Sharon Osberg

Osberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In a San Francisco Chronicle interview she said she began playing bridge in college around "1970 or '71."⁠[1][2]

According to Seritage Growth Properties' appointment announcement, Osberg spent 25 years in financial technology development and management, most of it at Wells Fargo Bank, where she became Executive Vice President in charge of the newly created Online Financial Services Division. Money, drawing on a 2017 Washington Post interview, said she spent 18 years as an executive at Wells Fargo.⁠[1][3]

An earlier San Francisco Chronicle article described her as vice president of online financial services at Wells Fargo, "whose job involves developing new Internet services for Wells Fargo."⁠[4]

After Wells Fargo she served as Chief Operating Officer of 724 Solutions, Inc. in Toronto, and later held consulting positions with insurance, banking and technology companies.⁠[1]

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Fortune writer Carol Loomis introduced Osberg to Warren Buffett; she later persuaded Buffett to get a computer so he could play bridge online, where she played on OKbridge as "sharono." In another interview Osberg recalled meeting him "through bridge ... at the Empire State Building," after which he invited her to "stop in Omaha and we'll play bridge."⁠[4][2]

The same article reported that she and Buffett were invited to Bill Gates' home in Redmond, Washington, where she partnered former Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham; she said Gates has "a good feel for the game" and that Buffett "likes to win."⁠[4]

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Osberg was a member of United States teams that won World Bridge Federation championships in 1991 and 1993. In another interview she said: "I was fortunate enough to be on the winning team in '91 and '93, in Japan and Chile."⁠[4][2]

The Associated Press reported that on December 2, 2000, Bill Gates played exhibition hands at the Omaha Bridge Club at Buffett's invitation: Gates partnered Bob Hamman and Buffett partnered Osberg, described as his "longtime partner" and "a two-time world champion"; each side won one hand and no money was wagered.⁠[5]

In his 2003 shareholder letter, dated February 27, 2004, Buffett described the annual meeting weekend and wrote that on Sunday afternoon “two of the world’s top bridge experts,” Bob Hamman and Sharon Osberg, would be in the mall outside Borsheim’s to play with shareholders.⁠[6]

For years afterwards Buffett’s letters repeated the arrangement: the 2006 letter (February 28, 2007) said the two would be available to play bridge with shareholders, and the 2010 letter (February 26, 2011) again called them two of the world’s top bridge experts.⁠[7][8]

In the 2013 letter (February 28, 2014) Buffett joked to shareholders about the pair: “Don’t play them for money.”⁠[9]

A CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news organization of the U.S. CBS system, part of Paramount, providing news coverage through television, the web and streaming. Its history extends from radio newsgathering to television and digital platforms; its signature programs include CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes and Face the Nation, and CBS News 24/7 is its streaming news service.Open the full entry Sunday Morning report of February 16, 2008 interviewed Osberg as a "bridge champion" and said Gates and Buffett "have invested a million dollars in programs to teach bridge in schools." The bridge reference site bridgebum states that Buffett, Gates and Osberg launched the school program in 2005 and that it has since ended.⁠[10][11]

Osberg served on The Sequoia Fund's Board of Directors for 12 years, as Chairperson from 2013 until her retirement.⁠[1]

Bloomberg reported that independent directors Osberg and Vinod Ahooja quit as the fund's Valeant losses mounted; Osberg resigned on October 25, 2015 and declined further comment at the time.⁠[12]

The Washington Post reported in August 2017 that Osberg worried Valeant was too big a piece of the portfolio and viewed it as "an extremely risky investment"; she said that after a board call, Bob Goldfarb "had just made another large purchase by the Sequoia Fund. I resigned the next day."⁠[13]

Money, citing a July 28, 2017 Washington Post interview, reported Osberg saying "Bill is very scientific" while Buffett "enjoys playing" and "has good instincts," describing both as "very solid, everyday players"; she plays weekly online games with Buffett and said, "I don't know how I got that lucky."⁠[3]

The same Washington Post story, reposted on the World Bridge Federation youth site, said she owns a stake in the online bridge company Bridge Base and had recently taken second place with Gates at a tournament in Toronto; she said, "Bridge is my world," and "Everything in my adult life is a result of bridge, one way or another."⁠[14]

The 2017 letter (February 24, 2018) said Hamman and Osberg would play bridge with shareholders on the level above Borsheims and quipped that if they suggested wagering on the game, shareholders should change the subject. The 2018 letter (February 23, 2019) no longer mentioned the bridge session or Osberg.⁠[15][16]

Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE: SRG) appointed Osberg an independent trustee and member of its Compensation Committee, filling the seat vacated by Kenneth T. Lombard. Chairman Edward S. Lampert said she brings "deep experience in technological innovation and operational leadership within large organizations." The release said she serves on the boards of the conservation non-profits Felidae and Orangutan Foundation International.⁠[1]

A Seritage Form 8-K states that on April 17, 2023 Osberg notified the board she would not stand for re-election at the 2023 annual meeting, and that her decision was not the result of any disagreement with the company on its operations, policies or practices.⁠[17]

According to The Wall Street Journal, Osberg is a close friend of Buffett and a frequent companion for his YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry viewing. She said that during an August 2026 visit to Omaha they watched what she called a really good documentary on Roy CohnRoy CohnRoy Cohn (1927–1986) was an American lawyer who worked on federal prosecutions early in his career, served as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953–1954 and later practised law in New York; two documentaries about him were released in 2019.Open the full entry, as well as Uzbekistan’s version of a talent show.⁠[18]

In The Wall Street Journal’s October 6, 2026 report Osberg said, “Warren’s range is broad,” and that “It can be the silliest things.” Of Buffett watching old videos of his late partner Charlie MungerCharlie MungerCharlie Munger (1924–2023) was an American lawyer, investor and philanthropist who served as vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway from 1978, worked alongside Warren Buffett for decades, and led Wesco Financial and the Daily Journal Corp.Open the full entry, she said, “You feel the bond between the two of them as he watches Charlie.”⁠[18]

Inc. relayed the report and Osberg’s remarks the same day.⁠[19]

Berkshire HathawayBerkshire HathawayBerkshire Hathaway Inc. is a multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States (NYSE: BRK.A/BRK.B), with businesses spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing, and retail. Warren Buffett took control of the company in 1965 and ran it until 2025, and Greg Abel succeeded him as CEO at the start of 2026. The company long held stakes in several U.S. banks, including M&T (1991–2020), Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, which it successively reduced or exited between 2020 and 2024.Open the full entry: Official website: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[6]