Berkshire Hathaway reelected its 14-person board at the annual meeting.
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders rejected six proposals on environmental and social issues at the annual meeting held on May 4, 2024.
Flaherty questioned the character of Bill Gates during last year's meeting, who is a former Berkshire Hathaway board member and one of Buffett's best friends.
One presenter, Peter Flaherty with the National Legal and Policy Center, was cut off during last year's meeting and arrested for trespassing despite charges being dropped later. He has filed a lawsuit against Berkshire Hathaway.
Proposals included disclosures regarding climate change, diversity and inclusion, safety at BNSF railroad unit, reporting on business operations that depend on Chinese government, and creating a board-level committee to monitor safety at BNSF.
Warren Buffett's special shares give him a 31% voting stake in Berkshire Hathaway making it difficult to adopt proposals he opposes.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc held its annual meeting on May 4, 2024, where shareholders rejected six proposals addressing environmental and social policy issues. The proposals included disclosures regarding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, safety at the BNSF railroad unit, reporting on business operations that depend on the Chinese government, and creating a board-level committee to monitor safety at BNSF. Warren Buffett owns special shares giving him a 31% voting stake in Berkshire Hathaway, making it difficult to adopt proposals he opposes.
Despite the rejection of these proposals, Berkshire Hathaway is facing a lawsuit over how one presenter was treated during last year's meeting. Peter Flaherty with the National Legal and Policy Center was cut off in the middle of his presentation and arrested for trespassing, despite charges being dropped later. Flaherty decided to sue to stand up for any shareholder who wants to bring a proposal.
During last year's meeting, Flaherty questioned the character of Bill Gates, a former Berkshire Hathaway board member and one of Buffett's best friends. Berkshire Hathaway has not yet responded to the federal lawsuit filed against them regarding Flaherty's treatment during the meeting.
The annual meeting also saw Berkshire Hathaway reelecting its 14-person board.
Warren Buffett's company rejected Peter Flaherty's proposal during the annual meeting last year.
,
Flaherty questioned the character of Bill Gates, a former Berkshire board member and one of Buffett's best friends.
Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to the federal lawsuit filed against them regarding Flaherty's treatment during the meeting last year.
Accuracy
]Shareholder proposals at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting are usually uneventful.[
Warren Buffett and the company are facing a lawsuit over the way Peter Flaherty was treated during his presentation last year.
Flaherty questioned the character of one of Buffett's best friends and a former Berkshire board member, Bill Gates.
Deception
(30%)
The article does not clearly disclose sources and omits information about the content of the proposals that were rejected. It also implies that Peter Flaherty had trouble at previous meetings when in fact he never had any issues until last year's incident. Additionally, it sensationalizes Flaherty's treatment by focusing on his arrest, while not mentioning that charges were dropped.
The article does not clearly disclose sources and omits information about the content of the proposals that were rejected.
The article sensationalizes Flaherty's treatment by focusing on his arrest, while not mentioning that charges were dropped.
It also implies that Peter Flaherty had trouble at previous meetings when in fact he never had any issues until last year's incident.
Fallacies
(90%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when it mentions Buffett's close association with Bill Gates and the potential harm it could cause Berkshire's reputation due to reports of Gates' association with Jeffrey Epstein. However, no actual evidence is presented in the article to support this claim. Additionally, there are dichotomous depictions when Flaherty is described as having never had trouble at meetings he has presented at since 2005, including Berkshire's 2022 meeting, except for last year's incident. This creates a false dichotomy between Flaherty's past experiences and last year's incident.
]Peter Flaherty with the National Legal and Policy Center came back with another proposal this year on a different subject even after he was cut off in the middle of his presentation last year and arrested for trespassing. The charges were later dropped, but Flaherty decided to sue because of the way he was treated to stand up for any shareholder who wants to bring a proposal.[
Peter Flaherty was treated unfairly during last year's meeting and arrested for trespassing despite charges being dropped.
,
Accuracy
][The company and Warren Buffett are facing a lawsuit over the way one presenter was treated last year.][
Last year, Flaherty questioned the character of one of Buffett’s best friends and a former Berkshire board member, Bill Gates.
Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to the federal lawsuit filed on Friday and it wasn’t mentioned during Saturday’s meeting.
Flaherty was allowed to make his case that Berkshire should produce a report on the risks of doing business in China before the proposal was rejected.
Deception
(30%)
The article does not disclose sources and only provides one-sided reporting. The author quotes a proposal made by Peter Flaherty and describes the events that occurred during the meeting but does not mention any counterarguments or responses from Berkshire Hathaway or Warren Buffett. This creates an imbalance in the reporting as readers are only exposed to Flaherty's perspective and not the company's response. Additionally, there is a lack of context regarding Flaherty's history of presentations at Berkshire meetings, which could provide more insight into why he was cut off and arrested. The article also includes a section on other rejected proposals that implies they were unreasonable by stating how few votes they received and the company's opposition to them, without providing further details or context.
OMAHA, Neb. — Shareholder proposals are usually uneventful at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting. But Warren Buffett and the company are now facing a lawsuit over the way one presenter was treated last year.
Peter Flaherty with the National Legal and Policy Center came back with another proposal this year on a different subject even after he was cut off in the middle of his presentation last year and arrested for trespassing. The charges were later dropped, but Flaherty decided to sue because of the way he was treated to stand up for any shareholder who wants to bring a proposal.
Buffett has donated billions to Gates’ foundation over the years and plans to give him the bulk of his fortune to distribute.
