Leucadia National Corporation is a holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

 that, through its subsidiaries, engages in mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 & drilling

Drilling

Drilling is a cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut or enlarge a hole in solid materials. The drill bit is a multipoint, end cutting tool...

 services, telecommunications, healthcare services, manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

, banking and lending, real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, and winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 businesses with a market cap of about $8.0 billion as of June 15, 2011. Leucadia is known as a "mini Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...

" with an average annual return of over 22%. Largest current investments include Jefferies

Jefferies

Jefferies may refer to:Companies:* Jefferies & Company, a global investment bank and institutional securities firmPeople:* Alan Jefferies , Australian writer* Chris Jefferies , American basketball player...

 and Fortescue Metals Group

Fortescue Metals Group

Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...

.

Leucadia's highest profile move to-date was a bid in 2004 to acquire 50 percent of telecommunications company MCI

MCI Inc.

MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...

's common stock. However, after MCI received higher bids from other companies, Leucadia withdrew from the bidding process. http://global.mci.com/about/news/releases/2004/2004.xml?newsid=11170&mode=long&lang=en&width=530&root=/about/news/releases/2004/&subroot=2004.xml

Leucadia executives Ian Cumming and Joseph Steinberg both graduated in the same Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

 Class of 1970. They joined Leucadia around 1979. Ian Cumming (a Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 native) and Joseph Steinberg each own about 13% of Leucadia's shares. http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&refer=home&sid=a8AcHeDVuih8

Leucadia is headquartered in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, but has additional offices in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

. The company's name comes from the seaside town in Southern California and was chosen randomly after several other choices were rejected during the incorporation process. Cumming and Steinberg spotted the sign along the freeway and suggested it as an alternative.(2007 Annual Report)

Subsidiaries

• Conwed Plastics
• Idaho Timber
• Keen Energy Services
• ResortQuest
• Crimson Wine Group
• Leucadia Energy
• Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Biloxi)
• Sangart (91%)
• Berkadia Commercial Mortgage (50%)

  based in Horsham, Pennsylvania

  Horsham, Pennsylvania

  Horsham is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.In 2007, Horsham was named the 15th best...

  
   and owned jointly by Leucadia and Berkshire Hathaway

  Berkshire Hathaway

  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...

  
  , this subsidiary was formed in 2009 following Leucadia's acquisition of a part of Capmark Financial Group

• HomeFed (31.4%)
• Jefferies & Company (29%)
• Inmet Mining
  Inmet Mining
  The Inmet Mining Corporation is a Canadian mining corporation that produces copper, zinc and gold. Focus on finding quality base metal reserves, with interest in four mining operations. The company currently holds an 18% stake in Ok Tedi Mining Limited. It also owns the Pyhäsalmi Mine in Finland....
  
   (9.98%)
• Fortescue Metals Group
  Fortescue Metals Group
  Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...
  
   (9%)

Executives as of 2007

• Ian M. Cumming

Chairman, Chief Exec. Officer and Chairman of Exec. Committee

Total 2006 pay was $7,896,730 (as presented in 4/17/2007 proxy statement.)

• Joseph S. Steinberg

Pres, Chief Operating Officer, Director and Member of Exec. Committee

Total 2006 pay was $7,916,645

• Joseph A. Orlando

Chief Financial Officer and VP

Total 2006 pay was $1,344,259

• Thomas E. Mara

Exec. VP and Treasurer

Total 2006 pay was $1,584,930

• H.E. Scruggs

VP

Total 2006 pay was $877,373

Other Investments

• WMAC Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Leucadia, is the largest backer of Pershing Square Capital Management L.P., a Delaware-incorporated investment partnership. William Ackman
  William Ackman
  William A. Ackman or commonly known as Bill Ackman is the major investor, founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP. At one point in December 2007 his funds owned a 10% stake in Target Corporation, valued at $4.2 billion through the purchase of stock and derivatives. His...
  
   is the founder of the $300 million+ activist hedge fund Pershing Square. The Fund had 40%+ returns over the past 2 years.

• In June 2007, Leucadia (through a subsidiary) purchased most of the assets of ResortQuest International, Inc., a vacation rental property management company headquartered in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
  Fort Walton Beach, Florida
  Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2005, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,992, and as of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach is 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau...
  
  , from Gaylord Entertainment Company
  Gaylord Entertainment Company
  The Gaylord Entertainment Company operates a number of hotel, resort, and media companies that were built by Edward Gaylord. It was previously a subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Publishing Company, which is owned by the Gaylord family and publishes the Daily Oklahoman newspaper...
  
  .

External links

• Leucadia.com - Official Website
• Stock quote and financial information

http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=53074

Regulatory Filings

• SEC.gov - the EDGAR database Leucadia National - EDGAR Filings (CIK: 0000096223)