You don't have to be at the party to get to the Buffett

04 May 2016 - 09:56 By David Shapiro

I felt a little envious that I was missing the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders' Meeting for the second year in a row. I have always returned from my Omaha visits a lot cleverer than when I left, or, in the words of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime friend and business partner, a little less ignorant.But, thanks to a change in attitude, BH agreed to webcast the meeting, a decision motivated by the strain the huge influx of visitors exerted on the resources of the small mid-western town, as well as the inflated expense of making your way to the meeting.Yet, tuning in to the webcast on Saturday evening, it was clear the Century Link Centre arena was packed to the rafters.In hindsight I have to confess that I was not sorry to be enjoying the full benefits of the meeting, ensconced in an armchair, in the comfort of my home, and not cramped in the crowded arena, perched on a pew that was fine for a basketball game but not for six hours of intense concentration, writing notes on your lap in subdued light. Having attended a number of meetings in the past, I didn't miss the stress of flying from New York to and from Omaha, connecting through Chicago or Denver, or the effort of finding a taxi to get around the widespread city limits, or having to queue from 6am in the pouring rain to secure a decent seat in the auditorium.But I did miss Omaha's giant steaks, sailing down the Missouri in a riverboat, sipping a Samuel Adams while chatting to old friends like Kokkie Kooyman, and, most of all, the highlight of the BH meeting, the entertaining and comical one-hour video that precedes question time, a treat that was not offered on the webcast.Buffett, 85, and Munger, 92, have not lost their enthusiasm for business or for life, and remain as relevant as ever, showing no signs of slowing down. Buffett quoted a friend who had told him that there are 45000 women in America who have reached the age of 100, but only 10,000 men. To which Buffett responded, that if he wanted to improve his odds of reaching a century he'd better have a sex change.Twenty-five years ago, BH shares were trading at $8075 compared with the current price of $218,530, a compounded annual return of 14.1%. Few investors can match Buffett's record. Yet despite having accumulated a personal net worth of $62-billion, he treats his shareholders, big and small, as equal partners, never exploiting his position as CEO of one of the world's most prosperous investment companies for personal gain; his annual salary is a meagre $100,000.Explaining his success, he concedes that he only works with people he likes. He reads incessantly, familiarising himself with whatever is happening in the world, economically and politically. He tries understanding all kinds of businesses, whether he is invested in them or not, constantly assessing why some of them work and others don't.Neither is he afraid of challenging his previous philosophies and viewpoints: "When circumstances change, we change our mind."He acknowledges that you don't need a high IQ to choose a good investment. All you need is emotional control and the temperament to avoid self-destructive behaviour.After more than 50 years managing money, both he and Charlie stick dutifully to an axiom expounded by Charlie's grandfather: Success must be fairly won and wisely used...

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