David Sokol, long considered by outsiders to be the most likely candidate to succeed Warren Buffett, resigned from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. after purchasing shares of a company he suggested Mr. Buffett buy.

一直被外界认为是沃伦·巴菲特头号接班人的大卫·索科尔从伯克希尔·晗撒韦公司辞职，此前索科尔买了他建议巴菲特收购的一家公司的股票。

Mr. Buffett, Berkshire's chief executive and chairman, said in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Sokol had told him he owned shares in the chemical company, Lubrizol Corp., when they first discussed the deal in January. Mr. Buffett said "neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful" and weren't a factor in his decision to resign.

伯克希尔首席执行长兼董事长巴菲特周三发表声明说，今年1月他们最开始讨论收购交易时，索科尔对巴菲特说过他自己持有路博润公司的股票。巴菲特说，大卫和我都没觉得他买路博润股票有任何违法的地方，这不是他决定辞职的原因。

Instead , Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol wrote in a letter of resignation on March 28 that he wanted to "invest my family's resources in such a way as to create enduring equity¹ value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests."

相反，巴菲特说，索科尔在3月 28日的辞职信中说，他希望用家族资源进行投资的方式能够创造持久的股权价值，并创建一家能够给他的后代提供机会的企业，为他的慈善事业提供资金。

Mr. Sokol purchased 2 ,300 shares of Lubrizol on Dec.14, which he then sold on Dec. 21, Mr. Buffett said. He then bought 96,060 shares in early January with an order to pay no more than $104 a share; Berkshire said March 14 that it had agreed to acquire Lubrjzol for $9 billion, or $135 a share.

巴菲特称，在12月14日，索科尔买了 2300股路博润股票，接着在12月21日卖掉了。之后，索科尔又在今年1月初买了96060股，买盘价格不到每股104美元。伯克希尔3月14日说，已经同意斥资90亿美元收购路博润，相当于每股135美元。

"Dave's purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea," Mr. Buffett wrote in the statement. Mr. Buffett said he learned of the extent of the stock purchases shortly before beginning a trip to Asia on March 19.

巴菲特在声明中说，大卫买人路博润股票是在他和我讨论收购事宜之前，他当时并不知道我对他的建议可能有什么反应。巴菲特说，他是在3月19日亚洲之行前不久得知买进股票的规模的。

The revelations throw into question Mr. Buffett's carefully crafted succession plan, one of America's most widely watched boardroom dramas. Berkshire has said it has identified four executives at the company who could replace him. Mr. Sokol has long been considered high on that short list.

这一披露令巴菲特精心制定的接班计划陷入不确定。巴菲特的接班计划是美国最受关注的戏剧性公司事件之一。伯克希尔一直说，在公司内部确定了四位有望接替巴菲特的高管。索科尔一直被视为是四人之中极有希望的人选。

The incident is also a potential black eye for Mr. Buffett, 80, who emphasizes character and integrity in his manager choices and who himself is known for his ethics². Shares of the conglomerate³, one of the nation's biggest companies, declined in after-hours trading.

此事对80岁的巴菲特也可能是沉重一击。巴菲特在选择管理人士时强调人品和正直。他本人就以极高的操守而知名。美国最大的公司之一伯克希尔的股价在盘后交易中大幅下跌。

A regulatory filing detailing the Lubrizol purchase indicated last week that Mr. Sokol identified Lubrizol as a potential acquisition and took the lead in early negotiations⁴ to buy the company. Mr. Sokol plucked Lubrizol from a list of 18 chemical companies that bankers at Citigroup Global Markets had compiled in December 2010 as possible acquisitions at Mr. Sokol's request, according to the filing.

一份上周提交给监管机构的备案文件详细叙述了收购路博润的交易。文件显示，索科尔确定路博润是一个可能的收购目标，并牵头初步收购谈判。据备案文件说，索科尔从一份包括18家化学公司的名单中选中了路博润，这份名单是花旗环球金融有限公司的银行家们在2010年12月按照索科尔的要求编制的一份潜在收购项目名单。

Mr. Sokol met with Lubrizol's chief executive, James Hambrick, in January to discuss the corporate⁵ culture at the two companies, and told him a Berkshire takeover offer would be contingent⁶ on Mr. Hambrick's agreeing to stay on as CEO. It was after Mr. Hambrick and his board had agreed to move forward with takeover talks that Mr. Buffett took the lead, the filing said.

今年1月，索科尔与路博润首席执行长詹姆斯·汉布里克会面讨论了两家公司的公司文化，并告诉他伯克希尔提出的收购要约，将根据他是否同意继续留任首席执行长而定。备案文件中称，在汉布里克及路博润董事会同意进行收购谈判之后，巴菲特才开始牵头。

Mr. Sokol "knew he would have no voice in Berkshire's decision once he suggested the idea; it would be up to me and (Berkshire Vice⁷ Chairman) Charlie Munger, subject to ratification⁸ by the Berkshire Board of which Dave is not a member," Mr. Buffett said in the statement.

巴菲特在声明中说，索科尔知道一旦他提出收购建议，自己就左右不了伯克希尔的决定了，一切都由我和查理·芒格(伯克希尔副董事长)将说了算，并且需获得伯克希尔董事会的批准，可大卫不是此董事会成员。

"As late as January 24, I sent Dave a short note indicating my skepticism about making an offer for Lubrizol and my preference for another substantial acquisition for which MidAmerican had made a bid. Only after Dave reported on the January 25 dinner conversation with James Hambrick did I get interested in the acquisition of Lubrizol," Mr. Buffett wrote.

巴菲特说，1月14日，我还给大卫发了一张便条，说明我对收购要约的质疑，以及我更倾向于收购另外一家有价值的公司，中美能源控股公司已经对该公司提出了收购要约。在昕取了大卫有关1月 25日他与汉布里克晚餐谈话的汇报后，我才对收购路搏润产生了兴趣。

Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol had tried two other times in recent years to resign. Mr. Sokol had been chairman of Berkshire's MidAmerican utility operations and chairman and CEO of its NetJets fractional plane business.

巴菲特说，近年来，索科尔还有两次曾经试图辞职。索科尔辞职前担任伯克希尔旗下公共事业公司中美能源控股公司董事长，并且是提供部分所有权飞机的 Netlets航空公司的董事长兼首席执行长。

In his statement Wednesday, Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol's "contributions have been extraordinary," citing his work at MidAmerican and NetJets, which he described as "an operation that was destined⁹ for bankruptcy¹⁰, absent Berkshire's deep pockets." Greg Abel, the chief executive of MidAmerican Holding Co., will become its chairman, Mr. Buffett said. Jordan Hansell, president of NetJets, will become its chairman and CEO.

巴菲特在周三的声明中说，索科尔做出了非凡的贡献，并以他在中美和Neùets的工作为例，巴菲特说如果没有伯克希尔雄厚资金的支持，Netlets曾注定要破产。巴菲特说，中美能源控股公司首席执行长格雷格·亚伯将兼任董事长。 Netle恼总裁乔丹·汉塞尔将担任董事长兼首席执行长。

Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares fell sharply in after -hours trade after the announcement.

伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司B股股价在消息宣布后的盘后交易中大跌。