As the affair du Sokol degenerates into an exercise of legal distancing and increasingly sharp mudslinging, one of the preeminent experts on Berkshire Hathaway and its legendary founder dropped by Breakout to explain the inexplicable behavior and reaction from Warren Buffett.
''David Sokol was his hand-picked heir apparent,'' author and Bloomberg columnist Alice Schroeder said, adding that "Warren Buffett accepted his resignation because he didn't want to look dumb" for overlooking such a serious character flaw in the man who was so close to inheriting the kingdom he has spent his life building.
Why else, she argues, would it take Berkshire and Buffett a month to admit what most of us saw the day Sokol's Lubrizol jackpot was disclosed? But, oh, how things have changed in the four weeks from that original bizarre Buffett press release, with its "nothing unlawful has been done... not a factor in his resignation... I have held back nothing...This is my final statement on the matter'' attempt.
Today we have not only seen the Berkshire audit committee say, in essence, that the Sage of Omaha got duped, but Sokol fired back by saying he disclosed his Lubrizol purchases to the octogenarian chairman not once but twice.
In the short term, most agree that Warren Buffett will be warmly feted by throngs of loyalists who trek to his annual meeting cum love fest this weekend, and that his tack and atonement will continue to evolve. But in the long term, will Buffett be able to bounce back from this scandal?
Alice Schroeder, like the rest of us, will continue to track the developments with the expectation that we've barely scratched the surface of this situation yet.
Let us know what you think about this matter. Drop us a line at Breakoutcrew@yahoo.com.
Alice Schroeder is the author of, "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" and a columnist for Bloomberg News. She also keeps a daily journal on Warren Buffet on her website.
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