Warren Buffett's legendary and storied investment career has yielded investors in his company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), breathtaking returns. Since Mr. Buffett took the helm of Berkshire in 1965, the stock has produced a 20.1%  annual compounded return for its shareholders through the end of 2021. Buffett's effort trounced the S&P 500, which generated annual compounded returns of 10.5%, including dividends over the same time frame.

Let's add some color to Buffett's 56-year track record. If a long-term buy-and-hold investor (like Buffett, Berkshire's largest shareholder) plunked down $10,000 for Berkshire shares when Buffett took over and had the patience never to sell a single share, they would have had $284,713,732.33 at the end of 2021.

Buffett's investment criterion is the same whether he buys stocks or entire companies. He wants to buy great companies whose shares have been hammered down to attractive prices, then hold them for a long time. Many times his best stock buys come from bear markets like today.

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Source Fool.com