Warren Buffett Knew Nothing About This Business. It Made Him Billions.

A rock star of the recreational vehicle industry drove his company to Berkshire Hathaway—and made billions for Buffett's shareholders

- Ben Cohen

Warren Buffett had never heard of the man who would become one of his favorite CEOs—until he decided to buy his company.

Berkshire Hathaway's leader was in his office in Omaha, Neb., one day 20 years ago when he received a two-page fax out of the blue pitching his next acquisition: an RV manufacturer called Forest River.

At the time, Buffett didn't know the first thing about the business of recreational vehicles. Which meant he didn't know the name Pete Liegl. And he really didn't know that he was dealing with "the George Washington on the Mount Rushmore of the RV industry," as one friend described Liegl.

But the world's most famous investor liked what he read and especially liked that Liegl came to him with a price in mind: $800 million. So he did some basic diligence.

The next day, Buffett made an offer. The next week, Liegl came to Omaha. They met for 20 minutes and shook hands on a deal.

"It was easier to sell my business than to renew my driver's license," Liegl said at the time.

Berkshire has owned his RV company ever since—even if Buffett himself says most of the company's shareholders don't know that Berkshire owns it.

Or at least they didn't until this past weekend, when Buffett's latest annual letter included a long remembrance of Liegl, who recently died at the age of 80.

Over the years, Buffett praised him as "a remarkable entrepreneur" who "runs a terrific operation." This time, he recognized Liegl as "a man unknown to most Berkshire shareholders, but one who contributed many billions to their aggregate wealth."

And the ultimate compliment for Liegl is that Berkshire has owned Forest River for two decades—and Buffett has never once visited the company's offices.