Top 20 Most Admired Companies

To see "admiration" in action, just look at Berkshire Hathaway's stock chart from last fall. As other financial shares were getting hammered -- some Berkshire investments among them -- investors bid up Berkshire's own stock by 27%.

Why? Wall Street believes that Berkshire and its acclaimed leader, Warren Buffett, possess a matchless ability to turn today's problems into tomorrow's profits. The key to this ability: "An absence of any regard for short-term results," says Don Graham, CEO of the Washington Post Co. (of which Berkshire owns 18%). Indeed, Berkshire has just launched a bond insurance company to compete with troubled MBIA and Ambac. It has also invested $800 million in subprime-battered Swiss Re.

Can Buffett, 77, continue making lemonade from lemons? There's no reason to think otherwise. Of greater concern: Who takes over once the legend is gone?  -Jon Birger