I flew to Omaha to cover Warren Buffett's annual meeting. I didn't know I'd witness history being made.
Buffett's revelation that he plans to resign as Berkshire's CEO at the end of this year was the headline of my trip. But I also saw rare treasures, spoke to people from all walks of life, visited storied locations, and discovered how Buffett and his businesses pervade almost every part of Omaha.
I took a connecting flight from Chicago to Omaha and arrived late on Thursday night.One of the welcome ads on the airport's wall requested visitors to "check your SPACs, Crypto, and EBITDA at the gate" — a nod to Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger's disdain for risky, speculative, and volatile assets.Munger called the proliferation of special-purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, a "moral failing," dismissed bitcoin as "stupid" and "evil" as well as "rat poison." He also described earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization as "bullshit earnings."
The influx of thousands of Berkshire shareholders to Omaha each year spells opportunity for many local companies.The Hudson News store in the airport had several areas dedicated to Berkshire books and other financial titles, including "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and "Buffett & Munger Unscripted."Another airport eatery had a See's Candies stall and a sign from Berkshire welcoming its shareholders.I took a taxi to the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Omaha. There was a banner in front of the hotel welcoming Berkshire shareholders, and a similar display outside the elevators on my floor.
This was my third annual meeting, and I'm always interested to see how it changes to reflect the deals that Buffett makes.The conglomerate added Squishmallows-owner Jazwares to its exhibitors after acquiring the toy company's parent, Alleghany, in 2022.Squishmallows was one of the biggest exhibitors at Berkshire's shareholder shopping day this year, with myriad displays and interactive activities.Berkshire took full ownership of Pilot Travel Centers at the start of 2024. Pilot employees were selling coffee outside the meeting venue, the CHI Health Center. Inside, the company offered everything from Berkshire Blend coffee to T-shirts with Buffett quotes.
Wan Xue, or "Cathy," 33, from China, was first in line to get her shareholder pass on Friday. She told me she'd purchased 11 books on this trip already, and planned to buy more.She planned to see everything related to Buffett that she could, and had already visited his birthplace and school as well as Berkshire headquarters, she said.
Veteran investors including billionaire Mario Gabelli and Buffett's former financial assistant, Tracy Britt Cool, spoke at conferences on Friday, the day before Buffett's Q&A.Fund manager Chris Bloomstran said at the Gabelli Funds conference that tariffs, trade wars, recessions, depressions, and other crises were "net good for Berkshire" as they created buying opportunities. "Bring on a little pain," he added.I asked Gabelli straight after the conference how he felt about owning Berkshire stock given the current market turmoil.He shrugged off any concerns, saying he first met Buffett more than 50 years ago at Columbia Business School, and has only ever sold Berkshire to stop his portfolio becoming too concentrated.At her company Kanbrick's conference, Britt Cool shared a memorable piece of advice from Buffett about long-term, responsible management: "Think about this business as if it's your family's only asset and you cannot sell it for 50 years."
After Buffett shocked the world with his retirement plan, I left the press area and spoke to several dumbstruck shareholders.Once things calmed down, I took a taxi to Nebraska Furniture Mart for the shareholder picnic, and saw "Mrs B's Clearance & Outlet," named after the remarkable lady who built NFM and sold it to Buffett.There was a photo of Buffett's face on the front door. NFM stocked Buffett T-shirts and other merchandise, and featured an entire See's Candies concession.
Shareholders took the news of Buffett's exit in good spirits. At the picnic in NFM's parking lot, there was live music, bocce, barbecue, drinks, and lots of people laughing, taking photos, playing games, or dancing.Sam McColgan, 31, a Stanford graduate student, told me he was "somewhat relieved" that Buffett had announced his resignation, as "it would have been a shock to the world" if he'd died while still CEO.
The finishers' medals were satisfyingly heavy. I liked the look, feel, and weight of my finishers' medal.The rest area after the race was well set up with breakfast burritos, Dairy Queen ice cream, and energy drinks at the Berkshire Hathaway Energy booth for runners.It was fun to tear off a tab from my race bib and exchange it for a Pilot hot chocolate too.
Buffett's retirement was front-page news on Sunday. The magnitude of what I'd witnessed became clearer after I saw Buffett on the front page of his hometown paper in my hotel's lobby on Sunday.Buffett bought the Omaha World-Herald for $150 million (and took on its $50 million of debt) in late 2011. He sold his newspapers, which also included The Buffalo News, to Lee Enterprises for $140 million in 2020.
People were still processing Buffett's bombshell. After a shower back at the hotel, I took a Lime scooter to Markel's brunch at the Omaha Marriott, down the road from where Buffett held his Q&A.Much of the second floor was packed with people wearing Berkshire merch they'd purchased over the previous two days, from hats and windbreakers to polo shirts and shoes.Calvin Sowah, 30, a venture capitalist from New York City, told me that Buffett's casual manner caught him off guard."I wasn't expecting it," he said. "And he just said it so nonchalantly that it was like, 'Oh, wait, what? You're retiring.'"
Speaking in the hallway outside Markel's shareholder meeting, Martin Wiegand, 67, told me he's attended more than 30 Berkshire meetings and has owned the stock for about 40 years.Wiegand said his father was a school friend of Buffett, and his parents attended Berkshire meetings too.He told me he wants Buffett to continue talking after his deputy, Greg Abel, takes over as CEO in the new year."I hope he doesn't drop the mic and walk off the stage, never to be heard from again," Wiegand said. "I hope he teaches a Coursera course — some sort of a podcast is too much to ask," he continued, adding that he'd like Buffett to keep doing media appearances."Warren Buffett's the moral authority of finance in America," he said. "And I think he proved yesterday he's still the sharpest man in the room at 94."
There was time for one final story from Omaha on my trip home. I thought my Berkshire experience was over when I boarded a flight to New York City early Monday morning.But my seatmates, Aidan Sims and John Di Bella, were two finance majors from NYC who'd also made the trip to see Buffett speak.Sims said he had a date to a formal on Friday night, but managed to make it to Omaha in time to watch Buffett's bombshell announcement.Di Bella told me how he spent the night outside to get good seats for the Q&A. He played poker on the street, vaulted up the arena's steps once the doors opened, and scored selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.The chance encounter cemented Omaha in my memory as a magical place to meet fascinating people, hear wild stories, visit historic locations, and, just maybe, have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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