China Fund News Amman
Seeing his old partner Buffett being questioned, centenarian Charlie Munger burst into foul language!
Earlier this month, ProPublica, a non-profit investigative media in the United States, issued an article questioning the fact that "Buffett's personal stock account traded the same stock at a similar time as Berkshire," sparking public opinion controversy.
Although neither Buffett nor Berkshire responded to this matter, Charlie Munger made his first public response on a program Thursday morning Eastern Time.
Let's take a look at the details together:
Buffett is questioned about insider trading
In early November, ProPublica published on its official website 'How Warren Buffett used Berkshire's buying and selling information for personal trading'.
This media claim that they extracted Buffett's personal trading records from "leaked US Internal Revenue Service data", stating that the "God of Stocks" reported at least $466 million in personal account stock sales between 2000 and 2019.
According to reports, there are a total of three publicly listed transactions:
1. On April 24, 2009, just four days after the publication of Buffett's solo interview with Wells Fargo Bank in Fortune magazine, his personal account sold $20 million worth of Wells Fargo Bank stocks, which had always been a long-term heavy stake in Berkshire.
2. In August 2009, Buffett sold nearly $25 million of Wal Mart stock in his personal account, while Berkshire's Wal Mart position almost doubled in the same quarter.
3. In October 2012, Buffett's personal account sold $35 million in Johnson&Johnson shares over several trading days, similar to the time Berkshire disclosed the sale of Johnson&Johnson shares.
This media pointed out that Buffett has repeatedly stated in public that his personal investment portfolio is separate from the company's holdings.
I can't buy the stocks that Berkshire is buying, "Buffett said. He also stated on another occasion that doing so would create a "conflict of interest". For example, if he buys stocks before Berkshire, he may enjoy a better stock price than shareholders, as Berkshire's large stock purchases often raise the price.
In February 2012, Buffett was asked on financial media CNBC why, despite his extreme admiration for JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire did not buy the company's stock? Buffett said, "Let me tell you a little secret. I hold some stocks of JPMorgan Chase. Since Berkshire does not own any shares in this giant bank, I can purchase it without any potential conflict issues
This question appeared for the second time at the Berkshire shareholders' meeting that year, and Buffett gave almost the same answer. He said he preferred Wells Fargo, but Berkshire was "buying stocks from Wells Fargo, which led me to withdraw from buying Wells Fargo," so he purchased stocks from JPMorgan Chase Bank for his personal account because it was his second choice.
This is one of the problems I encountered, "Buffett said." I can't buy what Berkshire is buying. I have some money, so I bought my second choice or small company
But obviously, data from the US Internal Revenue Service suggests that Buffett may have lied.
Munger's response: This is impossible
According to the Associated Press, in a program aired on Thursday morning, Becky Quick, who has long hosted Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting, revealed that she had discussed this topic with Munger during her preparation for Charlie Munger's 100th birthday earlier this week and broadcasted Munger's interview video.
Munger said, "I firmly believe there is no possibility that Warren Buffett will do extremely bad things to make money for himself. He is more concerned about Berkshire's development than his wealth. He has donated all his money and even no longer owns it
Munger became more and more excited as he spoke, emphasizing that Buffett had donated all his money and had done so. The gang also said that he XXXX used Berkshire to make money for himself. Munger also referred to that article as "another absurd statement against Berkshire".
