Dive Brief:
- Warren Buffett said his decision to abstain from voting over a controversial pay package at Coca-Cola was born of a desire to avoid "war" and damaging the "social dynamics" on Coke's board.
- Buffett's comments came as he faced criticism at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway for failing to vote against the pay package, but criticizing it later. Buffett has a seat on Coke's board.
- The criticism comes after Berkshire Hathaway last year underperformed against Buffett's preferred metric for the first time in nearly five decades.
Dive Insight:
Facing these pointed questions from shareholders (and last year's underperformace), some may be questioning 83-year-old Buffett's ability to produce the returns he has in the past. A few years ago, some would find it unthinkable that Buffett would face criticism at his own meeting. But if this year's meeting made one thing clear, it's that Buffett is no longer seen as flawless.