Warren Buffett to Fired CEO: Boat Party Didn't Sink You

Thanks to Will for passing this along. [Update: The letter is posted HERE.]

Warren Buffett says he didn't fire Benjamin Moore's CEO because he spent company money on a yacht party in Bermuda for top executives at the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

Dow Jones reports that in a June 21 letter he sent to Denis Abrams, Buffett wrote:

"The recent story coupling a top management convocation on a boat with the decision to make a management change at Benjamin Moore is completely false."

In fact, Buffett told the fired CEO that he would have had "no objection at all" to the party if he'd been asked beforehand and "there was no reason" to let him know about the event in advance.

Instead, Buffett writes, the decision was "based on a differing view about distribution channels and brand strategy... It was a decision of key importance and therefore one I needed to make."