Stock Investor With 1,900% Gain Breaks Long Silence in Japan

For almost three decades, Stephen Butt’s company mostly stayed behind the scenes, a long-term investor in the tradition of Warren Buffett that saw little reason to draw attention to itself.

Silchester International Investors quietly bought shares in some of the world’s blue-chip companies, watched them grow in value and racked up a return that surpassed 1,900%. The former Morgan Stanley banker became super-rich in the process, but the investing world and public heard little from his wildly successful firm.

Stephen Butt in 2005.

Photographer: Leon Neal

These days, the money manager that oversees more than $40 billion is increasingly speaking out with calls for change. ...