The meeting in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, was Berkshire’s first hospitable shareholders since 2019, before COVID-19 derailed America’s largest corporate rally in two years. Allows shareholders to ask questions directly to Buffett and Berkshire Vice Presidents Charlie Munger, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain. Buffett’s comments came after Berkshire, which has long been criticized for keeping a lot of cash idle, revealed it had amassed more than $ 51 billion in stock in the first quarter, including a much larger stake in Chevron Corp. (CVX.N) . Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Berkshire also said operating profit for the first quarter changed little as many of its dozens of businesses withstood supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 variants and the invasion of Ukraine. read more Buffett, 91, said it was “really good” to address the shareholders in person, having held the last two meetings without them. Among those in attendance were JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon and actor Bill Murray, who is a shareholder, among others. Buffett in the shareholder’s annual letter in February had lamented the lack of investment opportunities. That prompted a shareholder to ask what changed in March when Berkshire bought a 14.6% stake in Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) and agreed to pay $ 11.6 billion to insurance company Alleghany Corp (YN). Buffett said it was simple: he became interested in Occidental after reading a report by analysts and Alleghany after writing to CEO Joseph Brandon, who once headed Berkshire’s General Re. “Markets are doing crazy things and occasionally Berkshire has a chance to do something,” he said. “It’s not because we’m smart … I think we’re reasonable.” Berkshire’s cash share sank more than $ 40 billion to about $ 106 billion in the quarter, but Buffett assured shareholders not to worry. “We will always have a lot of cash,” he said. “It’s like oxygen, it’s there all the time, but if it disappears for a few minutes, it’s all over.” Buffett and Jain stumbled upon answers when asked if the conflict in Ukraine could degenerate into a nuclear war. Jain, who has won Buffett praise for decades, said he had a “lack of ability” to assess Berkshire’s insurance report. Buffett also seemed indifferent, saying there was a “very, very, very low” risk of a nuclear attack, even though people had “approached” during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. “People toss a coin every day,” Buffett said. “Berkshire has no answer. There are some things we do not write policies about because we could not cover them anyway.” Buffett also chose a favorable target, Wall Street, saying the stock market sometimes looked like a casino or gambling partner. “This has been great for the last two years, encouraged by Wall Street,” he said. For his part, Munger, 98, echoed Nancy Reagan by criticizing bitcoin, saying that if a consultant suggested you put your retirement account there, “just say no.” Abel, who would have succeeded Buffett as CEO if Buffett could not serve, defended Berkshire’s BNSF Railway, saying “more” needed to be done to improve operations and customer service and compete with rival Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N). Shareholders will later vote on whether Berkshire should replace Buffett with an independent chairman – he will remain chief executive – and reveal how its dozens of companies are promoting diversity and tackling climate risk and mitigation. Hours before the doors open at 7 p.m. CDT (12:00 GMT), thousands of people began to gather outside the arena in the city center where the meeting was housed. Berkshire had projected a lower turnout than in 2019 and about 10% to 15% of the seats in the normally full arena were vacant. As with other Berkshire-sponsored events this weekend, almost all attendees did not wear masks, although they all needed proof of COVID-19 vaccination. CNBC.com also broadcast the meeting online. “I bought a chair from Walmart so I could sit down,” said Tom Spain, founder of Henry Spain Investment Services in Market Harborough, England, who arrived at 3:15 p.m. to attend his third meeting. “Everyone was using it. Next year I can bring a huge pot of coffee and give it to him.” Lauritz Fenselau, a 23-year-old owner of a software startup from Frankfurt, Germany, showed up at 4am for his first meeting. “Warren and Charlie are the priests,” he said. “It’s like a pilgrimage.” Boston-based Andres Avila, a huge Buffett fan, arrived in Omaha just five hours before queuing at 4:45 a.m., holding an umbrella to ward off the rain. “I have a lot of my idols here,” he said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Jonathan Stempel and Carolina Mandl in Omaha, Nebraska. edited by: Megan Davis, Ross Russell and Diane Kraft Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
