2023 Buffett Annual Meeting | A Running Diary
This year, Buffett is 92 and Munger is 99.
Together with Shenshen from Heshenshi and a bunch of friends, I went to Omaha in the spirit of a pilgrimage and did every single thing a fan could possibly do.
Reading about it and being there in person really feel completely different.
Day One
The house Buffett has lived in for more than 30 years.
I picked up a few petals from the ground and pressed them in my notebook to take home. I'd like to live like Mr. Buffett, too — completely unburdened by material things.
The McDonald's and the office he tap-dances off to work to. Along the way we met lots of people who all said they know Buffett — he's like the town squire whom everyone knows and says hello to.
At the steakhouse he often goes to, there's a life-size cardboard cutout of him that they carry to each table so people can take photos. In such a small city, think how much economic benefit Buffett brings. I think his city and community is very proud of him, and he is very happy to do the contribution too.
The shareholder discount shopping event: lots of booths in a huge venue, just like a trade fair. All the US$1 DQ you can eat — remembering his investment in DQ, I broke my sugar fast.
Day Two
Not for nothing were we the most hardcore crew — we were lining up at the entrance at four in the morning. We even did a little strategic research on which section to head for and settled on sections 122/106, with a very clear target. (At 4 a.m., quite a few people were already in line.)
The world still rewards the diligent: we got really great seats.
We could almost make out the expressions on the two old gentlemen's faces, and spotting Bill Gates was no problem at all.
Here are my messy notes.
I haven't tidied or edited them, because that would take a lot of time and might mean I'd never end up posting this. So here it is as is — no responsibility taken for mistakes:
Value investing is a faithSome come to make a wish, some come to give thanks for one answeredSome are here for the 1st time, some for the 5th, some for the 35th. A young investor who has come five years in a row said that knowing is easy and doing is hard, so he comes to strengthen his conviction. You need to keep coming back to recharge in order to stay true to why you started. Feeling value investing in person
Doing value investing in China's A-share market: 20% of the time it's tough, 70% it's extremely tough, and only 10% of the time does it feel great. The shareholder discount day is in a huge stadium, booth after booth. From DQ ice cream to wall paint, affordable boots, clothing, bedding and insurance, all the way to yachts and private jets.
Not sexy — like a big-box store for city residents — it showed me a generation of companies that took off riding the "American Dream." People who live simply can do things that are anything but simple
There seem to be far more hotels in Omaha than in other cities. Walk into the McDonald's next to Buffett's home, and everyone from the cashier to the old gentleman eating breakfast knows Buffett, has played bridge with him, or. How hard it is for someone to remain like this after achieving such extraordinary success. Harder still, it was in exactly this manner that he succeeded. Integrity matters most- From what Buffett said in 2002/2004 when he appeared at a hearing on behalf of soloman
- Would it still be OK if what they did one day appeared in their local newspaper? If they can go through this test, they don't need my evaluation and management. Community- Shareholders of Berkshire is like a community- Many shareholders are retired middle-class people who invested in Berkshire because they trust Buffett
Fairness
- Just like buy a farm, regards shareholder as partners. Nothing Sure
Nothing sure today, tomorrow, nothing sure anytime.AI impact on the market negative or positive?
Buffett got cheeky: thank you for asking Charlie that question
- BYD factory in china we gonna see a lot of robotics
I think old fashion works pretty well
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Won’t be anything irreplacable
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If something can do all kinds of things, I am worried
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AI will change everything expect the way the man will behaveValue investment will be harder after AI
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My suggestion to value investors is to be prepared to earn less （by Muger）
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The world changing all the time, what gives you opportunists is other people doing dumb things. They do big dumb things , why they do , is they can take money from other people so easily in the beginning.
Wills | Raising children | Succession
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in my family i do not sign the will until my children are aware and make suggestion
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Depends on the business, on how they feel about each other , and depends on thousands things. People run into all kinds of things, some people use the will depending on their will . They made a lot of mistakes.
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Munger: Berkshire has a simple answer — just hold the god damn stock!
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It’s important that you want your children to have certain values it’s important to live them.
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Once a year, you should get your children together and have a dinner, giving them blank signed check wouldn't work.
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There are a lot of things that I don't like, but most of time I just keep silence
The TTI founder's choice
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He has got the money way more than he and his family needs.
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But if I sell the company, they gonna fire my people and leave their people, so in the end he sold the company to Buffett.
How owners of companies give up their benefit to Berkshire Hathaway
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I had five bosses in my life, i love working for them.
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But there is NOTHING like working for yourself, working for Berkshire Hathaway is probably the closest thing to it.
Doing what we do is a huge pleasant thing
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We gonna follow our own principles
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We don’t want to be any other big companies' CEO
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If you play golf everyday and you know you gonna hit the hole, nobody will play golf
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We are in the game just for us
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We had a lot of fun
btw, Omaha has lots of vintage shops worth browsing. I found a second edition of Poor Charlie's Almanack signed by Munger!
This trip was so rewarding — just could not ask for more.