company are among topics we’ve closely examined for years.
We hope you learn, and enjoy. “We Provide, You Decide.” ## © (News, analysis and commentary.)
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By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – Masthead commentary, for MHProNews.com.
Tony is the multiple award-winning managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
Office 863-213-4090 |Connect on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
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