Tens of thousands of shareholders crammed into an arena for Warren Buffett’s annual meeting were forewarned that artificial intelligence scams may turn into “the growth industry of all time.”
Expanding on his warning remarks from the previous year, Buffett told the crowds he had just faced the negative aspects of artificial intelligence. And it had his exact appearance and voice.
A spoof film of Buffett was created, and it seemed convincing enough that even the self-described Oracle of Omaha admitted he could see it fooling him into sending money abroad.
The wealthy investing guru foresaw that scammers would take advantage of the technology and may use it for more harm than good.
Laptops 1000He remarked, “As someone who doesn’t understand a damn thing about it, I just don’t know how that plays out. It has enormous potential for good and enormous potential for harm.”
RESERVE PRIOR TO MUSINGS
Early on Saturday, the paper value of Berkshire Hathaway’s investments fell, and the company reduced its holdings in Apple, leading to the announcement of a sharp decline in earnings.
In the first quarter, the company’s profit was $12.7 billion, or $8,825 per Class A share; this is a 64% decrease from $35.5 billion, or $24,377 per A share, a year earlier.
Buffett, nevertheless, advises investors to focus more on the conglomerate’s operating profits from the businesses it truly owns. The success of insurance businesses drove this 39% increase to $11.222 billion, or $7,796.47 per Class A share.
Nothing that interfered with the enjoyment of it.
To purchase Squishmallows of Buffett and former Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who passed away last fall, large crowds flocked the arena. Unlike any other company conference, the event draws investors from all over the world. The desire to see Buffett while he is still alive, at ninety-three, motivates those who are visiting for the first time.
“This is among the world’s greatest investing education opportunities. After spending over two days travelling from India to Omaha, Akshay Bhansali stated, “I wanted to learn from the industry’s gods.”
REMARKABLE SILENCE
Followers travel from all over the world to soak up pearls of wisdom from Buffett, who is credited with coining the term “Woodstock for Capitalists” for the gathering.
However, a crucial component was absent this year: it was the first gathering since Munger’s passing.
A video homage to him that featured some of his most well-known sayings, such as the timeless “If people weren’t so often wrong, we wouldn’t be so rich,” opened the conference.
Along with the real-life skits, the movie included two that the investors had done with celebrities over the years: one in which actress Jaimie Lee Curtis fawned over Munger and the other in which one of the women introduced Munger as her lover.
The auditorium broke into a protracted standing ovation in honor of Munger, who Buffett referred to as “the architect of Berkshire Hathaway,” as the video came to a conclusion.
According to Buffett, Munger kept his curiosity in the world alive to the end of his life at the age of 99. He regularly held Zoom calls, hosted dinner parties, and met new people.
Buffett remarked, “Like his hero Ben Franklin, Charlie wanted to understand everything.”
Munger and Buffett performed as a quintessential comedy team for many years, with Buffett providing long setups to Munger’s sharp one-liners. He once called internet startups without track record “turds.”
Laptops 1000Together, the two turned Berkshire from a failing textile mill into a vast conglomerate with a wide range of businesses, including major utilities, BNSF railway, insurance companies like Geico, and a host of other enterprises.
Berkshire’s success, according to Munger, can be attributed to “trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” He and Buffett were renowned for remaining in industries they were knowledgeable about.
“Warren spoke for at least eighty percent of the time. However, Whitney Tilson, an analyst at Stansberry Research, who was excited for his 27th straight meeting, observed, “Charlie was a great foil.”
UPCOMING GEN LEADERS
But Munger’s absence gave shareholders an opportunity to learn more about the two executives that run Berkshire’s businesses directly: Abel, who has been anointed Buffett’s successor and manages everything else, and Ajit Jain, who is in charge of the insurance divisions. This year, Buffett and the two shared the main stage.
When Buffett asked Abel a question for the first time, he answered, “Charlie?” by error. Abel ignored his error and focused on the difficulties utilities face due to the rising risk of wildfires and regulators’ unwillingness to allow them to make a respectable profit.
Greggory Warren, an analyst for Morningstar, stated that he thinks Abel talked more on Saturday and showed investors some of the genius that Berkshire executives boast about.
Abel put a unique spin on Munger’s well-known “I have nothing to add” response by frequently beginning his responses on Saturday with “The only thing I would add.”
Chris Bloomstran, president of Semper Augustus Investments Group, referred to Greg as a “rock star.” “There is a lot of depth in the bench. At the meeting, he won’t be as funny. However, I believe that each year we all come here to be reminded to use common sense.
A VIEW OF WHAT’S TO COME
Abel will take over as CEO of Berkshire, as Buffett has made clear, but he stated on Saturday that he had revised his thoughts on managing the company’s investment portfolio. He had previously stated that two investment managers, who currently manage little portions of the portfolio, will be in charge of it.
Buffett supported Abel on Saturday for the position, which includes managing the running companies and potential acquisitions.
“He has a deep understanding of business and common stocks are understood by those who understand businesses, according to Buffett. The billionaire threatened to come back and haunt them if they attempted to go a different route, but in the end, the board will have to make that decision.
All things considered, Buffett stated that Berkshire’s reporting structure—all non-insurance companies reporting to Abel, insurers reporting to Jain—is doing admirably.
Since Abel and Jain are now providing them with more guidance, he himself rarely receives calls from managers.
Laptops 1000Buffett remarked, “If something happened to me, this place would work extremely well the next day.”
Buffett’s final statement, “I not only hope that you come next year but I hope that I come next year,” was the most well-received quote of the day.
