Billionaire Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting is coming up this Saturday. Around 30,000 investors are reportedly travelling to Omaha for what CEO Warren Buffett calls a 'Woodstock for Capitalists' to soak up financial insights, and life lessons offered by him and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger
The well-attended annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, which will take place on May 6, typically draws tens of thousands of shareholders to Omaha, Nebraska, where Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are known for spending hours answering questions about investment and doling out life advice
Over the years, this annual event has helped Warren Buffett earn the title ‘Oracle of Omaha’ because the investment community very closely follows his investment picks and comments on the market, and he lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska
According to reports, despite the already lengthy duration of the event’s Q&A, Warren Buffett said he plans to answer far more questions this year than in 2022. “Last year, I made a mistake by spending too much time on a few subjects,” said Warren Buffett in the 2023 meeting visitors guide. He added, “Consequently we answered far too few questions. I won’t go astray this year.”
92-year-old Warren Buffett is the fifth richest person in the world with a net worth of $113 billion as on May 4, 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Here's all you need to know about the famed Berkshire annual meetings
Note that all Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting attendees are required to abide by “microphone manners” when asking questions, which entails stating their name and hometown. They can only pose one question and refrain from asking about politics or what Berkshire Hathaway is buying and selling as these are the only subjects off-limits
The first Berkshire shareholder meeting was held in 1973 in the employee cafeteria of National Indemnity Company, one of Berkshire Hathaway’s subsidiaries. Only twenty-odd people attended the first Omaha confab
In 1981, the meeting was moved to the Red Lion Hotel in Omaha. As Berkshire got bigger, and its shareholder base grew with it, the meeting moved to larger and larger arenas. By 1998, there were 10,000 attendees. In 2018, more than 40,000 people went to Omaha for the meeting weekend
Berkshire Hathaway has set the standard for lavish annual meetings. The daylong event sometimes features comedy skits, disco balls, music and even dancing characters from the various companies in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. Bill Gates has been part of these meetings previously. Live online coverage of the proceedings provides real-time updates for those unable to attend
In order to be eligible for attending the meeting, all it takes is buying a single share. A person who holds even a single share of Berkshire Hathaway is considered a stockholder and can join the meet. One can own either the company's Class A shares (BRK-A), which traded at $$488,606.06 per share as of May 4, 2022, or the more affordable Class B shares (BRK-B), which last traded at $323.22
Although the annual meetings are for shareholders, being a shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway is technically not a requirement to attend the event. Having a meeting pass, however, is. People who are not Berkshire shareholders can buy a pass from a shareholder, some of whom sell extras on the secondary ticket market