Thousands of Berkshire Hathaway investors streamed into an arena Saturday hoping to hear Warren Buffett address what he thinks of President Donald Trump's tariffs and explain why he is sitting on $347.7 billion cash.
Tariffs were the top subject that shareholders asked about in the questions they sent ahead of time into the CNBC reporter who will grill Buffett and his top two managers throughout the day. Buffett had previously declined to discuss the topic on everyone's minds ahead of the meeting.
Haibo Liu even camped out overnight outside the arena to be first in line Saturday morning. Liu said he worries that this year could be Buffett’s last meeting since he is 94, so he made it a priority to attend his second meeting.
“He has helped me a lot,” said Liu who traveled from China to attend. “I really want to express my thanks to him."
The meeting attracts some 40,000 people every year who want to hear from Buffett, including some celebrities and well-known investors. This year, Hillary Rodham Clinton also attended. Clinton was the last candidate Buffett backed publicly because he has shied away from politics and any controversial topic in recent years for fear of hurting Berkshire's businesses.
Shareholder Linda Smith, 73, first learned about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway when she rented a room from his sister, Doris, while she was a graduate student in Washington D.C. Smith said Doris came home from an annual meeting not long after Berkshire bought See’s Candy and told her she had to buy the stock.
Smith couldn’t buy it immediately because the price of a single share was selling for about $3,400 and that was equal to her income as a grad student. But as soon as she got a job after college, she took her friend’s advice and began saving up to buy some of the stock that now sells for $809,350.
Over the years, Smith estimates she has probably attended about 20 annual meetings -- often bringing a friend.
“I really like to listen to Warren Buffett -- particularly this year with everything that has happened,” Smith said.
