Many investors follow Berkshire Hathaway 's (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) $293.8 billion portfolio because those stocks were approved by Warren Buffett himself. Even though Buffett plans to step down as Berkshire's chief executive officer this year, his successor, Greg Abel, probably won't dramatically shake up those top holdings.

Warren Buffett’s Legacy at Berkshire Hathaway For over six decades, Warren Buffett has transformed Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B) from a struggling textile company into a global investment powerhouse.

Berkshire Hathaway ( NYSE: BRK.A) ( NYSE: BRK.B) sold about one-third of its stake in VeriSign ( NASDAQ: VRSN )—an internet infrastructure and domain name registry services company—disposing of 4.3 million shares at $285, raising ~$1.23 billion in gross proceeds.