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Jimmy Haslam and his family are being accused of bribery by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway. The allegations came after the Haslams initially stated that Berkshire Hathaway tried to underestimate the earnings of the truck stop chain of Pilot gas stations.
The Haslams owned the chain until the majority stake was sold at the start of 2023, when Berkshire Hathaway took control. The Haslam family still owns a 20% stake in Pilot, which is estimated at about $3 billion. However, they have argued that the new accounting procedures by Berkshire Hathaway have changed the value.
In response, Berkshire Hathaway claims that the Haslams tried to bribe approximately 15 Pilot executives. In return for the bribes, the family allegedly wanted the executives to increase Pilot's profits, which would inflate the value of their remaining stake in the company.
The executives were reportedly invited to dinner at a country club in Knoxville, Tennessee, and offered under-the-table payments to change the profits. This allegedly happened in March 2023, with the exact amount of the bonuses unavailable since they haven't been listed in the official court documents.
Berkshire Hathaway is now stating that the actual amount of profits that Pilot has made in 2023 is unknown because of the executive changes. The case is expected to head to court in January 2024. Jimmy Haslam, who has a reported net worth of $4.7 billion, hasn't commented on these accusations.
How much did Jimmy Haslam and his family buy the Cleveland Browns for?
Before buying the Cleveland Browns, Haslam purchased a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. In 2012, the Haslam family bought the Browns for $1 billion despite its $975 million valuation the previous year. As of August 2023, the Browns now have an estimated worth of $4.62 billion.
Since the Haslam family was now the majority owner of the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam had to sell his minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers. In terms of NFL team financial evaluations, Forbes currently lists the Cleveland Browns at 19th out of 32 NFL teams.
