Rare video and audio of the full Q&A session with the world’s richest man and most successful investor Warren Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger from the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Bill Ackman asks a question at 47:00.
Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc, Also read Lear Capital: Financial Products You Should Avoid?
1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting: Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger & Bill Ackman
Transcript
We were a little worried today because we we weren’t sure from the reservations whether we can handle everybody but it looks to me like May maybe a couple of seats left up there but I think next year we’re going to have to find a different spot because it looks to me like we’re up about 600 this year from last year and to be on the safe side. We will seek out a larger spot. Now there are certain implications to that because some of the more experienced of you know a few years ago we were we were holding this meeting at the Josselyn Museum which is a temple of culture and we have now of course moved to an old vaudeville theater and the only place in town that can hold us. Next year I think is the X Charbon coliseum where they have Keano and racetracks. We’re sliding down the cultural chain. This is just as Charlie predicted years ago. He saw this coming Charlie and said I have some rather distressing news to report. There are always a few people that vote against everyone on the slate for directors and there maybe a dozen or so people do that. And then there are others that single shot it and they pick out people to vote against and this will come as news a charge. I haven’t told him yet but he is the only one among our candidates for directors that receive no negative votes this year.
No need to applaud when you lose out the title of Miss Congeniality to Charlie you know you’re in trouble I’d like to like to tell you a little bit how we’ll run this way well we will we will have the business meeting in a hurry with cooperation of all of you and then we will introduce our managers who are here and then we will have a Q and A period. We will run that until 12 o’clock at which point we’ll break and then at 12 15 if the hardcore want to stick around we will have another hour or so until about 115 of questions so you’re free to leave. Of course any time and I’ve pointed out in the past that it’s much better form if we leave while Charlie is talking rather than when I’m talking but feel free at any time but you can if you’re panicked and you’re and you’re in you’re worried about being conspicuous by leaving you will you will be able to leave it at noon. We will have a buses out front that will take you to the hotels or the airport or to any place in town in which we have a commercial interest. We encourage you staying around on that basis. Let’s have let’s get the business of the meaning out of the way and then we get on to more interesting things. My name is Michael Mullen from Omaha. Would you comment on the use of derivatives. I noticed the Dell Computer stock was off two and a half points Friday with the loss in derivatives. The question is about derivatives way we have in this room the author of the best the best thing you can read on that. There was an article in Fortune about a month ago or so by Carol Loomis on derivatives and far and away as the best article that has been written.
We also have some people in the room that do business in derivatives from Salomon and it’s a very broad subject at as we said last year I think someone asked what might be the big financial story of the 90s. And we said we obviously don’t know but that if we had to pick a topic that it could well be derivatives because they they lend themselves to the use of.