OMAHA, Nebraska — Warren Buffett warned tens of thousands of shareholders packed into his annual meeting that artificial intelligence fraud could become “the fastest growing industry in history.”
Buffett doubled down on his words of caution last year, telling the crowd that he had recently encountered the downside of AI. And it looked and sounded just like him.
Someone created a fake video of Buffett that was apparently convincing enough that the so-called Oracle of Omaha himself said he could imagine it tricking Buffett into sending money overseas.
The billionaire investment guru predicted that fraudsters could use this technology to do more harm than good to society.
“As someone who doesn’t understand anything about it, it has so much potential for good and so much potential for harm, but I don’t know how it’s going to play out,” he said. said.
Income before pensive
The day began early Saturday morning when Berkshire Hathaway announced that its earnings would plummet as the paper value of its investments plummeted and it cut its holdings in Apple.
The company reported earnings of $12.7 billion, or $8.825 per Class A share, in the first quarter, down 64% from $35.5 billion, or $24,377 per Class A share, a year ago.
But Buffett urges investors to focus more on the operating profits that conglomerates receive from the companies they actually own. Growth was 39% to $11,222 million ($7,796.47 per Class A share), led by insurance companies.
Nothing was going to get in the way of the fun.
Crowds flocked to the arena to buy Squishmallows from Mr. Buffett and former vice chairman Charlie Munger, who died last fall.
This event attracts investors from all over the world and is unlike any other corporate gathering. First-time attendees feel a sense of urgency to get here while the 93-year-old Buffett is still alive.
“This is one of the best events in the world to learn about investing. You learn from the gods of the industry,” said Akshay Bhansali, who spent the better part of two days traveling from India to Omaha.
notable absence
Avid followers from around the world gather to glean a little wisdom from Mr. Buffett, who famously dubbed the gathering “Woodstock for Capitalists.”
But this year, a key element was missing.It was the first meeting since Munger. died.
The meeting was accompanied by a video tribute highlighting some of his most famous quotes, including classic lines such as “If people didn’t make mistakes so often, we wouldn’t be so rich.” It started with
The video also features skits the investors have made over the years with Hollywood stars, including a “Desperate Housewives” parody in which one of the women introduces Munger as her boyfriend; It also includes another parody in which Jamie Lee Curtis falls in love with Munger.
After the video ended, the arena erupted into a long standing ovation for Munger, whom Buffett called “the architect of Berkshire Hathaway.”
Buffett said Munger remained curious about the world until the end of his life at age 99, hosting dinner parties, meeting with people and having regular Zoom calls.
“Like his hero Ben Franklin, Charlie wanted to understand everything,” Buffett said.
For decades, Munger and Buffett functioned as a classic comedy duo, with Buffett providing lengthy setups for Munger’s witty one-liners. He once called unproven internet companies “bastards.”
Together, the two transformed Berkshire from an ailing textile mill to a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from insurance companies such as Geico to BNSF Railway, several major power companies and various other businesses. turned into a huge conglomerate.
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 conversation, but Charlie was a great foil,” said Stansberry Research analyst Whitney Tilson, looking forward to her 27th consecutive meeting with him. was.
next generation leader
But Munger’s absence gives 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; was born. Mr. Abel, who was in charge of everything else and was named Mr. Buffett’s successor.
The two shared the main stage with Buffett this year.
The first time Buffett asked Abel a question, he mistakenly answered, “Charlie?” Mr. Abel dismissed that mistake and moved on to the challenges faced by utilities due to the increased risk of wildfires and the reluctance of some regulators to collect reasonable profits.
Morningstar analyst Gregory Warren said he believed Mr. Abel had more to say Saturday and showed shareholders some of the greatness Berkshire executives talk about.
“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.”
Outlook for the future
Buffett has said Abel will be Berkshire’s next chief executive officer, but said Saturday that he has changed his mind about how the company handles its investment portfolio. He previously said the company would now be handed over to two investment managers who would handle a small portion of the portfolio. On Saturday, Buffett expressed his support for Abel’s work, authorizing him to oversee operations and acquisitions.
“He understands business very well. If you understand business, you understand common stocks,” Buffett said. Ultimately, the board will decide, but if the board tries to do things differently, it could come back to bite them, the billionaire said.
Mr. Buffett said Berkshire’s system, in which all non-insurance companies report to Mr. Abel and insurance companies report to Mr. Jain, has worked well overall. With more guidance from Abel and Jane, he himself receives fewer calls from his manager.
“If something were to happen to me, this place would perform very well the next day,” Buffett said.
Nevertheless, the biggest applause of the day was Mr. Buffett’s closing words. “Not only do I hope you come next year, I hope I come next year.”
