Berkshire Hathaway held its annual shareholders meeting on May 3, drawing more than 20,000 shareholders to Omaha for a weekend known as “Woodstock for Capitalists.” This year marked a significant milestone, as 94-year-old Warren Buffett announced that it would be his final meeting as CEO before retiring at the end of this year.
As usual, Buffett spent hours answering specific questions about business and more broad questions about life in general – and if you step back from his answers far enough, you realize there is little distinction between the two.
Buffett spoke about various topics, including the importance of low-cost energy (it’s difficult dealing with regulators from every state), Berkshire’s record $347 billion in cash (cash is a strategic investment, not uninvested money), and the value of long-term thinking (if a 15% stock decline bothers you, you need a different investment strategy).
Buffet loves his country, describing the day he was born – in the United States – as the luckiest day of his life, humorously adding, “If I were being born today, I’d keep negotiating until they said I could be born in the U.S.”
While optimistic about the U.S., he voiced concerns about weaponizing trade and tariffs, emphasizing the benefits of global trade. “We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world.”
He also warned about perpetual and growing federal government deficits, noting that the U.S. is operating at a fiscal deficit that is unsustainable over a very long period of time – although he doesn’t know if that period is two years or 20. He then quoted economist Herbert Stein, reminding the audience, “If something cannot go on forever, it will end.”
In response to a question from a 14-year-old shareholder, Buffett described reading 20,000 pages of stock information to find a single bargain investment, repeating a recommendation of his longtime partner Charlie Munger: “Keep a lot of curiosity and read a lot.”
Buffett’s own curiosity and willingness to learn is evident in his thoughts about Artificial Intelligence, warning not to dismiss AI as meaningless. He believes it is going to be a game-changer for pricing insurance.
Last September, the Economist published an article, “Has Warren Buffett Lost His Touch?” It reminded me of a 1999 Barron’s piece titled, “What’s Wrong, Warren?”, that argued Buffet’s refusal to buy into the dot-com mania was proof that the elderly Buffett (then 69-years-old) had lost his touch. (Since then, Berkshire’s stock has increased approximately 1,350%, more than twice the S&P 500 return of 588%.)
As Buffett’s CEO tenure draws to a close, his blend of timeless wisdom and modern insight reminds us that curiosity, patience, and unwavering principles are as essential to life as they are to business.
David Moon is president of Moon Capital Management. A version of this piece originally appeared in the USA TODAY NETWORK.