Warren Buffett: Captalist Or Philanthropist?

Which Warren Buffett — the investor or the philanthropist — made the decision to sell shares of a Chinese government-controlled petroleum corporation?

David Weidner, a reporter for MarketWatch, a financial news service, is asking this question on his blog after the investment company Mr. Buffett runs, Berkshire Hathaway, divested a small portion of PetroChina last month.

In May, Mr. Buffett faced public pressure to sell shares of the oil company as a way to push the Chinese government to do more to stop the genocide in Sudan.

(PetroChina drills for oil in Sudan, and the Sudanese government has been accused of using oil proceeds to support a militia tied to atrocities in the Darfur region.)

While Mr. Buffett publicly rebuffed the pleas, the July selling of some PetroChina shares suggests a change of heart, Mr. Weidner writes.

Indeed, it may have had some effect. Shortly after the sale, China decided to support a United Nations effort to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Sudan.

But the sale also could easily have been made to make money. At the time, PetroChina stock was close to its all-time high, writes Mr. Weidner.

So which Warren Buffett made the sale?

Officials at Berkshire Hathaway did not return calls, writes Mr. Weidner.

What do you think? Did Mr. Buffett make the sale for humanitarian reasons? Or was it simply a profit decision? Could the decision have been motivated by both? Click on the comments link below to share your thoughts.