OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Tens of thousands of investors once again gathered at an arena in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday to glean a little wisdom from billionaire Warren Buffett.But the annual Berkshire Hathaway will be missing a key element General meeting of shareholders:This is the first time since Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. died.
“He was the Sriracha sauce at Berkshire Hathaway meetings,” said Bill Smead, an investor who has been a fixture at the event for 14 years. “He gave it a lot of flavor.”
For decades, Mr. Munger has shared the stage with Mr. Buffett each year in a marathon question-and-answer session that is the centerpiece of the event. Mr. Munger usually let Mr. Buffett take control with an extensive response that lasted several minutes. And Munger himself gets to the point directly. He called cryptocurrencies stupid, told people to “marry the best guy who will get you,” and compared many unproven internet businesses in 2000 to “bastards.” remembered.
He and Buffett functioned as a classic comedy duo, with Buffett providing lengthy setups for Munger’s witty one-liners. They joined forces to transform Berkshire into a company comprised of a variety of interests, from an ailing textile mill to insurance companies such as Geico to BNSF Railway, several major power companies and various other companies. turned into a huge conglomerate.
Saturday is scheduled to begin with the company announcing its first-quarter results a few hours before the meeting. In addition to its largest profits, Berkshire Hathaway owns a vast collection of manufacturing and retail businesses, including Dairy Queen and See’s Candy. Its vast stock portfolio is backed by large stakes in companies such as Apple, American Express, and Coca-Cola.
Mr. Munger often summed up the key to Berkshire’s success as “rather than trying to be extremely smart, we try not to be consistently stupid.” He and Buffett were also known for sticking to businesses they understood well.
“Warren was always doing at least 80 percent of the talking, but Charlie was a great foil,” said Whitney Tilson, an analyst at Stansberry Research.
But their absence may give shareholders a chance to get to know Berkshire better about the two executives who directly oversee the company: Ajit Jain, who runs the insurance division, and Greg Abel, who runs everything else. do not have. Abel will eventually succeed the 93-year-old Buffett as CEO.
Morningstar analyst Gregory Warren said he hopes Mr. Abel will be more vocal this year and give shareholders a glimpse of his brilliance. Berkshire executives talk about.Since Munger Please let me slide At the company’s annual meeting three years ago, Buffett reiterated that Abel would be his successor. reassure investors That he is confident in his choice.
Experts say the company has a strong culture built on integrity, trust and independence, and a strong management team ready to take over.
“Greg is a rock star,” said Chris Blomstran, president of Semper Augustus Investment Group. “The bench is deep. He won’t have the same humor in meetings. But I think we all come here every year to remind ourselves to be reasonable.”
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