Berkshire’s vice-chair just cut his stake in Buffett’s company

Ajit Jain reduces his stake in Berkshire Hathaway by $139 million.

Ajit Jain, the vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway and the head of its insurance operations, cashed out big from the company, selling over half his stake in Warren Buffett’s empire.

Jain sold 200 Class A shares at an average price of $695,418 per share — around $139 million total— on Monday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This leaves Jain with $112 million in remaining shares, per the SEC filing. He holds 61 shares directly, while his family trusts hold 55 shares. His nonprofit, the Jain Foundation, dedicated to researching a cure for a rare form of muscular dystrophy that affects Jain’s son, has another 50 shares.

The move might hint at Jain’s belief that the company is “being fully valued,” David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland, told CNBC.

Bill Stone, the chief investment officer of wealth advisor Glenview Trust, told CNBC that he doesn’t foresee the company making significant share buybacks at this price point.

Jain, who joined Berkshire in 1986, played a pivotal role in the company’s success, especially in its insurance and reinsurance operations, and he became vice-chair in 2018.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, praised Jain in 2017 for creating “tens of billions of value for Berkshire shareholders” and even told shareholders that if they found someone with Jain’s financial acumen, they shouldn’t hesitate to swap Buffett for him.

He’s also been one of Berkshire’s highest-paid executives, earning $19 million last year alone, per a company filing.

Berkshire investors once eyed Jain as a potential heir to Warren Buffett’s empire. However, Buffett told CNBC in 2021 that Greg Abel, another top executive from Berkshire’s energy division, would eventually take the reins.

Buffett also said that Jain never expressed interest in leading the company, CNBC reported Thursday.

This sale comes as Berkshire Hathaway’s stock has soared in recent months, briefly surpassing a market capitalization of $1 trillion at the end of August. Jain’s sale took place just five days after Berkshire’s share price hit a peak of over $727,000, Reuters reported Friday.

Berkshire Hathaway and Jain did not respond to requests for comments sent by B-17 outside office hours.