这是由于巴菲特在他欣赏的人（也是继任人选之一）离开NetJets公司之后马上任命David Sokol担任NetJets的董事会主席和临时CEO后导致外界的推测，即Sokol成为巴菲特的继任人几乎是板上钉钉了。但是Sokol的反应很有趣，他认为巴菲特比他十年前开始和他共事的时候更加capable，所以他认为A:这种事情（指继任）20年内不会发生（巴菲特万岁！）；B:现在推测谁将继任是在浪费大家的时间。同时他也谦虚地说公司里比他更有资格和能力的人还多的是。

 

《滚雪球》的作者则根据自己对巴菲特的个性了解说巴菲特是那种不到最后关头不做决定的人，在此之前，他给各种可能性都保留机会。

 

伯克夏的接班人问题如同中国古代皇帝的选太子一样正变得越来越扑朔迷离，历代最后成功被选为太子的人都是比较会韬光养晦的，Sokol可千万别夺了巴菲特的光芒。

 

大家都知道，Sokol就是那个提出买比亚迪股份的始作俑者。

 

http://media.cnbc.com/j/CNBC/Sections/News_And_Analysis/_Blogs/Warren_Buffett_Watch/_DAILY%20POSTS/Graphics/071217_Sokol-David-MidAmericanCEO_Crop.standard.jpg

MidAmerican Energy Chairman David Sokol

The man who had already been widely seen as the leading candidate to be the "next" Warren Buffett has put a little more space between him and the rest of the pack, but probably doesn't have the job sewn up just yet.

 

Buffett selected David Sokol to be Chairman and interim CEO of NetJets after the resignation this week of the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary's founder.  That choice is being interpreted as an additional vote of confidence in Sokol's management abilities, making it even more likely the MidAmerican Energy Chairman will eventually succeed Buffett as Berkshire's CEO.

Well over a year ago, Barron's used its cover to proclaim Sokol the "Next Buffett," calling him the "most likely candidate to lead Berkshire Hathaway once the Great One departs."

Now, Barron's Andrew Bary, a longtime Buffett-watcher, says the NetJets appointment "seems to solidify Sokol's position as the likely successor to Buffett."  Bary notes that Sokol "has no known experience" in the fractional jet business, making his choice look like a "strong vote of confidence by Buffett."

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sokol's appontment, "even on a temporary basis, could be seen as another sign of Mr. Sokol's growing clout in the conglomerate and with Mr. Buffett."

Berkshire shareholder Thomas Russo tells Reuters, "David has been increasingly appearing as a person who might be a strong horse in the race for CEO. This certainly wouldn't be inconsistent with that direction."

Analyst Justin Fuller, posting on buffettologist.com, says it could be "yet another vote of confidence" for Sokol that would give him additional experience running another Berkshire unit, "which would seem to strengthen his qualifications."  But Fuller says Sokol may have been chosen simply due to a weak succession plan at NetJets that didn't put any qualified internal candidates in line to take over.

 

And Buffett biographer Alice Schroeder isn't jumping to any conclusions.  She tells Bloomberg, “You could view it as a creeping announcement of the successor. The direction he’s headed seems apparent, but I don’t think anybody should believe that this is an absolute decision that he’s made. Warren is somebody who always keeps his options open until the very last moment. That’s one of his great strengths.”

Sokol, whose MidAmerican Energy has been at the center of Berkshire's already hugely profitable investment in Chinese electric car maker BYD, has been playing down all the speculation for months.

In a live interview from Omaha on CNBC's Squawk Box with Becky Quick last May, Sokol told us no one has approached him from Berkshire about succeeding Buffett:

"The reality is there are a dozen or more executives more qualified than I am to succeed Warren, should that ever happen. Frankly, I've been working with Warren, fortunately, for ten years and I think he's every bit more capable today than he was ten years ago. So, A, I don't think it's going to happen in the next twenty years, and B, frankly, the speculation is kind of a waste of time."