Berkshire Hathaway shareholders have rejected a proposal that would have required annual updates on how the company is preparing to replace Warren Buffett.
The resolution submitted by the AFL-CIO attracted about 32,000 votes while 672,000 votes were cast against the idea. The labor union's Ken Maas says the group didn't want Berkshire to publicly identify the 81-year-old Buffett's successor. It just wanted an annual update on the planning.
Buffett says he doesn't see any need to create a formal report on succession planning because he talks about it in his annual letter to shareholders and in interviews. Plus, the subject regularly comes up at the annual meetings.
Buffett says Berkshire's board spends more time on succession planning than any other subject.
He says some of the deals he's made for Berkshire Hathaway might not be available to his successor one day, but that person will still make deals. Buffett said some of the deals he made during the financial crisis of 2008 might not be deals his successor could make because Goldman Sachs and General Electric both wanted his endorsement along with Berkshire's money.
Buffett says his successor will still be able to make big deals because Berkshire has nearly $40 billion cash on hand and is willing to invest large amounts quickly.
Buffett says deals like the Goldman and GE ones haven't been as important to Berkshire as investing in Coca-Cola stock or buying entire businesses such as Iscar metalworking and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.
