Financial News Agency, May 5 (Editor Xiaoxiang) "There is one less dogwood planted everywhere" - At the 2024 Berkshire shareholders meeting, it will be difficult for people to see the late Buffett's close friend Munger, but it makes people What everyone feels is that Munger seems to be everywhere...
In the first half of the shareholders' meeting, Buffett would almost blurt out the sentence "How about Munger" when answering multiple answers. Perhaps the most impressive episode in the middle of the shareholders' meeting was when Buffett wanted his CEO successor Abel to answer a question, but he ended up calling him "Charlie"...
When he realized that he called the wrong name Buffett later couldn't help but laugh at himself, "I said I'm used to it, and I might be able to speak smoothly later!"
In November last year, Charlie Munger died at the age of 99, just 33 days before his 100th birthday.
and Obviously, in the past years, Buffett and Munger have almost appeared on the stage of the "two-person turn" at the shareholder meeting, and Buffett seems to have not fully adapted, which lacks Munger's podium...
In fact , from the very beginning, this year’s “Investment Community Spring Festival Gala” was almost filled with an atmosphere of reminiscence. A short video played before Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting paid tribute to Munger. In this alternately touching and humorous short film, Buffett pays tribute to his long-time friend and business partner, once again calling Charlie Munger "the architect of Berkshire."
This short film details the life of Charlie Munger, including his life in Omaha, Nebraska, USA - where he and Buffett were born and raised, just a short distance from Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting The venue is only two miles away. It also features clips of many of the bon mots the investing guru has become known for over the years.
Included in the 2015 annual meeting was Munger's particularly classic line, "Warren, if people didn't make mistakes all the time, we wouldn't be so rich."
One of the Munger quotes in the short film also includes him Speech at an earlier shareholder meeting: "If I can still remain optimistic even if I am dying, you should definitely be able to accept a little inflation." "In real life, the correct way to make decisions is based on your Opportunity cost. When you get married, you have to choose the best person to have you for the rest of your life."
About 30,000 shareholders stood up and applauded Munger to pay tribute to Buffett's business partner for more than 60 years. .
Buffett said that in order to commemorate the passing of Munger, Charlie Munger's "Poor Charlie's Almanac" will be the only book sold at this year's shareholder meeting. At previous shareholder meetings, there were usually about 25 books on sale.
If you had another chance to spend one day with Munger, what would you do?
Perhaps the most heartwarming question at the shareholder meeting was a question asked by a child to Buffett: If you had the opportunity to spend one more day with Munger, what would you like to do?
Buffett responded with a smile, "This is an interesting question. Charlie likes to learn. As mentioned in the previous video, he is interested in many things, and his interests in many things are broader than mine. I went with him in the past We have done many things together: playing tennis and golf. We are happier when we spend time together than when we are alone. "
" Our fun lies in making mistakes together, correcting them together, and learning lessons. This seems to be more fun. It's fun because your partners will help you get out of trouble, and then you'll see that the decisions you made ten years ago are still making money,"
Buffett said, "Charlie shared a lot of good ideas with me. Except when he was in the army, he never thought about eating healthily, but he still lived to be 99.9 years old. If Charlie could spend a day with me, I think it would be no different than any day we spent together in the past."
Maybe. In Buffett's mind, every day he worked with Munger was the best day.
Among several other questions, Buffett also told the audience the story of the two stocks Munger believed Berkshire needed to buy the most - BYD and Costco, admitting that he didn't listen enough to the latter.
"Charlie knocked on the table with me twice and said, 'Buy, buy, buy.' BYD was one, Costco was the other, and I should have been more aggressive at Costco," Buffett recalled.
Buffett also lamented that in the past few decades, no one in the world is more suitable for discussion than Charlie when it comes to managing money.
As Buffett wrote after Munger's death, "Without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation, Berkshire Hathaway would not have developed to where it is today."
The issue of succession has once again become the focus of shareholder meetings
Of course, Munger's death may also make Buffett, who is nearly 94 years old, feel that time is not forgiving. In response to a question, Buffett said that at the age of 93, he is no longer as efficient as he was decades ago. The Oracle of Omaha quipped that he might not sign any more four-year employment deals.
There is no doubt that at this shareholder meeting, Buffett’s successor and Berkshire’s future transition issues have also become the focus of shareholders.
As early as last year's shareholder meeting, Buffett had designated Abel as his successor. In the shareholder letter released in February this year, Buffett once again emphasized that Abel is ready in all aspects to serve as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway tomorrow.
In this regard, Buffett recently stated at the shareholder meeting that due to his advanced age, his reading speed, physical strength and operational efficiency are declining, much lower than 30 years ago, and he no longer even recognizes the management of many subsidiaries. , "If there are better people to report to, why come to me?"
Buffett believes that the way Berkshire operates now "couldn't be more perfect" - Abel better understands the difficulties of its businesses and can When it comes to advice, Ajit Jain’s wisdom in the insurance industry is unparalleled. The two vice-chairmen also have better energy and convey the message in an appropriate manner.
Jain also said that after it was announced that Abel would succeed CEO, the entire transition period was very smooth. In the past, the management of some subsidiaries would call Buffett to report on the business, but now Buffett will deliberately direct the calls to Abel and him. deal with.
In fact, not only Buffett is now over 90 years old, but Ajit Jain, the head of Berkshire’s insurance business, is also 72 years old this year. When asked about "how difficult it would be to find Ajit Jain's successor," Buffett said that the company could not find another Ajit Jain, but we have an operating system he created. At least some of them are nearly impossible for competitors to imitate.
Ajit Jain responded that no one is irreplaceable.
Jain pointed to Apple CEO Cook who was attending the shareholder meeting and said, "There is Tim Cook in the audience today. He has proven this and set an example for many people. Berkshire Our board of directors is very focused on succession issues, and every year they have me sit in front of them and answer questions and share my thoughts with them, like what would happen operationally if I got hit by a truck. I would give them a brief. List of people I think might be candidates to replace me. Beyond that, I'll go one step further and identify a specific person to whom I will hand the keys if anything happens to me."
( Financial Associated Press Xiaoxiang)
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