Subject: Re: SRH (STEW) CEF/Berkshire Hathaway
That would have cost Stew several hundred million dollars in unnecessary taxes— as his tax basis is just a few bucks per share. And he would have missed out on several hundred million dollars in still-tax-deferred additional gains.

Forget about DEFERRED gains. The guy is 88 years old, no 88 year old should be taking capital gains unless absolutely necessary. They are very likely to die in 2, 5, or 10 years, and the basis will be stepped up upon death thus avoiding ALL capital gains taxes.