Image via Wikipedia
In an unexpected move, David Sokol, Warren Buffett’s presumed successor as Berkshire Hathaway(BRKB) CEO, has resigned from all of his positions at the company. Buffett made the announcement in a press release he identifies as “unusual”.
Sokol, who apparently has attempted to resign before, resigned by letter two days ago, citing his desire to create “enduring equity value” for his descendants and philanthropic issues. The second part of the letter reveals that this desire to create wealth may have led Sokol to take actions which, while seemingly legal, are quite unseemly.
Buffett revealed that Sokol, who it was reported last week was the impetus for Berkshire’s recent agreement to purchase Lubrizol(LZ), had himself purchased nearly 100,000 shares of Lubriol in January, shortly before proposing the deal to Buffett.
It remains to be seen what Sokol will do next, and there is no clear succession path at Berkshire. Berkshire is down over 2% in after hours trading in response to the announcement.
Disclosure: The author owns shares in BRK-B
