More News “I’ve got a commitment to stay involved with Berkshire as a lifelong thing,†Gates, 53, said in an interview scheduled to be
broadcast today. “We always have to think about what might happen and make sure is not just great now, but forever.†Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, has said the board’s most important job will be to replace him when he’s unable to perform his duties. He will host about 35,000 people on May 2 at Omaha’s Qwest Center arena for the annual shareholder meeting — an occasion where he typically fields questions about the succession plan. “It’s the most important issue there is,†Buffett said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at Berkshire’s headquarters last month. “There’s nothing more important. Nobody knows on any given day where I’ll be the next day.†Buffett built Berkshire over four decades from a failing manufacturer of men’s suit linings into a $140 billion company by investing in out-of-favor and buying dozens of businesses ranging from insurance and underwear to ice cream and utilities. Buffett says his ideal time horizon to hold a stock is “forever,†and he purchases operating companies for Berkshire with the promise to their owners never to sell them. ‘Intense and Real’ “When you’re sitting on the , you’re talking about sustainability of Berkshire Hathaway long-term, the issue of management down the road,†said Keough, 82. “The culture he’s built into Berkshire is intense and real and, I think, permanent.†Berkshire is the largest shareholder in Coca-Cola, and Buffett served on the soft-drink maker’s board with Keough.
‘Total Confidence’