A new vibe at the Woodstock of Capitalism.
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-A, BRK-B) annual shareholder meeting on Saturday marked a new era for the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett. It is the first time that the investment legend does not have his right-hand man, Charlie Munger, who passed away on November 28, 2023, just before his 100th birthday.
While Munger’s absence is significant, his presence loomed large throughout the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Charlie Munger’s name was one of the first words Buffett spoke when he took the stage.
Buffett described Munger as the “architect of Berkshire,” and his call for shareholders to “join me in applauding Charlie” was met with applause and a standing ovation from a crowd that included people like Apple CEO Tim Cook ( AAPL ), Citigroup ( C) CEO Jane Frasier and Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates.
“In terms of having a partner, I just can’t think of a conversation I’ve had with Charlie where he cheated on me,” Buffett later told the packed house.
Buffett added: “In terms of money management, there has been no one better in the world to talk to for many, many decades than Charlie.”
The meeting began with a video tribute to the former vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, which included a number of Munger’s famous quotes from previous meetings, including “I think every time you see the word EBITDA, you should replace it with word “bulls**t “gains”.
EBITDA is more formally known on the street as an abbreviation for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Companies tend to exaggerate the metric as a purer read on the health of the business rather than net profits.
“It’s a bittersweet moment… a difficult day for a lot of people,” Brooks Running’s new CEO Dan Sheridan told me about Munger’s absence.
Sheridan’s message was echoed by executives at other Berkshire-owned companies.
Dairy Queen Executive Vice President Maria Hokanson described it as “an air of gratitude” and “a moment for us to reflect and celebrate his character and wisdom.” Meanwhile, Pat Egan, longtime CEO of See’s Candies, noted that the influence of Munger’s investment is evident in the way Berkshire’s businesses operate.
“It’s still here in many ways… It’s about simplicity, doing the right thing, not overthinking things and taking care of the customer,” Egan told me.
Egan added: “You can’t replace Charlie Munger. He is simply an incredible presence and is missed.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Buffett made a mistake and called his successor Greg Abel “Charlie” when asking him to give his opinion on a shareholder issue. His mistake was met with applause from the public.
Buffett was also quick to highlight Munger’s influence on Berkshire’s portfolio, telling shareholders that BYD (BYDDY) and Costco (COST) were the two stocks Munger most favored.
“In all these years, Charlie only said “buy, buy, buy” twice. BYD was one of them and Costco was the other. Looking back, I should have been more aggressive at Costco. He was right, a lot, in both companies.”
Buffett and Munger’s unique and special partnership was evident when they asked the Oracle of Omaha what he would do if he could have one more day with Charlie.
“Charlie liked to learn. He liked a wide variety of things… We had just as much fun, maybe even more, with things that failed, because then we really had to find a way out of them,” Buffett said.
“It’s an interesting question,” Buffett added. “We never had doubts about the other person, period… Charlie always said ‘just tell me where I’m going to die and never go there again’. The truth is that he went everywhere with his mind, and therefore not only was he interested in the world at age 99, but the world was interested in him. It’s remarkable.”
Sean Smith is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Smith on Twitter @SeanaNSmith. Tips on business, mergers, activist situations or anything else? Email seanasmith@yahooinc.com.
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