Wesco Financial

Wesco Financial Corporation is a diversified financial corporation headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Wesco was originally a savings and loan association. It is 80.1% owned by Blue Chip Stamps, which is wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett. Wesco is chaired by Charlie Munger, who is also vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett's partner. Munger, formerly a practicing attorney, is known for his straight-shooting style and his conduct at the annual Wesco shareholder meetings in Pasadena, where he often interacts with the outside investors at considerable length.

Wesco Financial is sort of like Berkshire Hathaway Lite. Charlie Munger, Berkshire vice chairman and a confidante of Warren Buffett, leads Wesco. And like Berkshire, the investment firm provides insurance and reinsurance; in Wesco's case, it does so through subsidiaries Wesco-Financial Insurance Company and Kansas Bankers Surety. It also holds shares in some of the same companies as Berkshire, like Coca-Cola, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, and Wells Fargo. Other prominent holdings include CORT Business Services and Precision Steel Warehouse, which has steel service centers in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2011 Berkshire Hathaway acquired the 20% of Wesco that it didn't already own.

Wesco does business in three major categories; insurance, furniture rental, and steel service. The following wholly owned subsidiaries handle most of Wesco's business:

• Wesco-Financial Insurance
• Kansas Bankers Surety.
• CORT Business Services Corporation, furniture rental.
• Precision Steel Warehouse, Inc., a chain of steel service centers.
• MS Property Company, which owns commercial real estate in Pasadena.