Here's proof that "buy and hold" works when it comes to stocks.

In 1980, Stewart Horejsi bought 40 shares of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) for $265 each. Then he bought a little more. And a little more after that. Today he's worth at least $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires.

Horejsi (pronounced Horish), 75, eventually amassed 5,800 Class A shares of Berkshire. Even after selling 1,500 of them in 1998, he says he still holds more shares than Bill Gates -- who is the world's richest man, Buffett's bridge partner, and the founder of Microsoft (MSFT).

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Berkshire has a long history of producing billionaires. According to Bloomberg: "In addition to Buffett, the world’s fourth-richest person, at least six current or former billionaires derive their fortunes from Berkshire. They include Charles Munger, 89, the company’s vice chairman and David Gottesman, 86, a Berkshire board member and founder of asset management firm First Manhattan Co."

Buffett's assistant Debra Bosanek told Bloomberg that there are other Berkshire billionaires out there. And Buffett told Fortune a couple years ago that there were two Berkshire shareholders who qualified for the Forbes 400 list even though they weren't on it.

Back in 1980, Horejsi was in the right place at the right time.

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He got the initial $10,600 to invest in Berkshire from his family's third-generation business. The Kansas company -- Brown Welding Supply -- was in a tough spot and he was looking to expand his portfolio. Since then he's been to 32 of Buffett's famous annual meetings in downtown Omaha.

So how invested is Horejsi in the long-term profitability of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)?

Let's just say he's all in. He uses a NetJets plane -- a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary -- to travel to his various homes in Oregon, Arizona and Barbados. He drinks Coke -- Buffett's company is a big investor in Coca-Cola (KO). And he even eats fudge made by See's Candies. (Guess who owns that company.)

Watch The Daily Ticker's interview with Bloomberg Billionaires editor Matt Miller above to learn more about Horejsi's incredible story.

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