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Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, attends the 2019 annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 3, 2019.
Johannes EISELE | Getty
Warren Buffett reportedly traded shares in his personal account of his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway was buying and selling, a practice he himself considered a conflict of interest in the past, ProPublica said Thursday.
The nonprofit news outlet, citing a leak of confidential IRS data, alleged that the “Oracle of Omaha” traded shares in his private account in the same quarter or quarter before Berkshire bought or sold the same shares, including shares of Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson And Walmart. The examples given date from 2009 and 2012.
Berkshire did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment outside of normal business hours.
The 93-year-old investor has been open about the fact that he has a personal account separate from his company’s $300 billion stock portfolio. Berkshire must disclose its assets to the Securities and Exchange Commission quarterly, but the assets in Buffett’s account and their size are largely a mystery.
Buffett has said publicly that he tries to avoid investments Berkshire is involved in when it comes to his personal account.
“I try to stay away from anything that might conflict with Berkshire,” Buffett said at the company’s 2016 annual meeting.
Berkshire Hathaway A shares
Berkshire Hathaway just reported a 40% increase in third-quarter operating profit, with Buffett still at the helm. The conglomerate has amassed a record amount of cash of $157 billion and has sold a total of the shares it owns. Shares hit a record in September.
– Click here to read the ProPublica story.
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