Sokol Violated Berkshire Ethics

[gunfyter]

Run on the bank.

Not to minimize the loss. But look at Goldman Sachs ... they should have had their doors nailed shut but were bailed out in part by Berkshire. Now look at their profits!

So a lot of people and businesses lost money because of the financial crisis.

It kind of reminds me of the movie, Its a Wonderful Life.

NetJets is like the Building and Loan. Santulli is like Jimmy Stewart (A founder of Executive Jet). A run on the bank. People line up to cash out their assets (fractional shares). Now we all live in Potterville (Sokolville).

But in the movie Jimmy Stewart comes back to run the bank! Will Santulli?

 

[OPECJet]

All these guys have it right. Someone was at the core of a huge sham that sent Santulli to the street, most likely as part of a larger power play to get Buffett's chair. I'm just a stupid pilot, but I don't see any way possible that Sokol could have orchestrated the monetary turn around at NJA without some seriously creative accounting. I'll also put a steak dinner on it that Santulli was spending money like a drunk in a liquor store because he could. Without BH credit he'd have been tighter than a clam. We'd probably have been furloughed in the end, but we'd have a company to come back to, and you guys still on the property would have better security. As it stands now, Sokol blew a huge hole in the hull that isn't getting patched anytime soon.

The only positive side is that Sokol has such a mark on him to the point that few if any serious future positions will be open to him. IF the Feds really go after him, maybe he'll be taking our orders at the Omaha McDonalds after he gets out of the pokey. One can dream anyway....

 

[ProFracPilot]

Fun fact: FlOps was going in the tank until "their" Italian regained control.

 

[gret]

NJA lost money in the 1st qtr...

 

[LAZYB]

NJA lost money in the 1st qtr...

Partially Voodoo economics...

 

[kf4amu]

Not to minimize the loss. But look at Goldman Sachs ... they should have had their doors nailed shut but were bailed out in part by Berkshire. Now look at their profits!

GS was not bailed out.

1. They accepted Berkshire money on very disadvantaged terms after Buffett did not acquiesce to the terms they wanted over many months. Once again, Warren shows that patience is a virtue.

2. The AIG bailout did not affect GS directly because GS had insured their exposure to AIG through another insurance company and would have been paid whether AIG was saved or not. The governments AIG bailout did however directly affect that 3rd party who was on the other side of the GS insurance contract, they saved 20 billion dollars since AIG did not default.

3. The TARP money was forced down GS's throats. Read what happened in the meeting with the 8-9 big bank CEO's and Paulson. He had a 1 page contract for them to sign before they left and they did not have a choice. Paulson verbally threatened them with negative future regulator decisions if they did not accept the TARP funds as a show of unity.

GS was the strongest of the banks and did not need a bailout. They raised private funds in the middle of the crisis, and had their exposure hedged in multiple ways.

 

[Helmsalee]

It sounds like they made a profit, but less than last year.

 

[gunfyter]

Report said we made $55M less than in 2010. I don't think we made $55M in the same period of 2010. So I think we either lost a few million or essentially made Zero.

They never are very straight forward with these reports.

 

[rajflyboy]

Without RTS Netjets would not be around.

He is the one that started this business and he kept it going. I would not come out and blame him for the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009 and the "Creative Accounting" that has happened ever since.

 

[Semore Butts]

He's part of the reason several of us are out on the street.

He's the reason you were even hired in the first place.

(Hiring based on projected aircraft deliveries?)

Despite his spending, I think RTS was more a victim of the economy effecting many of our owners.
(Which of course is mixed in there with the "Berny Madoff" debacle)

I have heard so many variations I just don't know what to believe. I do hope we get some leadership, and the sooner the better.