In response to a story that claimed his partner Warren Buffett occasionally traded equities in his personal account before the company made moves in the same securities, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger pushed back.
In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, Munger, 99, said that he didn’t think Buffett was leading Berkshire’s own trades, citing his charity contributions and the fact that the majority of his fortune is invested in Berkshire stock.
“I don’t believe there’s even a remote possibility that Warren Buffett is pursuing a really immoral course of action in order to enrich himself. His concerns are primarily with Berkshire and less with his personal finances. He donated all of his personal funds. Not only doesn’t he lack anymore.
ProPublica revealed in a piece dated Nov. 9 that Buffett personally traded a stock three times, either in the same quarter or just before Berkshire did. ProPublica attributed the information to IRS data leaks. No independent source has verified the timing of these deals According to the ProPublica study, Buffett sold personal stocks for at least $466 million between 2000 and 2019. That represents a very minor portion of Buffett’s total wealth. According to an August securities report, Buffett has a position worth over $100 billion, holding more than 200,000 Berkshire Hathaway A shares.
