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Buffett Holdings Tie Gates To Darfur Crisis

Berkshire owns $3.3B stake in firm said to fund militia

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted May 4, 2007 1:57 PM CDT

(Newser) – A Berkshire Hathaway investment in a Sudanese oil company is posing thorny problems for the Gates Foundation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Warren Buffet's investment outfit is the largest independent shareholder in PetroChina, whose parent company the U.N. and U.S. say funds Sudan's janjaweed militia—a stark contrast to the foundation's mission.

Buffett's $31 billion gift last year has drawn him into the controversy over how the Gates Foundation—which itself has smaller stakes in several Sudan-based oil firms—invests the money it later donates. The situation has increased attention on "St. Warren," long seen as a moral leader in the investment industry; he is also a trustee of the Gates Foundation.

Investor Warren Buffett plays bridge with shareholders May 7, 2006, during the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Buffett usually attracts most of the spotlight when the holding company he built is in the news, leaving many pieces of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. hidden in the shadows. The company's...
Investor Warren Buffett plays bridge with shareholders May 7, 2006, during the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Buffett usually attracts most of the spotlight when the holding...   (Associated Press)
The convoy of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, unseen, pass by a Sudanese man riding a camel after visiting the Um Shalaya refugee camp south of the Darfur town of Al-Geneina, Sudan, Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The UNHCR chief was welcomed with traditional songs by Chadian refugees...
The convoy of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, unseen, pass by a Sudanese man riding a camel after visiting the Um Shalaya refugee camp south of the Darfur town of Al-Geneina,...   (Associated Press)
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Berkshire Hathaway Company Holds 2003 Annual Shareholders Meeting
Berkshire Hathaway Company Holds 2003 Annual Shareholders Meeting   (Getty Images)
Warren Buffett To Give Most Of His Fortune To Gates Charity
Warren Buffett To Give Most Of His Fortune To Gates Charity   (Getty Images)
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