BERKSHIRE AGM - A FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BUFFETT

By Ruma Dubey

Omaha or ‘Warrenland’ is to Buffett fans what Orlando’s Disneyland is to children.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc or better recognized as ‘Warren Buffett’s company’ held its AGM over the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska and it turned out to be as scintillating as it usually is, with some great Buffett quips and quotes.

This AGM also marked Buffett’s 50 years in running the company and even now, he sounded as optimistic as he did 50 years ago. Bringing the reality of mortality to center stage, Buffett said that his company will survive long after he is gone. A very sobering thought which strikes in the reality that no one, even Warren Buffett is not immortal.

The AGM had an air of festivity around it, with some 40,000 people attending. Sad news for India’s broking and investing fraternity was the death of Parag Parekh, in a car accident, on his way back after attending the AGM. Once again, the reality of life, which is death, was hammered home.

Hotel rooms in Omaha during this time of the year, to attend the AGM, draws people from all around the world and helps the state’s economy boom. Hotels are full, even though some charge $400/night and if you get a room, you would be lucky as rooms are booked almost a year in advance.

Everybody wants to be there as no one knows how long this will last – one does not know how long Buffett would be around. So not a single shareholder wants to miss hearing this legend; after all it would be a tale to tell their children and grandchildren.

The meeting had two stars – of course the shop stopper was Buffett and the other star was his second-in-command, Charlie Munger. So before the AGM began, shareholders of the company were shouting in unison, “ Warren and Charlie, we love you!”. The duo after the meeting, fielded questions from shareholders for five long hours! Where in India have we ever heard of such a thing happening at an AGM? Maybe Dhirubhai elicited such adulation but no one really in our modern times. And which CEO shows the patience and the humility to field shareholder questions for 5 hours? Here, they start looking at their watches and mobiles within half an hour into the session. Warren thus teaches out CEOs as important lesson – I exist because you exist, better to leave all arrogance back at home.

It was not all roses and peaches all the way. The duo had to field criticism for some business practices of Berkshire owned companies and those it works with, especially 3G Capital in Brazil.  Also there was no word on Buffett’s succession plan as he suggested that he did not intend to leave any time soon. The only hint he gave – it would not be a person with a mere investing background but would need operational experience too.  The names doing the rounds as probable CEO candidates - insurance executive Ajit Jain and Berkshire Hathaway Energy chief Gregory Abel.

A peek into some wonderful (as usual) quotes of Buffett during this AGM.

• Defending his fondness for junk food, Buffett said, "If I had been eating broccoli and Brussels sprouts all my life, I don't think I would live as long."

• "I think the dollar will the reserve currency of the world 50 years from now," Buffett said

• Asked about donating wealth, "There's no Forbes 400 in the graveyard."

• "We think any company that has an economist has one employee too many."

• “The internet has been a huge change in my life and it costs me $100 a year."

• "So far, I have been wrong on interest rates ... It is so hard for me to believe that you can drop money from a helicopter and not have inflation, but we haven’t”.
• A Coca-Cola shareholder, Buffett said, "One-quarter of all the calories I have consumed is from Coca-Cola."

• "We don’t think about silver anymore."

• "I don’t shed any tears for American business when it complains about taxes."

• And a fantastic quote from Munger, “Being rational is a moral Imperative. You should never be stupider than you need to be."