10 Nov 2014 Buffett Said He Paid a Steep Price. $15 Billion Later, BNSF Is a Cash Machine. 'He Stole It' ( Portfolio )

Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), BNSF’s main competitor in the western U.S., currently trades for about 12.6 times annual pretax, pre-interest income, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Were Buffett’s railroad to fetch that kind of price now, 77.5 percent of it would be worth about $66.5 billion -- more than double what Berkshire paid.

“It’s never in Buffett’s interest to indicate that he got a bargain, even though that’s what he’s shooting for”