Oracle of Omaha hosts Wharton Trekkers
Felipe Garcia, WG '04
Issue date: 10/20/03 Section: News
One of the most memorable moments came when he said that, if there was only one thing we should get out of the meeting, it is imperative that we spend time with our families. He said that the most important thing in the world is what you teach your kids in those first couple of years. "Make sure you deserve to be their hero," he added, "because you'll be their hero [no matter what]." As a parent, you are in a teaching position all the time. Asked by Heidi Poon how he appraised people, Mr. Buffett replied, "I look at them in the eye." In evaluating managers of potential acquisitions, he gets a sense of whether they like the money or the business. If they like the money, they are going to leave. "I don't have any formulas, but you can feel it."
Mr. Buffett's Midwestern, folksy demeanor and dry sense of humor were evident throughout the meeting. On one occasion, Rahim Lila asked a question on why more corporate capital is not indexed to inflation. Mr. Buffett explained how inflation is the friend of the business that does not require too much infusion of capital. Every year he raises prices at one of his subsidiaries the day after Christmas. "That is my Christmas present to myself," he said. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, how much should I charge this fall? [And the mirror always responds,] 'More.' That's my kind of mirror."
Mr. Buffett's wit and wisdom were surpassed only by his generosity. After answering questions for nearly two hours, he graciously spent time posing for pictures and signing autographs. When asked by a student to sign a Nebraska Furniture Mart receipt, he quipped, "I'll put my middle initial in receipts greater than $50."
Second-year MBA student and longtime Buffett disciple Aaron Byrd was the coordinator of this trip. Commenting on the event Aaron said, "[Felipe] and I go to Omaha each May for the Berkshire shareholder meeting. We thought it would be great if Mr. Buffett would come to campus and address a large group of students, so [Felipe] wrote to him last year and invited him. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't able to come. Then, during the 2002-03 school year, we converted Peter Bates and Howard Lu to the value investing religion, and the four of us went to the 2003 [Berkshire] meeting. There were 15,000 other shareholders there, so we didn't really get as intimate an audience with Buffett as we would have liked. So we thought, 'Well, if Mr. Buffett won't come to us, let's go to Mr. Buffett.' I wrote him a letter to ask if we could [bring some students to see him in Omaha], and he was gracious enough to allow us to do so. It was the greatest day of my professional career so far."
Mr. Buffett's Midwestern, folksy demeanor and dry sense of humor were evident throughout the meeting. On one occasion, Rahim Lila asked a question on why more corporate capital is not indexed to inflation. Mr. Buffett explained how inflation is the friend of the business that does not require too much infusion of capital. Every year he raises prices at one of his subsidiaries the day after Christmas. "That is my Christmas present to myself," he said. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, how much should I charge this fall? [And the mirror always responds,] 'More.' That's my kind of mirror."
Mr. Buffett's wit and wisdom were surpassed only by his generosity. After answering questions for nearly two hours, he graciously spent time posing for pictures and signing autographs. When asked by a student to sign a Nebraska Furniture Mart receipt, he quipped, "I'll put my middle initial in receipts greater than $50."
Second-year MBA student and longtime Buffett disciple Aaron Byrd was the coordinator of this trip. Commenting on the event Aaron said, "[Felipe] and I go to Omaha each May for the Berkshire shareholder meeting. We thought it would be great if Mr. Buffett would come to campus and address a large group of students, so [Felipe] wrote to him last year and invited him. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't able to come. Then, during the 2002-03 school year, we converted Peter Bates and Howard Lu to the value investing religion, and the four of us went to the 2003 [Berkshire] meeting. There were 15,000 other shareholders there, so we didn't really get as intimate an audience with Buffett as we would have liked. So we thought, 'Well, if Mr. Buffett won't come to us, let's go to Mr. Buffett.' I wrote him a letter to ask if we could [bring some students to see him in Omaha], and he was gracious enough to allow us to do so. It was the greatest day of my professional career so far."