Attendees have a ball at AGM
Shopping, meeting shareholders, and of course the chance to see famed 76-year-old investment guru Warren Buffett, were the attractions at this year's annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska.
"We had such a good time last year, we wanted to come back and sink in as much of this event as we can," said Jerri Anderson, a retired school secretary from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
Only the College World Series rivals this weekend as the top annual event in this city of about 415,000. Baseball brings in more fans. Buffett brings in fans with more to spend.
Based on what the Omaha Chamber of Commerce estimated was $800 of spending per person per day in 2006, this year's attendees might spend some $43.2 million on Saturday and Sunday alone. The College World Series last year added $38 million to the economy.
Much of the spending is at Berkshire-owned businesses, and attractions near downtown.
A high-end Berkshire-owned jeweler, Borsheim's, is both. It hosts the weekend's first official event, a Friday night cocktail reception that fills the mall housing the store, as well as an adjacent outdoor tent. The Thursday-to-Monday period generates more than 10 percent of Borsheim's annual sales.
The store is mobbed. Nine men in suits stand elbow to elbow behind the counter, serving customers. Snaking through and outside the tent are multiple, 100-plus lines of shareholders angling to down Grey Goose martinis, cheese cubes, meatballs, fried chicken winglets, carved roast beef, and raw fruits and vegetables. This is high finance at its most famished.
Many shareholders congregate in the Old Market, a group of renovated warehouses filled with restaurants, shops and nightlife. Others favor nearby museums.
"A lot of weekends are strong for us, but the Berkshire weekend is certainly unique," said Brian Magee, owner of the Upstream Brewing Co restaurant in the Old Market. Saturday night, 15 shareholders lined the main downstairs bar.
Those who explore have much to find, according to some shareholders who have. "I've done just about everything in this city I've done back home," said Kevin Anderson, a retired San Diego dentist who has attended 17 Berkshire meetings.
Many shareholders, though, say they see much less. Some, like Tatsuya Nakamura, who took at 14-hour flight from Tokyo to attend his fourth meeting, have little choice.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/08/2007 page16)
