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Smith Students Hear from the Oracle of
Omaha at
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting
Berkshire Hathaway, here we come!
Smith faculty member Sue White,
Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow, and
finance lecturer David Kass brought a
small, but dedicated group to the
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in
Omaha, Nebraska, May 2-4, 2008.
Read Sue White's account of the
trip:
All were students in my fall 07 BMGT
440FP, Emerging CFOs Finance Fellows,
class: Dara Khan, Belen Jacome, Paul
Hughes, David Zhang, and John Wu. In
addition, Mark Wellman, Tyser Teaching
Fellow, brought a group of 10
undergraduate fellows to the meeting.
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Dara Khan
and Belen Jacome in front of
Piccolo's, a favorite
restaurant of Warren Buffet,
where he sometimes brings
student groups. |
Three of the students had a nightmare
travel itinerary – their flight left
five hours late, causing them to miss
their connecting flight in St. Louis.
They ended up on a flight to Kansas
City, where they rented a car and drove
the remaining three hours to arrive in
Omaha about 2 a.m.
We went to the Yellow BRK’er group
reception, organized by Shai Dardashti,
a Maryland undergraduate alumnus, and at
24, manager of a hedge fund, Dardashti
Capital. The Yellow BRK’ers are all
enthusiastic Berkshire Hathaway
shareholders, and formed the first
Berkshire Hathaway discussion board on
AOL. We then headed to the Dairy Queen
(a Berkshire Hathaway company) where
half a dozen authors of Warren Buffett
and investing books were there to sell
and sign. Morningstar gave away free ice
cream cones to everyone.
Two of the students and I were up at
5 a.m. so they could be near the front
of the line when the doors opened at 7
a.m. We had prime seats, joining an
estimated 31,000 Berkshire shareholders.
First, we explored the exhibit area,
where the Berkshire Hathaway companies
were selling and displaying their wares
- See’s Candy, Pampered Chef, Borsheim’s
jewelry, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Justin
boots, Geico, Garanimals, new
acquisition Mars and Wrigley and more.
(M&Ms with Warren Buffett’s picture were
passed out.)
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Paul
Hughes and John Wu in front
of Piccolo's. |
The show began at 8:30 a.m. with a
movie starring Warren Buffett and
Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway vice
chairman. Buffett became embroiled in a
plot with Susan Lucci of "All My
Children," with Buffett staring in her
soap opera while she took over the
company. Charlie Munger came on stage,
joined by the real Susan Lucci, who said
she was taking over – paying dividends
(everyone applauded – BRK does not pay
dividends). Buffett came out and took
his job back and then answered
shareholder questions for the next five
hours.
John Wu said, "Berkshire Hathaway's
annual meetings had always been a
coveted event among the finance world.
Being able to attend the meeting was a
unique and informative experience that
will help me in ways to come."
We had dinner at Piccolo’s, one of
Buffett’s favorite restaurants, and
brunch at Borsheim’s the next day. And
happily, the flights home were much
better than going!
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2005 Smith School Trip To Meet Warren
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