I don't try to jump over 7-foot hurdles: I look for 1-foot hurdles that I can step over. Warren Buffett PetroChina was an unusual investment for Berkshire Hathaway in a lot of ways. First, it was unusually profitable, even by Buffett’s standards. A $488 million investment made between 2002 and 2003 turned into $4 billion by the time Buffett sold it between 2006 and 2007. That’s north of a 50% IRR!