Buffet throws in three names on likely successor 
2019-05-06
Billionaire Warren Buffett gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire but did not completely reveal his hand.
The world’s third-richest man also said at his company’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire’s voluminous portfolio.
Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions about who would succeed him.
Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Abel, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67, both promoted last year to the board of directors, would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer questions.
“You could not have two better-operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It’s just fantastic what they’ve accomplished,” said Buffett, who is known as the “Oracle of Omaha.”
For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.
Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he leads. 
But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?
“One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions,” said Munger. “But I don’t want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you’re going to have to endure us.”
Buffett’s departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire’s presence at the helm.
Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.
Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.
Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off “close to a miracle” by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today.
Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt “ashamed” for missing the boat on Google. “We just sat there sucking our thumbs,” he said. “We screwed up.”
But there’s no indication of a strategy shift to investing more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a US$40-billion stake in Apple.
Berkshire announced a net profit of US$21.66 billion — a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.
The shareholder meeting, dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists,” draws thousands to the small city of Omaha.
Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater. Many Chinese delegations also made the trip.
