Warren Buffett is Morningstar's CEO of 2008
As a tumultous year ends, Morningstar has decided to stick their neck out when naming Warren Buffett as CEO of the year – 2008. While it is difficult to disagree with this choice, the year gone by has been an extremely challenging one for financial markets worldwide, and probably been the closest that people have actually come close to questioning if the “Oracle of Omaha” had finally begun to slip.
The reason for such perceptions are well known; mainly his exposure to derivatives (which he refers to as financial weapons of mass destruction), his large stakes in GE and Goldman Sachs and his call to buy stocks, not to mention the performance of Berkshire Hathaway in 2008.
Paul Larson of Morningstar writes,
Beyond creating a company that treats common shareholders with the utmost fairness and respect, one needs only to look at the long-term value created at Berkshire Hathaway to see why Buffett deserves the award. Since taking the helm of the sleepy textile business 44 years ago and turning it into arguably the strongest conglomerate on the planet, Buffett and his managers have grown the book value per A share from $19 to just over $77,500, as of Sept. 30. This translates to a 20.7% annualized increase in book value since 1965, versus a mere 9.6% annualized return in the S&P 500 (including dividends) over the same time period.
He also goes on to say, “While many corporate managers may say they are positive and careful stewards of owner capital, few overtly view common shareholders for what they really are–partners. For being a successful managing partner, both in principle as well as in practice, Warren Buffett is our 2008 CEO of the year.“
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