It came up here at 1 p.m. when Warren Buffett, sitting on stage for a rock audience of about 40,000 in the Chi Health Center, said he received a “5 -minute warning”.
For most of those who were collected here for the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, his company, it was just a signal that the annual meeting known as’ Woodstock for Capitaliststen ended. The crowd, a mix of seasoned investors and newcomers with big eyes, did not know that they were about to witness a historic moment.
But the second Mr. Buffett called the five -minute warning, I knew something big was coming. For ten years I had the privilege of being on that stage with other journalists, to ask him questions – and for so many years, his deceased business partner Charlie Munger – on behalf of shareholders and the broader public. He had never noticed the time.
That meant that the major television monitors were confronted with him on stage, who show real-time transcriptions of questions asked by the public, now showed a countdown to words that we had expected for years, but never knew when they would come.
After 60 years, the company he described as his ‘painting’, Buffett was about to surprise Berkshire investors – as well as his own administration and his heir, Greg Abel – that he planned to join as Chief Executive At the end of the year. “I want that to jump on the directors,” he said with a smile.
Even before the announcement, uneasures visible through the audience section where the directors of Berkshire and the best friends of Mr. Buffett were. (Among those present were Bill Gates, the former director of the American Express, Ken Chenault and Hillary Clinton, where Tim Cook left Apple one hour in advance.) Afterwards exchanged looks, full of sorrow and understanding; Others seemed really shocked.
Then people in the crowd, many of whom were in tears, stood out of their seats in a standing ovation for a unique figure in the business world.
Mr Buffett, who will be in August 95, is often described as a symbol of American capitalism. In reality he is a bucket. He is more the conscience of capitalism, willing to speak uncomfortable truths about the ailments of the system, while others are silent. (Are Public comments on issues such as rates Are a good example at the weekend.)
The billionaire always comes across as a gentleman, and in a era of no confidence he has become a familiar figure. Colleague Business Moguls and government officials admire him because of his success, yes – Berkshire reported $ 89 billion in net profit last year, and it is one of the largest buyers of American treasury bonds – but also because he is unchanged by wealth. He lives in a modest house in Omaha and drove his own car for years, including the Drive Through at McDonald’s.
He is not perfect, something he would acknowledge, and urged his followers to stay in modest while he discussed his own investment missers (what he called his “sins of omission”). But that has also been entered into one of his greatest achievementsWith the help of his annual Berkshire letters and Marathon Q&A sessions with shareholders to inform generations about companies, investing and life itself.
After the announcement I was struck by a social media post of someone I had not considered a Buffett Watcher, who the importance of Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger perfectly encapsulated. “They were the good investors, dealers in reality, patient,” wrote Nick DentonThe founder of Gawker. “When the history of the rise and fall of America is written, one of the chapters in Omaha starts with their departure.”
(The plan of Mr Buffett to resign was only a matter of time as soon as Mr. Munger had died. Those who know that the Chief Berkshire will tell you how much the loss of his old friend has weighed him. This year Mr Buffett chose not to run the short film because of the two of them the previous one has the previous one, the previous one has the previous one, the previous one is the prevention of the previous one, the previous one, the previous one, I was igniting the previous one the previous one, the previous one, the previous one.
But like Mr. Buffett is preparing to leave is the big question: what happens to his masterpiece as soon as it is to Mr. Abel goes?
It has been clear for several years now that from day to day, Mr. Abel is already running large seams Of the activities of Berkshire, so the shift will probably not be dramatic. But the research by “Abel’s Berkshire” will undoubtedly increase: the company was not only built as a collection of different companies, but as the vision of one man.
Whatever Mr Buffett says about the qualifications of his outspoken successor – and he cannot be praised – investors will probably withhold their judgment until they see the results. Such as Erik Gordon, a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, said: “Taking over Buffett is more difficult than taking over from Superman.”
Mr. Abel said that he will try to maintain the culture that his boss has carefully built. But things will inevitably become different. The Berkshire board gave Mr Buffett an unparalleled degree of autonomy to operate as he saw fit, and often learned about important deals that he had only closed afterwards. And Mr Buffett rarely relied on the legions of bankers, accountants and consultants who are standard advisers for large companies – it was able to move at remarkable speed and decisiveness.
Mr. Abel will have to work hard to even earn part of that latitude, and Berkshire will probably operate with more guardrails among him. But there is speculation that Mr Buffett will remain chairman for a certain period of time, which can afford more freedom as Mr Abel as he grows in the top track. (Ultimately, Howard Buffett, the older son of Mr Buffett, is expected to be taken over as a non -existent chairman.)
Then there is the question of what happens to the Berkshire annual meeting itself, who every year attracts tens of thousands to Omaha for the chance to hear from Mr Buffett. The event has also created a powerful halo effect for the company and its shares, also for the city, and for companies in Berkshire, such as Netjets, Nebraska Furniture Mart and the Jeweler Borsheim’s. Will Mr. Buffett keep talking there? Will shareholders continue to make the pilgrimage if he doesn’t?
While the crowd spread the Chi Health Center, beyond the cabins of Berkshire companies that promote their wares their wares, there was the tangible feeling of the end of an era. The five -minute warning from Mr Buffett had arrived and the investment world will not be the same.
- Advertisement -
