It’s 6:30 a.m. and the temperature is just above freezing in Omaha, but Nolan Clancy, 28, is already standing in line with his father outside the city’s convention center. In three hours the shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate of super investor Warren Buffett (95), will take place there.
“It’s our first time,” says Clancy. “So we would like a good seat in the middle of the room.” Clancy has been fascinated by Buffett for years, he says, who is considered the most successful investor of all time. He has come from Nevada to Omaha for a weekend to attend the famous meeting known as the “Woodstock for Capitalists.” A bucket listthing it is.
Clancy is a bit disappointed that he will receive a lot less from Buffett this time. Since the beginning of this year, he is no longer the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and the company is led by Canadian Greg Abel (63). He will chair the meeting, with a smaller role for Buffett. “But I am also very curious how Abel will do that,” says Clancy. “There is so much pressure on him.”
Every year at the beginning of May, thousands of fanatical investors from all over the world descend on Omaha, Nebraska. They fill all the hotel rooms in the somewhat sleepy city, all to come and listen to one man.
Buffett, who achieved a return of more than five million percent during a sixty-year investment and acquisition career with his conglomerate, was known for turning the shareholders’ meeting into a fair-like show. For hours, sipping cans of Coke, he took time for questions from the audience, to which the ‘oracle of Omaha’ responded with aphorisms and all kinds of life wisdom, such as: “Whether it concerns socks or stocks, I like to buy quality on sale.”
Those days are over, as it turned out last December. Buffett – famous for his frugal lifestyle but one of the richest people in the world – announced at the age of 95 that he would retire as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which spans activities from candy to coal-fired power stations and from private jets to pest control (in addition to investments in other companies). He handed the reins over to Abel, who has since had to fill the biggest pair of shoes in corporate America.
NRC spent twenty-four hours Friday and Saturday in Omaha, in and around the meeting convention center. To see the craziness surrounding Berkshire Hathaway, but also to get an answer to the question: what does the future of this company and its iconic meeting look like without Buffett?
Friday May 1, 2:00 PMShopping with a discount
Butch (69) and Michele Skradis (70) left the conference center on Friday afternoon with a large bag from the cuddly toy brand and Berkshire product Squishmallows. Did they buy Buffett and Abel’s stuffed animals? No, not that. “Especially underwear,” says Michele.
Butch laughs. “I buy fresh underwear here every year. And she always wants her ice cream.” Michele nibbles on a chocolate ice cream cone from Dairy Queen, a Berkshire company.
Butch and Michele Skradis.
Photo Milo van Bokkum
The day before is at least as important for many visitors as the meeting itself. Then shareholders can purchase stacks of products and merchandise from all Berkshire companies at the convention center – often at a discount. This afternoon they are queuing en masse for Borsheims jewelry, train cuddly toys from freight carrier BNSF or chocolate from See’s Candies, and leave the center packed with bags.
For many people from the region, this seems like the ultimate day out. The shareholder weekend is by far the biggest event of the year in Omaha – not much else happens here. “When we moved here we immediately bought some shares,” says Maggie Steward (73), who is at the event with her husband. “We also wanted to be part of the action.” She has bought toys for her grandchildren, but she doesn’t take a step at the meeting. “Far too chaotic for me.”
Visitors will check out all the Berkshire merchandise available.
Photo Brendan McDermid/Reuters
At the other extreme are the visitors who idolize Buffett and come to the event from all corners of the world. There are quite a few young Chinese and Taiwanese who hardly speak English, but load purchases into taxis. Luis Silva (30) is from Brazil and has come to Omaha for the second time from his hometown in Florida. He calls Buffett “kind of a hero.” “What he did is not for everyone.”
Silva himself started a start-up, in supply chain managementand tries to expand it. “I find it interesting to hear from Berkshire how they have developed the company, how they invest.” And yes, he admits – he is also looking for investors here.
Greg Abel and Waren Buffett are pictured together in a truck from Pilot, a Berkshire brand.
Photo Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Berkshire explicitly uses the shopping event as a means to turn Greg Abel into an icon à la Buffett. Both of their faces are prominently displayed at the entrance in a pop art-like design, and for every doll or rubber duck you can buy from Buffett (and there are quite a few), you can also get one from Abel.
One of the biggest risks for Berkshire is that the change in leadership also diminishes interest, allure and success: Buffett was simply Berkshire. The super fans here also see that problem. “I’m quite a bit concerned,” says Butch Skradis. “Warren was a genius. We still have to see what this guy can do.” Laughing: “Although it doesn’t matter to me, I have [aan Berkshire Hathaway] already deserved.”
