Warren Buffett: No tension with 3G over Kraft Heinz troubles
| Buffett denies tension with 3G over troubled Kraft-Heinz deal Warren Buffett says there's no tension between him and 3G Capital, Berkshire's partner in the troubled 2013 Kraft Heinz deal.
In a telephone interview with CNBC's Becky Quick, Buffett called 3G co-founder Jorge Paulo Lemann a "good friend."
Buffett pointed out that Lemann attended May's Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Buffett also plans to see him in July at Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley conference, and in August for Lemann's 80th birthday party. On Monday's "Squawk on the Street," CNBC's David Faber reported there is "significant tension" between Buffett and 3G, saying he had heard about it from "numerous people."
"They are not on good terms any longer," partly due to Kraft Heinz's failed $143 billion bid for Unilever in 2017 and its recent accounting problems.  After Buffett's denial Tuesday, Faber said, "I stand by the reporting."
Kraft Heinz shares are down 51% over the past year due to lower valuations for some of its key brands, dropping Berkshire's 27% stake in the company from almost $30 billion two years ago to just over $10 billion now. Some of that has been defrayed by the dividends Berkshire gets from Kraft Heinz.
Buffett absent in billionaires' call for wealth tax Warren Buffett wasn't one of 19 billionaires and ultra millionaires who signed a public letter calling for the 2020 presidential candidates to support a "moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest 1/10 of the richest 1% of Americans — on us."
George Soros, Abigail Disney, Chris Hughes, and members of the Pritzker family are among those arguing "a wealth tax could help address the climate crisis, improve the economy, improve health outcomes, fairly create opportunity, and strengthen our democratic freedoms."
Buffett has often called for the superrich to be taxed more, noting that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does.
In a 2012 CNBC appearance, Buffett said he would have "no objection" to a wealth tax, but didn't "particularly favor" one either, in part because it would be "tough to enforce" due to the difficulty of calculating what a farm or private business is worth.
Crypto exec chooses pricey SF restaurant for charity lunch It won't be steak at New York's Smith & Wollensky this year.
Justin Sun, the cryptocurrency executive who paid $4.6 million in a charity auction for lunch with Warren Buffett, says the meal will be held on July 25 at Quince in San Francisco.
In a post, Sun writes he chose the three-Michelin starred restaurant "because its food represents the traditional and the upstart — much like the participants in the lunch itself." He hopes the get-together with seven guests from the crypto industry will take "a step, however large or small, to bridge the divide between the blockchain industry and traditional investors."
There will be a joint news conference before the meal, according to Sun, and he will hold another session with reporters afterwards.
 Sun says Chef Michael Tusk will "create a custom, five-course menu that takes into consideration all parties' interests (including ordering in cherry Coke)."
According to a menu posted online, Quince offers a 5-course evening meal in the bar area for $180. The full 8-10 course dining room Tasting Menu is $295, with an additional $275 for optional wine pairing.
Berkshire sells workers' comp unit The New York Post reports Berkshire is selling Applied Underwriters, a workers' comp insurer accused of being a "reverse Ponzi scheme" by former clients, to United Insurance. BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARCHIVE
In this collection of excerpts from the 2013, 2014, and 2019 Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings, Buffett and Charlie Munger talk about their partnership with 3G Capital in the deal to combine Kraft and Heinz. BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH
 Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares closed at $318,350 Friday, up 7.2% over the previous four weeks, and up 11.9% from one year ago. Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares closed at $213.17, up 8.0% over the previous four weeks, and up 13.9% from one year ago. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at 2941.76, up 6.9% over the previous four weeks, and up 8.3% from one year ago. BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS
 Berkshire's top stock holdings by market value, based on today's closing prices. The number of shares held is as of March 31, 2019, as disclosed in the company's May 15 13F SEC filing.
USG Corporation (USG) was listed in the 13-F filing (39,002,016 shares) but is not included in this table because the stock is no longer trading following the April completion of the company's acquisition by Knauf.
The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
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