A top executive of Berkshire Hathaway who was believed to be on the inside track to one day succeed billionaire Warren Buffett as CEO has resigned suddenly.
Buffett said Wednesday that David Sokol's resignation letter, delivered by his assistant late Monday, came as a "total surprise." But the resignation letter arrived less than two weeks after Buffett learned about stock trades that Sokol made before Berkshire announced its $9 billion acquisition of chemical company Lubrizol.
Buffett said Sokol, who had been serving as chairman of Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy, NetJets and Johns Manville units, indicated that he wants to spend more time on philanthropy.
"As I have mentioned to you in the past, it is my goal to utilize the time remaining in my career to invest my family's resources in such a way as to create enduring equity value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests," Sokol wrote.
Buffett said twice before, most recently about two years ago, Sokol had spoken to him of resigning for similar reasons but Buffett and other board members convinced him to stay with the company. He accepted Sokol's resignation this time.
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Warren Buffett's press release: Warren E. Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Announces the Resignation of David L. Sokol
