David Sokol a 55 year old widely regarded as being on the short list to replace 80 year old Warren Buffett the world's second wealthiest man in his capacity running the hugely successful Berkshire Hathaway when Buffet retires has resigned as chairman of several Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries.
Buffett issues a press release and referred to the decision as a total surprise. The full press release and further info can be seen by clicking here
Sokol told CNBC on Thursday that working for his "mentor" Buffett was "one of the best experiences of my life," but that he wanted to invest his family's money and "build a mini-Berkshire, if you will."
"I'd like to do what [Buffett] did in 1965: invest my own money," he said.
In 2009, Buffett handpicked Sokol to turn around the failing Berkshire subsidiary NetJets, a private jet operator. At first, Sokol got flak from internal NetJets managers for deep layoffs. But within a few months, he reduced the company's debt from $1.9 billion to $1.3 billion. He also cut about $100 million in costs, enough to make the operation profitable.
David Sokol
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