Everything that needs to be said and analyzed about Warren Buffett has probably already been done, but I’d like to share how he has influenced me personally. I first came across his work through the book “The Warren Buffett Way” back in the early 90s. I immediately resonated with the principles extracted by the author from the study of his life and investment work. Of the many things Buffet is known for, three values have remained with me to this day – learnability, simplicity, and accountability. The amount of time he spends on reading, his simple lifestyle, and the detailed annual reports personify these values. To me, he is an example of an “Embodied Investor” – someone whose thought, word, and deed are consistently aligned. Back then, I also used to evangelize his work through public speaking gigs at various forums. Subsequently, I also became an investor in Berkshire Hathaway.
Going to Omaha to attend his AGM was, therefore, a natural item on my bucket list for several years. I finally got an opportunity to do so in 2019.
As one can see, it is unlike any other AGM one would attend. Starting from a few thousand attendees in the early 2000s, it has grown over two decades into what is now called the “Woodstock of Capitalism.” However, calling it a Woodstock is probably a misnomer since Woodstock only happened once. AGMs of Berkshire Hathaway go beyond that as they have become an annual “pilgrimage” or a “Thirtha Yatra” for its shareholders. A Yatra typically involves an arduous journey, a desire to reconnect with one’s faith and/or seek enlightenment, fulfil an obligation, and revel in the energy of fellow seekers.
Omaha is certainly not a typical city on anyone’s travel circuit, so one has to make a special trip only to attend the AGM. While one can listen to his talk online, the need to actually visit Omaha is probably driven by a sense of belonging to a community and an annual opportunity to engage with them, listen in person to the “Sage of Omaha,” and ask him questions during the Q&A session, and lastly, experience an inner reconnection with the values that he consistently embodies. Through this reconnection, we can come back with a better sense of dealing with the votaries of the market and life itself.
Closer to home, another person who embodied these values was Nani Palkhivala. I grew up reading his speeches in the booklets published by the Forum for Free Enterprise. His annual budget speeches drew similar crowds from various walks of life. In that high taxation regime, there was something about what he stood for and the way he expressed himself while unpacking the budget that resonated with everyone. His words were something that the average Indian could cling to for comfort and hope.
Buffett and Palkhivala – two men who connected with the masses through their embodied intellect and living.
Sadly, we don’t see intellectuals like them anymore.
Hari’s Curries
A Buffet of Reflections