Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares have appreciated 3,999,494% since Warren Buffett took over the company in 1965.

In a nutshell, buying Berkshire Hathaway is nearly akin to buying a broad market index fund, except there's no expense ratio and the underlying holdings are curated by a legendary investor and his handpicked team. If you're considering putting money into an index fund, consider instead simply buying some Berkshire stock.

In his 60th annual letter to shareholders released Saturday, the folksy Buffett bragged about footing a record $26.8 billion tax bill.