Now, it’s not as if we’ve ever done frivolous speculation here on FT Alphaville. Plus, possibly the successor mystery is overblown: everyone knows Warren Buffett’s successor will have been at Berkshire Hathaway forever, that person will be loved by the board, and the whole thing is really about BRK’s ability to operate with enormous amounts of investor trust and goodwill (to go with its insurance goodwill, haha), etc.
But…
In his regular CNBC audience on Monday, Warren Buffett said that his successor (a mystery even to the successor, apparently) has been the board’s pick for at least a year.
Less than a year ago, Buffett praised Ajit Jain — his Reinsurance Group lieutenant and master of BRK’s biggest “float” — to the moon, and said the board would pick Jain in a heartbeat. So, like the FT’s Chris Adams, we’d suppose that’s a clue.
Jain also got top billing in this weekend’s annual letter, where Buffett again went into depth about how crucial float/insurance premiums are to Berkshire’s “outstanding economics”. Admittedly weighing against this is Jain’s age and the possibility that BRK needs a more “acquisitive” leader.
Oh, the whole thing’s very performative, isn’t it?
Anyway. We apologise in advance for what follows:
Charlie watches me, every time I’m near you
Whirling like a large reinsurance risk in my mind
You’re my life line, heir to my long lifetime
Answer to all bolt-ons I can find
Jain-y I want you come, come, come into my plans
Let me tell the wonder of all of you
Could it be Ajit now, now, now and hold on fast
Could this be all for Ajit, at last
Jain-y take BRK high upon a hillside
High up where the $34bn insurance float meets the sun
I could hide you build my world around you
Never reveal you till my life is done
Related links:
When you think you made a great purchase – Bronte Capital
Secrets and the Sage of Omaha – Dan McCrum, FT
Thanks for what, Warren? – FT Alphaville