Legendary investor Warren Buffett has no interest in following modern talking points about diversity and social responsibility—even as a business leader who tends to take up some progressive points of view.
Key Details
- The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting will be on May 6, 2023, in Omaha, Nebraska, for its shareholders.
- CEO Buffett scoffs at many of the core corporate orthodoxies of modern business, leaving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concerns off the table.
- Six diversity and climate proposals are on the table this year, and Buffett has reportedly asked his shareholders to vote against all of them.
- He remains steadfast in his belief that, while addressing discrimination and climate change is important, corporations ultimately answer to shareholders.
- His disinterest in tackling these issues as other business leaders do has resulted in heavy scrutiny against Berkshire Hathaway and proposals to have him removed as CEO.
Why It’s News
As we previously reported, issues like ESG policies and DEI initiatives have become hotly debated subjects—both inside and outside of corporate boardrooms. Leading politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have built reputations off of attacking “woke capitalism,” while business leaders like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink defend social responsibility as a valuable tool for business leadership.
Buffett—the 92-year-old Omaha investor born during the Great Depression—is not a conservative. He touts the importance of paying his fair share of taxes and endorsed Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their presidential runs. However, he has continually shown antipathy toward modern efforts to push ESG and DEI in the corporate world, financial journalist Roger Lowenstein notes.
Berkshire Hathaway has tabled numerous diversity and climate policy proposals at annual shareholder meetings. In all instances, he has flatly rejected them—including four at the 2022 meeting, most notably one proposal for Buffett to step down as CEO. He dismisses these policies for implausible deadlines created by “unrealistic visionaries desiring an instantly new world.”
Notable Quote
“Mr. Buffett is having none of it. He is socially conscious and, over the years, has expressed concerns on topics as varied as inflation and nuclear proliferation. But he is dismissive of social governance warriors seeking to hijack the corporate mission,” says Lowenstein.
