Berkshire Weekend: Buffett on His Successor
Liz Claman of Fox Business Channel quotes or paraphrases the Berkshire chairman:
Question: Running Berkshire is very complex and complicated - give us some insight for your reluctance to bring in your successor to benefit from your training?
Buffett: The candidates we have for CEO are running businesses, doing things every day of an operating nature. And to sit around headquarters while I’m reading and on the phone and who knows what else- there wouldn’t be anything to do. We could meet every hour - but it would be a waste of talent and it would be ridiculous. I’d throw him the WSJ after I’m done reading it. These are people who are ready for the job right now - 100%. They know how to allocate capital. They will have to develop relationships with the shareholders, and other managers - but they know how to run businesses. They would do many things better than I would.