OMAHA — On the opening day of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, the first thing you notice is the Dilly Bars.
Thousands of shareholders from around the world strolled a packed exhibit hall shoulder to shoulder, munching on treats from one of Berkshire’s best-known subsidiaries, Bloomington-based Dairy Queen.
Attendees toted their ice cream bars through pop-up shops and displays for other Berkshire companies, collecting bags of swag from See’s Candies, Squishmallows and Brooks Running, while taking photos with a giant Geico gecko statue.
Some shareholders showed up in designer suits, while others dressed for Disneyland. Young professionals, chattering about index funds, passed longtime investors at their 20th meeting.
The consensus, overheard more than a few times at CHI Health Center on Friday: “This is nuts.” The yearly gathering in Omaha was delivering on its reputation as being “Woodstock for capitalists.”
For a weekend every year, this Midwestern city is the focus of global business as the world’s seventh-most-valuable company brings its eager owners together to hear from storied investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
Buffett ended Saturday’s Q&A session by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year, shocking the tens of thousands of investors in the audience who gave him an extended standing ovation. The 94-year-old said it was time to hand the reins to his chosen successor, Berkshire Hathaway vice chair Greg Abel.