Yahoo Finance WARREN BUFFETT: 'There’s a little bit of PT Barnum in me'
Warren Buffett reveals what PT Barnum taught him about showmanship
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-A, BRK-B) annual shareholder meeting gets underway on April 30, and those heading to the big event can expect anything other than a boring analyst convention.
A newspaper-tossing challenge, a 5K fun run and walk, a cookout, and a steak dinner are just some of the events scheduled for Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. “There’s a little bit of P.T. Barnum in me,” billionaire investor Warren Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer.
The highly-anticipated events, coupled with Buffett’s 50-year track record of creating shareholder value, attract thousands of investors from around the world. “I never dreamed it would get this large,” said Buffett. “We have had to move the venue about six times. We had well over 40,000 last year, and if you go back 25 years, Berkshire didn’t even have 40,000 shareholders, so it just keeps going.”
Buffett said the rapid growth has made it nearly impossible to increase access inside the venue. But now everyone can "attend." For the first time ever, Berkshire Hathaway will livestream its shareholder meeting on Yahoo Finance, bringing the energy of what happens in Omaha to a worldwide audience.
“We’re sort of maxed out, and we couldn’t take much in the way of further gains at the meeting,” said Buffett. “The room at the convention center, the main room, holds about 18,000. There are five overflow rooms. And then last year, we filled all those, and we had to go across the street to the old motel.”
There’s no theme for the annual meeting. And when Buffett takes the stage with vice chairman Charlie Munger it is not rehearsed or practiced. “[Munger] only comes [to Omaha] now for the annual meeting. And frequently, we don't see each other until just right before the meeting starts because he's off doing something and I'm off doing something,” said Buffett. “We go wherever the questions lead us. Last year we had over 60 questions and we get no advance notice of them. We do not know from the crowd who's going to be asking questions. Anything goes.”
On April 30th, Yahoo Finance will stream the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting exclusively, live right here on Yahoo Finance. You can find more information here.
