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 This weekend's gathering of Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders in
Omaha, Nebraska for the company's annual meeting likely won't be the
last.
But its evolution mirrors the evolution in Buffett's own leadership,
focused more on the roughly 90 energy, insurance, manufacturing,
railroad, retail and other companies in his empire, even as he
delegates more to people who work under him.
This month, for example, Berkshire's General Re unit said its next
chief will report not to Buffett, as the departing Tad Montross
does, but to Ajit Jain, a top Buffett lieutenant.
Buffett, 85, is the oldest chief executive of a Fortune 500 company,
and has given no public sign he's close to done.
In 2015, the world's third-richest person celebrated perhaps his
final milestone anniversary at Berkshire, as more than 40,000 people
descended on Omaha and overwhelmed its downtown CenturyLink Center
to honor his 50 years at the helm.This year's gala again features a
cookout and five-kilometer run, and centers on Saturday's five-hour
question-and-answer session with Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie
Munger, 92.
Buffett "gives Omaha a heck of a lot of free visibility that a lot
of cities would pay dearly for," said Ernie Goss, a professor at
Creighton University there who studies the region's economy.
Still, there's a catch. "We all have friends who are waiters or
waitresses or bartenders, and Berkshire Hathaway investors are not
the biggest tippers," he said. "There is a message there: if he's
frugal, we're going to be frugal."
ENERGY
Berkshire's weekend attracts more visitors to Omaha than any event
other than the College World Series of baseball.
Hotel rates and airfares still soar. But this year, dozens of motels
have rooms available, for those willing to travel several miles to
downtown.
That's likely because the meeting will be live-streamed for the
first time, potentially reaching tens of millions, on Yahoo Finance.
The stream will also be in Mandarin, to meet demand from China and
perhaps help Buffett find new investments.
Alex Ryzhikov, a partner at Ewing Morris & Co Investment Partners in
Toronto, said he drove 20 hours in a camper to Omaha last year and
was first in line to enter the meeting at 12:30 a.m., six hours
before doors opened.
He's not going this year, citing other commitments, but will watch
online.
"If you want to just get the content, you're probably going to be
okay watching online," he said. "To get the energy and excitement of
being there, you make the trip."
For Buffett, the weekend remains active.
At 7 a.m. on Saturday, he'll again roam an exhibit hall filled with
Berkshire companies hawking everything from boxer shorts to $78,900
mobile homes, trailed by a herd of camera- and iPhone-toting media
who bump into each other a lot.
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CHANGE
But he has cut back.
He no longer typically drops by Berkshire-owned Borsheim's Jewelry's
Friday shareholder reception, which consumes an entire shopping mall
and outdoor tent. (Buffett did preside there two years ago over a
marriage proposal. She said yes.)
Starting in 2012, citing time constraints, he and Munger ended their
news-lite Sunday press conferences, where Buffett would demur
multiple times when foreign journalists asked "Where do you see
investment opportunities in [name of country]?"
And this year, the webcast spells the end of Buffett's one-on-one
media interviews.
"We no longer can accommodate the increasing number of requests,"
one of Buffett's assistants wrote. "In addition, the webcast of the
annual meeting will let more people worldwide hear what Mr. Buffett
and Mr. Munger have to say."
Buffett has also simplified his day job.
In 2006 and 2011, Buffett gave up his seats on the boards of
Coca-Cola Co and Washington Post Co. Two lieutenants, Gregory Abel
and Tracy Britt Cool, now sit on the board of Kraft Heinz Co, a
major Berkshire investment.
Then in 2011 and 2012, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler came aboard to
help Buffett invest Berkshire's money.
And now General Re, Buffett's third largest acquisition, will be
cared for by Jain.
Goss said when Buffett does depart, some of the "Midwestern
sensibility" that investors equate with him, Berkshire and Omaha
will go with him.
"All of a sudden Omaha will be less identified with Berkshire
Hathaway, and it will be a change," he said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and
Meredith Mazzilli)
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