As I've said separately, I believe BRK's float is over-rated. It's just a loan and only a small part of their capital base.
But your focus on the "powerhouse five" over See's Candy's is backwards. The powerhouse 5 are all very new acquisitions, and were purchased in part because See's candies was so amazingly successful as an investment.
In 2011, Buffett said that See's had directly earned $1.65B for Berkshire since it's acquisition. Those earnings were reinvested in Berkshire, so over the years they've probably added as much as $10B to Berkshire's value. That's enough to have enabled the purchase of one of the "power house 5" by itself.
But your focus on the "powerhouse five" over See's Candy's is backwards. The powerhouse 5 are all very new acquisitions, and were purchased in part because See's candies was so amazingly successful as an investment.
In 2011, Buffett said that See's had directly earned $1.65B for Berkshire since it's acquisition. Those earnings were reinvested in Berkshire, so over the years they've probably added as much as $10B to Berkshire's value. That's enough to have enabled the purchase of one of the "power house 5" by itself.