INVESTMENTS

Commercial Paper and Money Market Investments. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company had commercial paper and money market investments of $594.3 million and $431.8 million, respectively, that are classified as cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Investments in Marketable Equity Securities. Investments in marketable equity securities consist of the following:



	As of December 31
(in thousands)	2014		2013
Total cost	$	106,909	$	197,718
Net unrealized gains	86,884		289,438
Total Fair Value	$	193,793	$	487,156

At December 31, 2013, the Company owned 2,214 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire) Class A common stock and 424,250 shares of Berkshire Class B common stock. The Company’s ownership of Berkshire accounted for $444.2 million, or 91%, of the total fair value of the Company’s investments in marketable equity securities at December 31, 2013. Berkshire is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities. Berkshire also owned approximately 23% of the common stock of the Company. At December 31, 2013, the unrealized gain related to the Company’s Berkshire stock investment totaled $286.9 million. On June 30, 2014, the Company completed a transaction with Berkshire, as described in Note 7, that included the exchange of 2,107 Class A Berkshire shares and 1,278 Class B Berkshire shares owned by the Company; a $266.7 million gain was recorded.

The Company invested $49.9 million, $15.0 million and $45.0 million in marketable equity securities during 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In the first quarter of 2014, the Company recorded a $0.5 million write-down of the Company’s investment in Corinthian Colleges, Inc., a publicly traded company. In the second quarter of 2014, the Company sold its remaining investment in Corinthian Colleges, Inc. During 2014, the proceeds from the sale of these marketable securities were $5.8 million and net realized losses were $2.6 million. During 2013 and 2012, proceeds from sales of marketable equity securities were $3.6 million and $2.0 million, respectively, and net realized gains on such sales were $0.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively.

At the end of 2013 and 2012, the Company’s investment in Strayer Education, Inc. had been in an unrealized loss position for about six months. The Company evaluated this investment for other-than-temporary impairment based on various factors, including the duration and severity of the unrealized loss, the reason for the decline in value, the potential recovery period and the Company’s ability and intent to hold the investment. Based on this evaluation, the Company concluded that the unrealized loss was other-than-temporary and recorded a $10.4 million and an $18.0 million write-down of the investment in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Investments in Affiliates. On April 1, 2014, the Company received a gross cash distribution of $95.0 million from Classified Ventures’ sale of apartments.com. In connection with this sale, the Company recorded a pre-tax gain of $90.9 million in the second quarter of 2014. On September 30, 2014, the Company held a 16.5% interest in Classified Ventures. On October 1, 2014, the Company and the remaining partners completed the sale of their entire stakes in Classified Ventures. Total proceeds to the Company, net of transaction costs, were $408.5 million, of which $16.5 million will be held in escrow until October 1, 2015. The Company recorded a pre-tax gain of $396.6 million in connection with the sale in the fourth quarter of 2014.

At December 31, 2014, the Company held a 40% interest in Residential Home Health Illinois, a 42.5% interest in Residential Hospice Illinois and interests in several other affiliates.

During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company sold its 49% interest in the common stock of Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited for a nominal amount; no loss was recorded as the investment had previously been written down to zero.