Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting 2023

In this blog post you will find the following news from the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting 2023:

  • Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting 2023
  • Best of Warren & Charlie: Question and Answer Session
  • Tips & Tricks for Participation with a Disability ♿︎
  • Invest in Yourself 5k Run
  • Raffle: Souvenirs from Berkshire Hathaway

After fulfilling my dream as an Independent Wealth Management from Basel to be there live in 2022, I was able to take a good friend in a wheelchair with me this year: He really wanted to be there in 2022, but had to wait another year due to an important operation. It worked out in 2023 – now we can also give some tips on what you should consider with a handicap ♿︎

I was at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting last year – if you want to take one of the last opportunities to see Warren Buffett (92) and Charlie Munger (99) live, here are my detailed instructions on how to get the coveted admission tickets:

2022 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting – Impressions & Experiences

ATTENTION Don’t Miss the Prize Draw!

In addition to Memories & Experiences, I took some great souvenirs with me. I will be giving them away here. So everyone has a chance to win a Berkshire Hathaway souvenir, even if you couldn’t be there in Omaha. To take part in the prize draw, you can scroll all the way down here. There you can see the conditions of participation.

Berkshire Hathaway Souvenirs

Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting 2023

Saturday, 6. May 2023

Warren Buffett und Charlie Munger 2023

Berkshire-Hathaway-Film

Before the actual question and answer session with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, there was, as always, an exclusive film about Berkshire Hathaway. It was amusing that this time a compilation of questions about succession planning at Berkshire was shown:

As early as 1994, the question arose as to how and whether Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger would have organised the succession. Others were shown from 1995, 1996, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2018.

Who would have thought almost 30 years ago that these two, aged 92 and 99, would still not have had enough? Quite the opposite: during the subsequent question and answer session, they again patiently answered questions of all kinds for over five hours.

Best of Warren & Charlie: Question & Answer Session

You can find the entire question-and-answer session in the CNBC video below. For those who don’t want to sit through 7 hours and 44 minutes, I’ve put together a few highlights here – translated, of course, and without any claim to completeness:

Banking crisis: The topic came up both before and after the lunch break.

When asked what would have happened if Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits had not been secured, Warren Buffett replied:

‘It would have been a disaster – that’s why they were covered. Exactly the same applies to the debt ceiling.’

The political moves surrounding the US debt ceiling in particular repeatedly made the markets nervous during Donald Trump’s time in office and are now once again a hot topic with Joe Biden. However, the US and the global economy simply cannot afford for the US to go bankrupt – as Warren Buffett rightly says, that would be a disaster.

Later, it was also about dealing with management at banks.


Warren Buffett commented:
‘The lesson is: you can run a bank, mess it up and still get rich. That’s not a good lesson.’

In my opinion, this should also be seen as a reference to the downfall and rescue of Credit Suisse. But top managers at other banks may also feel addressed here.

Emotions: How do you protect yourself from emotional investment decisions?

Warren Buffett asks Charlie Munger:
‘Have we ever made an emotional decision?’


Charlie Munger:
“Nein!”

Charlie Munger’s answer was immediate, short and dry. In addition to other factors, this is exactly what sets them apart from other investors. As an asset manager, I see this time and again – even people with a lot of money are sometimes at the mercy of their own emotions such as fear and greed, even though they see themselves as absolutely rational. This often results in a form of herd behaviour. I try to keep this in check with clearly measurable criteria. And yet, time and again I find myself resisting the temptation to disregard these criteria.

Artificial intelligence (AI):


Charlie Munger:
‘I’m a bit sceptical about the hype surrounding AI. I think that old-fashioned intelligence works quite well.’

Warren Buffett:
‘AI can change many things in the world, but not the way people think and behave.’

While Charlie Munger – as usual – takes a critical view of the whole thing, Warren Buffett was a little more nuanced. Nevertheless, I think they are right – people themselves are emotional beings and our behaviour does not change so quickly.

Value Investing:

Charlie Munger:
‘My advice for value investors: get used to earning less. Because there are so many competing against each other. (…) There’s a lot of money in the hands of smart people trying to outdo each other.’

Warren Buffett:
‘What gives you opportunities are other people doing stupid things.’

In fact, a pure value investing strategy has not delivered the same good results in recent years as it used to. Nevertheless, the performance of Berkshire Hathaway shows that respectable returns can still be generated very consistently.

Capitalism:

Charlie Munger:

‘You can try to eliminate the pain, but you also eliminate the opportunities. (…) You know what they say about the Russian economy: ‘They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work.’ ’

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UKw_NjWtg5w%3Fenablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.valueinvestments.ch

Available for Sale & Held-to-Maturity:

If you’re wondering why Warren Buffett is ‘Available for Sale’ and Charlie Munger ‘Held-to-Maturity’ from the second half of the Question & Answer, here’s the answer:

It was a joke on their part when another question about the renewed banking crisis came after the lunch break: Warren Buffett said they had expected such questions and had prepared a few words in classic ‘banking jargon’…. When he turned round the ‘Available for Sale’ sign and especially when he placed the ‘Held-to-Maturity’ sign in front of Charlie Munger (99), the laughter in the room was huge. The two of them were clearly having fun and don’t take themselves quite as seriously as others might.

