Over the past five years, companies within the S&P 500 have collectively spent approximately $4 trillion on share repurchases, a figure comparable to their capital expenditures during the same period. In particular, Markel Corporation has been active in this area, repurchasing around $1 billion of its own stock over the last two years. Currently, Markel's shares are trading at an all-time high of over $2,000 each, reflecting a price-to-sales ratio of approximately 1.4 and a price-to-book ratio of about 1.5. Despite a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.25% for both book value per share (BVPS) and stock price over the past five years, Markel management estimates a much higher CAGR of 18.3% for intrinsic value. This discrepancy has raised questions regarding the company's strategic direction and succession planning, especially as the founder steps back from active management.