There’s something missing from Warren Buffett’s annual address to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this Saturday.
The death of his longtime business partner Charlie Munger last November at the age of 99 marked the end of an era. just as warm.
Greg Abel, who runs Berkshire’s non-insurance operations and is expected to eventually succeed Buffett as CEO, is expected to join Buffett this weekend along with Ajit Jain, who heads the insurance business.
Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ meeting was dubbed “Woodstock for capitalists.” It’s a three-day event that offers everything from shopping to a 5K run and a picnic, and attracts up to 40,000 people from around the world each year.
Some come to the festival. Some are for celebrities (Apple’s Tim Cook and actor Bill Murray have previously dropped by). But most traditionally came to listen to Buffett and Munger, who expressed their thoughts on investing and the current climate.
“Charlie and I are shameless,” Buffett. wrote in his letter to shareholders last year. “Last year, at our first shareholders’ meeting in three years, we greeted you with our usual commercial bustle. From the first call we went straight to your wallet. In no time, our See’s kiosk has sold you eleven tons of nutritious peanuts and chocolates. In our PT Barnum presentation we promised you longevity. After all, what else could help Charlie and I live to be 99 and 92 besides See’s candy?”
Munger died a few days before his 100th birthday.th birthday. He and Buffett met when they both worked as teenagers at a grocery store owned by Buffett’s grandfather, but didn’t realize it until 1959. But they only began to work their magic in 1978, when Munger joined Berkshire Hathaway as vice president. .
“The plan he gave me was simple: forget everything you know about buying an honest business at great prices; instead, buy great businesses at fair prices,” Buffett. wrote in the company’s 2015 letter to shareholders. “Changing your behavior is not an easy task (ask my family). I’ve had reasonable success without Charlie, so why should I listen to a lawyer who never spent a day in business school (while – ahem – I went to three). But Charlie never tired of repeating to me his maxims about business and investing, and his logic was irrefutable. Consequently, Berkshire was built to Charlie’s design.”
IN February letter to shareholdersBuffett paid tribute to his partner, saying: “Charlie never sought to take credit for the role of creator, but instead allowed me to bow and receive accolades. In a way, his relationship with me was half big brother, half loving father. … Although I have been leading a construction team for a long time; Charlie should always be considered an architect.”