by Andy Bruno (Nicholas 2009)
Our adventure to Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting began with a seven hour car ride through the rolling hills of the Midwest, arriving in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday afternoon. The car was filled with eager Wisconsin MBA students thrilled to have the opportunity to listen to arguably the two greatest value investors of our time.
Friday night consisted of eating at Gorats, which is a popular steakhouse often frequented by Warren Buffet. Luckily we made a reservation in advance, otherwise there was no chance we would have been seated. The place was packed wtih people who would be attending the shareholder meeting the next day.
Saturday morning was the shareholder meeting, held at the Qwest Center. We woke up early to get in line, hoping to grab decent seats among the 30,000 plus who were expected to attend. Arriving at the Qwest Center at 6:00am with the doors opening at 7:00am, we found ourselves not first in line, nor were we the last. We were in the middle of a long line that curled around the outside of the stadium. Fortunately, another student had awoke at the crack of dawn and was at the front of the line, which resulted in our Wisconsin MBA group sitting on the floor about 25 rows from the "Legend of Omaha".
I would recommend individuals who have a passion for valuation to attend this shareholder meeting. It was very educational, while very entertaining. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger answered all the audience's questions, incorporating jokes to keep the audience entertained. In response to one question, Buffet did mention that the most important class MBAs could take was Valuation, which is one of the favorite classes in the Nicholas Center curriculum.
We ended the exciting day with dinner in the Old Market District of Omaha, which was a great way for all of us to end an eventful and memorable weekend.