I went to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting this week. It took a looong time to get there, but was worth it. I left in the early afternoon on Friday and got back home Sunday early evening. The solo drive took about nine hours each way.
My wife's sister and husband live in Omaha and were nice enough to let me stay with them. My mother-in-law also has caught the Warren Buffett bug and flew in for the event. On Saturday morning, we arrived about an hour early and quickly proceeded to find some seats. Not easy! We ended up in the upper deck about ten rows from the top. Approximately 35,000 people showed up this year. People travel from all around the world and keep coming back year after year for this meeting. It has become kind of like a Financial Woodstock. Everyone comes to see and learn from the "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett and his right hand man Charlie Munger.
They started by introducing the board of directors that were in attendance, which included Bill Gates. The both of them work well with each other and form an economic comedy team. Warren Buffett doesn't use a computer or a calculator. He said, "If you need a calculator to decide whether to buy a company or not, Don't buy it! It should be shouting at you ... Buy me!" Charlie Munger was asked about the upper management at some the world's larger companies and he commented that the stupidity of most management and CEO's will keep a competent company like Berkshire going good for years to come. It was an interesting day and my MIL and I had a really good time.
While in Omaha, my brother-in-law showed me the home Buffett grew up in and the home where he currently lives (very unassuming). We even had lunch and a beer at Dundee Dell where Warren Buffett took Lebron James when Lebron came to town to ask for his advice. Besides all the driving, I had a rewarding weekend and would like to thank my brother and sister-in-law, my MIL, and my considerate wife for the opportunity for this weekend.
Pictures above are from the meeting: me with Warren, MIL, and various mascots from Berkshire Hathaway companies and you can never be too safe with the swine flu floating around. The video below is Buffett cracking up the crowd while answering a succession question.
No comments:
Post a Comment