Warren Buffett weighs in on his own mortality at this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

Warren
Buffett
spoke
candidly
to


Berkshire
Hathaway
shareholders
Saturday
about
a
future
when
he’s
no
longer
there
to
lead
the
sprawling
conglomerate
he
built,
appearing
solemn
at
times
as
he
pondered
his
advanced
age,
and
reflected
on
his
late
friend
and
business
partner
Charlie
Munger.
The
death
of
Munger
last
year
brought
the
question
of
succession
to
the
forefront
of
many
investors’
minds
at
this
year’s
shareholders
meeting.

At
times,

Buffett,
who’s
about
to
turn
94
in
August,
seemed
to
mull
over
his
own
mortality,
even
as
he
said
he
was
feeling
fine
to
continue
running
the
business.
He
spoke
from
the
dais
at
Omaha,
Nebraska’s
CHI
Health
Center,
where
the
meeting
was
held,
with
his
lieutenants
Greg
Abel,
Berkshire
Hathaway
Energy
chairman
and
Buffett’s
heir
apparent,
as
well
as
Ajit
Jain,
vice
chairman
of
insurance
operations. 

“We’ll
see
how
the
next
management
plays
the
game
out
at
Berkshire,
[but]
fortunately
you
don’t
have
too
long
to
wait
on
that,”
Buffett
said. “I
feel
fine,
but
I
know
a
little
about
actuarial
tables.” 

“I
shouldn’t
be
taking
on
any
four-year
employment
contracts,
like
several
people
are
doing
in
this
world,
at
an
age
when
you
can’t
be
quite
that
sure
where
you’re
going
to
be
in
four
years,”
he
added.

Berkshire’s
future

The
Oracle
of
Omaha
provided
more
clarity
than
he’d
had
in
the
past
on
the
leadership
structure
at
Berkshire
going
forward,
disclosing,
for
example,
that
Abel

will
have
final
say
when
it
comes
to
the
conglomerate’s
investing
decisions. 

“I
would
leave
the
capital
allocation
to
Greg
and
he
understands
businesses
extremely
well,”
Buffett
said
Saturday. “If
you
understand
businesses,
you’ll
understand
common
stocks.”

Abel,
in
turn,
reassured
investors
that
the
culture
at
Berkshire
will
remain
the
same,
as
well
as
attract
new
people
going
forward. “I
think
we
have
a
very
special
company
at
Berkshire,”
he
said,
adding, “that’s
not
going
to
change.” 

Berkshire’s
architect

Munger’s
absence
was
felt
deeply
by
many
investors
at
this
year’s
shareholder
meeting.
The
business
titan
was
known
for
his

sharp
wit
and
wisdom,
and
over
the
decades
had
drawn
uproarious
laughter
from
the
crowd
with
his
many
humorous
asides. 

Some
of
those
zingers
and
insights
were
highlighted
in
a
video
tribute
at
the
start
of
this
year’s
meeting.
At
the
2015
meeting,
for
example,
he
observed, “Warren,
if
people
weren’t
so
often
wrong
we
wouldn’t
be
so
rich.”
As
the
lights
of
the
arena
came
on
at
the
conclusion
of
the
short
movie,
some
tens
of
thousands
of
investors
got
to
their
feet
for
a
standing
ovation. 

Buffett
spoke
often
of
Munger
throughout
the
morning
and
afternoon
sessions,
referring
to
him
as
the “architect”
of
Berkshire’s
success.
The
two
men
shaped
Berkshire
into
a

$900
billion
conglomerate
from
what
had
once
been
a
textile
mill.
He
also
noted
the
characteristics
he
admired
most
in
Munger,
such
as
his
honesty. “When
you
get
that
in
your
life,
you
cherish
those
people
and
you
sort
of
forget
about
the
rest,”
he
said. 

At
one
point
during
the
question-and-answer
session,
Buffett
referred
to
Abel,
who
was
sitting
to
his
left,
as
the
late
Munger
in
a
slip-up,
prompting
laughter
from
the
crowd. “I’m
so
used
to
that,”
admitted
Buffett,
who
said
he’d
likely “slip
again”
during
the
meeting.
Abel,
who
is
Buffett’s
named
successor,
responded: “It’s
a
great
honor.”
 

Buffett
also
took
some
time
to
honor
Carol
Loomis,
the
financial
journalist
who
had
edited
his
shareholder
letter
from
1977,
all
the
way
to
the
most
recent
Berkshire
report. “Carol
is
the
best
business
writer,”
Buffett
said,
adding, “Nobody
came
close
to
her,
and
she
started
from
scratch.” 

Despite
the
more
solemn
meeting,
Buffett
appeared
intent
to
keep
going
for
as
long
as
he
could
at
the
helm.
Addressing
his
shareholders
at
the
conclusion
of
the
2024
shareholder
meeting,
the
investor
said: “I
not
only
hope
you
come
next
year.
I
hope
I
come
next
year.” 

—
CNBC’s
Brian
Evans,
Alex
Harring
and
Pia
Singh
contributed
to
this
report.