Warren Buffett could use a root beer float right about now - the investment guru is feeling the heat from 40,000 shareholders who may want to criticise him, question whether he has lost touch or even push him to retire. Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are descending on Omaha for the conglomerate's annual meeting, known as "The Woodstock for Capitalism."
News coverage of the event often focuses on Buffett being a regular guy in his hometown, eating at favoured local spots like Piccolo's, where he extols the virtue of the floats. This year, however, there appears to be only one topic of conversation in town - Berkshire's extraordinary claims about the behaviour of one of its top executives.
While the Berkshire board's scathing condemnation of former Buffett lieutenant David Sokol on Wednesday may have been crafted as an attempt to exonerate Buffett himself, it has left plenty of open questions. Buffett's public wants answers to them on Saturday.
"I think he's dotted his I's and crossed his T's from a legal standpoint, but not much more than that. That's sad for Warren Buffett, because I think he believes the statements that he makes," said Paul Argenti, professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
"He's the best and I expect the best from him, and I think that's why everyone is so disappointed," said Argenti, who has had Buffett appear in his classes in the past. Berkshire's actively traded shares were up 0.2 percent at $83.44 on Friday afternoon. The stock has been under pressure ever since the Sokol episode broke in late March, falling 2.3 percent as the S&P 500 gained 2.7 percent in the same period. One large Berkshire investor said it was fair for Buffett to be put on the spot with tough questions but that the Sokol scandal would pass in time.
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