Berkshire Hathaway vice-chair Ajit Jain more than halved his stake in Warren Buffett’s sprawling investment conglomerate, following Buffett’s move to cut his own ownership in the near-$1tn business.
Jain disclosed he disposed of 200 class A common shares on Monday worth $139mn, drastically reducing his holdings in the business. The sale leaves him with direct and indirect ownership of 166 shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, worth about $112mn.
The remaining shares are split between Jain and trusts for his spouse, children and non-profit, the Jain Foundation. In recent years, he has donated a number of his shares to his foundation, which is focused on finding a cure for dysferlinopathy, a rare muscular dystrophy disorder that his son suffers from. The foundation estimates the orphan disease afflicts as few as eight people out of every million.
Jain, 73, oversees Berkshire’s insurance operations, which form the backbone of the company and has provided it with the financial firepower to buy companies and invest in publicly traded stocks. Jain has long been one of Buffett’s top lieutenants, and in 2018 he was elevated to vice-chair and joined Berkshire’s board of directors in recognition of his importance to the wider conglomerate.
“Ajit has created tens of billions of value for Berkshire shareholders,” Buffett wrote to shareholders in 2017. “If there were ever to be another Ajit and you could swap me for him, don’t hesitate. Make the trade!”
Jain was long considered by Berkshire investors as among a handful of potential successors to Buffett. But in 2021, Buffett confirmed Greg Abel, a top executive who grew up in Berkshire’s energy business, would one day take over. He told CNBC last year that Jain “never wanted to run Berkshire”.
Jain joined Berkshire in 1986 from consultancy McKinsey and used the company’s balance sheet to make it an insurer of last resort, transforming the Omaha-based investment group in the process.
Jain has been one of Berkshire’s highest-paid employees, earning $20mn last year. His wealth is nonetheless dwarfed by Buffett’s, which is largely held in Berkshire shares.
Buffett has also been selling down his holdings of Berkshire shares, donating the proceeds to a handful of charities. Much of that stock has ended up in friendly hands — including his children’s foundations — limiting pressure Berkshire faces from outside shareholders.
Jain declined to comment.