Warren Buffett is known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” and so perhaps it’s no surprise that the legendary investor would hold his world-famous company’s world-famous gathering—the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting—in his hometown. But, still, it’s nothing that the city takes for granted. “It’s really an event unlike any other event,” said Dana
Markel, executive director of the Omaha CVB. “It’s a mix between a convention and a family reunion, because share- holders from all over the world come into Omaha, so we get to meet such interesting people.…It’s a pilgrimage toWarren Buffett’s hometown, and it really just takes over the city.” “Pilgrimage” is aword that comes up repeatedlywith regard
to the one-day meeting, which in 2011 drew nearly 40,000 attendees toCenturyLinkCenter Omaha (formerly QwestCen- ter Omaha) onApril 30. It’s in the title of a book written about thewhole experience—Pilgrimage toWarren Buffett’sOmaha: AHedge FundManager’sDispatches FromInside the Berkshire HathawayAnnual Meeting—and is reflected in the long jour- neys that some shareholdersmake to be a part of it.Afewyears ago, a Frenchman showed upwith a backpack and no hotel reservation, Markel said, “because it’s that family feel.” The agenda is ostensibly Berkshire-centric—there’s dis-
count shopping at gigantic, company-owned Borsheims jew- elry store, and a trade show with many of Berkshire’s subsidiaries. But really it’s theWarren Buffett show. He takes the stage at the CenturyLink Center for nearly six hours, answering questions about the company, the economy, and life in general. His favorite restaurant, Gorat’s Steak House, is open exclusively for shareholders the day after the meeting. The event has left its mark on Omaha in ways both obvi-
ous and subtle. Most noticeably, the city has built additional meeting capacity to accommodate Berkshire Hathaway. “[Buffett is] very committed to keeping this in Omaha,” Markel said. “In fact, that was one of the prompts to build [CenturyLink Center’s] arena, because he was outgrowing our facilities. That’s not the only reason we built it, but we certainly knew that this city needed to come up with more facilities to host and to keep this great annual event.” Beyond that is the soft capital that comes from being iden- tified with what’s been called “Woodstock for capitalists.”
OMAHA’S OWN:Warren Buffett—with students at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting— is committed to his hometown.
“We say we get five months’ worth of publicity around this event—once it’s coming up and after it’s left,” Markel said. “That’s international publicity. Last year we had 12,000 stories written prior to the event worldwide. It’s just spectacular promotion for our city.”