US billionaire investor Warren Buffett has faced uncomfortable questions from shareholders in his company about the resignation of a top executive.
David Sokol had violated Berkshire Hathaway's insider-trading rules, he told the meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mr Sokol traded shares worth $10m (£5.9m) in Lubrizol before convincing Mr Buffett to mount a $9bn takeover.
Mr Buffett admitted he had "made a big mistake" by not pressing Mr Sokol when he mentioned the investment in passing.
Berkshire Hathaway earlier said its first quarter profits had dropped more than half - a fall of more than $2bn - partly because of insurance losses associated with the natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand.
The annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway is usually a celebration of the company's investment successes, but the Sokol affair made the atmosphere less pleasant this year, correspondents say.
'Straight as an arrow'Mr Sokol, who ran an energy utility for the company, had been widely tipped to succeed Mr Buffett, 80, as chief executive before his resignation last month, when it emerged he had bought Lubrizol shares in January. [Read More]
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