Buffett Names Possible Successors

Omaha, NE, May 6--Warren Buffett said on Sunday he has named four potential successors to run his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate, after he dies or is unable to run the company, but said those names could change. Buffett, 72, did not identify the candidates, but said he did not want anyone in their 60s to succeed him. "There are four people with Berkshire who could do my job," Buffett told reporters at his annual press conference, the day after Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. He said the choice of a successor was the most important task of Berkshire's board, and he said he had informed the board of his views of the strengths and weaknesses of all four. He said the list of names could change over time. The seven-person Berkshire board, including his wife and daughter, has its only meeting of the year on Monday. Buffett, who has run Berkshire for almost 40 years, has no plan to retire, unless forced to by physical or mental incapacity. He has said before that running Berkshire would be split into two jobs after him; running the 60 or so operating businesses that make up Berkshire, and taking care of Berkshire's $80 billion investment portfolio. He has never named potential successors, but people familiar with the company have identified several candidates for the roles. They include: Ajit Jain, who runs a reinsurance unit; Lou Simpson, who looks after investments at car insurer GEICO, and Rich Santulli, the chief executive of Berkshire company NetJets. Buffett was not concerned about the health of his company should he leave it. "We could have a cardboard cut-out of me for most of the businesses -- they would go along fine." Buffett, currently worth more than $30 billion through his one-third ownership of Berkshire, said his fortune will be distributed by a foundation after his death. He said the foundation should donate 5 percent of his wealth each year, about $1.6 billion at recent valuations. He said the foundation may realize the cash by selling stock or from dividends paid by Berkshire. The company has not paid a dividend in Buffett's time in charge, but he said that might change if the company found there were no better ways to deploy capital. The foundation selling shares should not affect the price of Berkshire shares, according to Buffett, who said Bill Gates (News) selling stock for similar purposes had not affected the share price of Microsoft Corp.

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

Print the Article