“I think the big question is whether just as many people will come,” says Mary Rom (74). She drove six hours from Minnesota with her husband Greg Rom (76). His birthday is May 1, they have been celebrating the birthday for 16 years with a weekend in Omaha.
Greg and Mary Rom.
Photo Milo van Bokkum
Greg wonders whether the battle for seats might be less intense, “because Buffett is not on stage for the first time.” “But we had to park the car further away than last time, so I think it’s OK.”
Saturday May 2, 7:00 amFast walking to a good place
“No running!” Running is not allowed, the guards strictly monitor this. But a day later, as soon as the doors open – to the sounds of ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd – crowds of shareholders quickly walk in search of the best seat in the room. There is a commotion around eight o’clock: Tim Cook, retiring CEO of Apple (a company in which Berkshire invested billions), has been spotted in the protected area. Dozens of people try to approach him for a selfie, which Cook takes plenty of time to do.
Shareholders try to get into the room as quickly as possible.
Photo Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Two people who have found a good place in the room are Ingeborg Orahaug (53, in Berkshire jersey) and Lars Onsted (53). They come from Norway and are here for the first time, just a few days. The superfans have already visited Buffett’s modest home (the outside) and his favorite restaurants in Omaha. Still, the highlight was that Orahaug met Abel yesterday in the shopping hall.
“I was completely shaking,” she recalls. Unfortunately, Onsted missed it, he was just standing in line to have his picture taken with someone in a gecko suit that was supposed to represent the symbol of insurer Geico.
Later in the day, Orahaug will be a little less enthusiastic about Abel. The shareholders’ meeting taking place this morning contains virtually none of the fireworks from the time with Buffett – who watches everything in the front row, dressed in a purple sweater, in silence. His age is clearly visible when he enters to loud cheers, supported by two women and a walking stick.
Greg Abel on the floor of the shopping event.
Photo Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Abel first gives a long financial update. He then answers questions from the audience with other managers, but this is done in a dry and technical manner. When a high school student from Omaha asks Abel why Berkshire is “jeopardizing” its future by investing in fossil energy, the CEO comes up with a long story about the state of Iowa that boils down to the fact that the company complies with all the rules everywhere.
It’s not entertaining, but it is insightful at times. Berkshire is notoriously technology-shy (the website seems to come from the early days of the internet), but Abel hints a few times that he is looking at AI after all. Buffett hardly did that.
He also asks investors to wait patiently for new acquisitions. Berkshire is sitting on a staggering pile of cash of almost $400 billion, slightly more than its annual turnover, which it has not been doing much with for some time – to the disbelief of many. Abel says he will make “significant” investments when the opportunity arises, but that the market is not right now.
During the break, Buffett gives a live interview behind the scenes.
Photo Brian McDermid/Reuters
The audience comes alive the two times that Buffett speaks. In a short talk at the beginning, he praises the soon-to-be retired Tim Cook, and the big shoes that his successor John Ternus has to fill – an ambiguity that also seems aimed at Abel. And in an interview backstage during the break with channel CNBC, Buffett says that he is happy that Jerome Powell will continue to work at the central bank after his resignation as Fed chairman. Powell has said he is not leaving because he fears the bank remains under fire from the Trump administration.
Saturday May 2, 12:15Taking naps
As Abel continues the question-answer session after the break, Orahaug and Onsted begin to doze off and check their flight details for the next day. In any case, the hall – which was not completely full – is quite empty. Afterwards around two o’clock in the afternoon, Dave Sparrock (55) from Houston speaks to the two Norwegians: was it worth coming to Omaha?
“Absolutely,” says Orahaug immediately. “It has been a wonderful experience in its entirety.” But Abel does have a tendency to give somewhat verbose answers, she says. “Although I don’t want to be too critical of his first meeting.”
The shareholders’ meeting on Saturday.
Photo Rebecca S. Gratz/AP
Sparrock himself does not necessarily have any problems with Abel keeping it technical, he explains from the stands. “He tries to convey that he is a stable factor.” He also deliberately puts other managers forward, Sparrock thinks. “People’s concern is that all knowledge and culture is gone with Buffett.” Abel tries to show that Berkshire is more than the investment god.
Yet Sparrock also thinks that Abel is “clearly less charismatic”. “It’s a completely different personality.” He needs to work on his answers, Sparrock says. He found the one on climate particularly weak.
The big question is what this means for ‘Omaha’ in the coming years: will investors from all over the world continue to show up here? Berkshire Hathaway remains an iconic company, and the meeting a “snapshot of American capitalism,” says Sparrock. But you might wonder whether a trip to the other side of the world for a typical conglomerate shareholder meeting appears on many bucket lists.
