Buffett plans in-person Berkshire meeting as omicron wave crests
(Reuters) – Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. plans this year to let shareholders attend the company’s annual meeting for the first time in three years, amid signs the omicron wave may have peaked in the United States.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate said “we are planning for an in-person meeting” on April 30, while also webcasting the event for a seventh straight year.
The plan was announced even as many large corporate gatherings remain online or are delayed as the highly infectious omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads around the world.
But new coronavirus cases are dropping within the United States, and the top U.S. infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci told MSNBC on Monday he believed “in the next few weeks we will see, as a country, that it is all turning around.”
Berkshire's annual shareholder weekend, whose centerpiece is the meeting, normally draws about 40,000 shareholders to Omaha for shopping, dining, a 5-kilometer run and other events. Mr. Buffett calls it “Woodstock for Capitalists.”
The meeting normally features Mr. Buffett, 91, and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 98, answering several hours of shareholder questions.
Berkshire’s 2020 meeting featured Mr. Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Greg Abel answering questions in Omaha, while the 2021 meeting moved to Los Angeles so Mr. Munger, who lives in the area, could join Mr. Buffett on stage. Shareholders stayed home from both.
Berkshire said it will release more details on the meeting with its annual shareholder report on Feb. 26.
