A folksy investor who modeled his entire company after Warren Buffett's conglomerate just came back from a trip to Omaha, Nebraska that may have partly been an attempt at also luring loyal Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Thomas Gayner , CEO of Markel Corp. , held a brunch Q & A one day after Berkshire's annual meeting, the so-called Woodstock for Capitalists that attracted nearly 40,000 attendees from around the world.
But Markel is also a mini-conglomerate that owns whole businesses outside of insurance, via Markel Ventures. Some of the deals it has done in recent years include buying automobile transport equipment maker Cottrell, luxury handbag company Brahmin and plants retailer Costa Farms. Beyond insurance and subsidiary businesses owned outright, Markel also runs a big equity portfolio, with a market value of nearly $8 billion at the end of the first quarter.