Charles Munger, Warren Buffett’s long-standing business partner, has defended David Sokol even as the former senior Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) exec, who served as chairman of MidAmerican Holding Company and Johns Manville as well as Chairman and CEO of NetJets, remains under fire for buying shares of Lubrizo (LZ) less than two months before it was acquired for $9 billion by Mr. Buffett.
The revelation stunned an investment world that had held Buffett’s conglomerate as the standard for corporate integrity. It was also a shock to Berkshire watchers who thought of Sokol as the potential successor for Buffett
The scrutiny now facing Mr Sokol “was inevitable, because of the optics of the situation”, Munger told the Financial Times. “I don’t think he was trying to do anything immoral or take advantage of anyone. It was just a glitch.”
Mr. Sokol told CNBC last week that he did nothing wrong and that the Lubrizol trades did not trigger his resignation.
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