At the time of his birth, his father managed a grocery store in Omaha and his parents had been married for 25 years.

To help out with expenses, Sokol worked as a paperboy, a caddie, and a janitor at a hardware store.

Sokol graduated in 1978 and went to work as a structural engineer for the American company HDR, Inc.[5] He holds Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska, Omaha in 1978 and Honorary Doctorate from Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska.

Prior to this, he served as a director of CE Electric UK Funding Company until June 1, 2007.

Prior to his abrupt resignation in March 2011, Sokol was widely regarded as the likely successor to Warren Buffett.

[7] Often referred to as Buffett's Mr. Fix-It,[8] Sokol was tasked with rescuing underperforming Berkshire divisions Johns Manville and NetJets.

In 2008, Sokol flew to China to research car manufacturer BYD, which resulted in Berkshire acquiring a $230 million stake.

Later in 2008, Sokol engineered the acquisition of Constellation Energy for $4.7 billion, sparing the company from bankruptcy.

[8] In April 2010, a Douglas County judge[10] found that Sokol, who was the CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, decided to change future profit calculations in such a way that it eliminated the stake in a 1990s Philippines project for San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders & Developers Group.

The third lawsuit for $150 million alleges that Sokol "secretly resumed negotiations"[10] that led to a lower projected profit.

[13][14] Since departing Berkshire Hathaway, Sokol has been managing investments through Teton Capital, LLC, his family holding company.