Berkshire’s Buffett Show Makes Way for the Next Act
The successors-in-waiting get to take the spotlight at a meeting that broke with tradition in meaningful, if subtle, ways.
Still the star of the show.
Photographer: Houston Cofield/BloombergBerkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual shareholder meeting has come around again, and this year, it broke with tradition in some meaningful, if subtle, ways.
Warren Buffett, the longtime CEO and master of ceremonies, found himself defending the company’s commitment to value investing, amid news that one of his lieutenants recently decided to purchase Amazon.com Inc. shares. Stock buybacks were a hotter topic than the search for Buffett’s next “elephant.” And Buffett even shared the spotlight — literally — with his potential successors. First, he ceded the microphone to Ajit Jain, vice chairman of the company’s insurance operations, when a question was directed to Jain and Buffett about the riskiest types of insurance contracts.