Download here
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report 2022:

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report 2022 

Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting
Visit ♿︎ with a Disability- Experiences, Tips and Tricks

My friend Flurin and I had both wanted to go to Omaha for a long time – but then the pandemic threw a spanner in the works and Flurin had to wait another year for health reasons. In 2023, it finally worked out – to his and my great joy, we were able to successfully complete the Omaha adventure.

We have had very good experiences – despite or perhaps because of our handicap: Americans are very friendly, understanding and considerate towards people with disabilities. Only the pavements are not at all ideal for a wheelchair, but hardly anyone needs them in Omaha anyway – after all, that’s what oversized cars are for.

Here we have put together a few things that might help you – handicap or not, we can definitely recommend a visit to Omaha:

Tips & Tricks with a Disability ♿︎

  • Transport: A big car is worth it and in Omaha there are more big cars than small ones. Our vehicle of choice was a Chevrolet Suburban – it was easier to get in and out and the wheelchair fitted in completely without us having to fold it up.
  • Accommodation: We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott in Omaha Downtown/Old Market. The price is of course overpriced during the General Assembly, but the location is great! The Convention Centre and Old Market are just a few minutes away by car. We were even able to roll/walk to the 5k run.
  • Credentials: To get your entry tickets quickly, you need a bit of luck: we kindly asked a security employee if she could accompany us to the front. This worked perfectly – after a brief consultation with her supervisor. Queuing for one to two hours with a wheelchair would have been simply unreasonable.
  • Queueing early? Don’t worry – there’s a special entrance with a big sign right next to the lobby, so you can be inside in five minutes without queuing.
  • Best seats: Because we were inside so quickly, we got good seats in front of the stage. These are ideal because you can get there without a lift. But there are also special seats in the corners at the top of the stands.
  • Car parks: There was a slight problem here, as the special car parks were quickly full on the day of the General Assembly. I unloaded Flurin in front of the Convention Center beforehand and parked the car on my own in the underground car park right next to the Convention Center. We wouldn’t have made it up the stairs in a wheelchair. So it’s worth getting there 20 minutes earlier than us – around 6.40 am should be enough.
  • Toilets: There are extra toilets for people with disabilities almost everywhere ♿︎. We only had a little trouble at the Old Market, where the space in some restaurants was very challenging for wheelchairs.

In the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Guide you will also find some useful information on page 8 under the heading Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), so I have also provided this as a download below.

Download here
Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Guide 2023:

Shareholders Guide Berkshire Hathaway 2023 

Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting
What did I do differently in 2023?

This year I have taken some of my own tips from last year to heart:

  1. More space for souvenirs: After space problems in 2022, I took half-empty checked baggage with me – it was properly filled on the return journey.
  2. Running shoes: For the Invest in Yourself 5k Run. There was only one tip I didn’t take to heart – instead of registering for it in March, I signed up shortly beforehand and paid the full price.
  3. The Drover Steakhouse: Attention! It’s worth making a reservation. This year it was very full and difficult to get a seat without a reservation.
  4. The Bookworm and Borsheims: This year I only visited the stalls at the Bazaar of Bargains, which is absolutely enough.

Invest in Yourself 5k Run

This year I took part in the ‘Invest in Yourself 5k Run’ myself. This is organised by Brooks® – also a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. There are some good runners who complete the 5k in record time: The fastest female runner crossed the finish line after 19 minutes and 16 seconds. The fastest runner finished in 16 minutes and 29 seconds. I am absolutely not a talented runner and finished in 340th place out of 2,116 runners in 25 minutes and 59 seconds – in my age group I was in 40th place out of 202 runners.

However, many take a more leisurely approach – some even walk with pushchairs. After an hour, the route is reopened to traffic. Those who are still on the road are allowed to finish the run in peace, but on the pavement.

You don’t need to bring anything except sportswear. There are snacks, bananas, water, coffee and plenty of toilets on site – simply everything you need.

You can register online at www.investinyourself5k.com.

My companion Flurin edited a video of the whole spectacle, which of course I don’t want to withhold from you:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fd3u09eegmw?enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valueinvestments.ch


Raffle

Memorabilia from Berkshire Hathaway

The Raffle will be Held:

  • 2x Flip book: With quotes from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger
  • 1x Baseball: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. baseball with the signature of Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett.
Berkshire Hathaway Souvenirs

Raffle

IMPORTANT – Conditions of Participation

For anyone who wasn’t able to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s 2023 Annual General Meeting this year, I’ve brought along some memorabilia. To take part in the prize draw, you just have to do two things:

  1. Write a comment:
    For example, what fascinates/inspires you most about Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway or Value Investing?
  2. Send a short message:
    Click on the ‘Raffle’ button and write me in the contact form which memento you would most enjoy and your e-mail address so that I can notify you – I can’t promise anything, but I will try to take your wishes into account.

The prize draw will run until Sunday, 11 June 2023 – after that I will inform the winners by email and send the prizes by post. Shipping will only take place in Switzerland and Europe.

Raffle