The Oracle of Omaha
Who needs Jimi Hendrix when you have Warren Buffett? Auckland fund manager Mike Taylor checks out 'Woodstock for Capitalists'
Friday, May 14 2010 || Comment || BY Mike Taylor
“I’m here to see the Sage,” I said.
“Pardon me?” He looked confused.
“The Sage. You know the Sage of Omaha?”
“I’ll ask the questions,” he said aggressively.
“I’m here to see Warren Buffett, the world’s third richest man”
“Never heard of him,” he said blankly, “Where are you staying?”
“Omaha, Nebraska,” I replied.
“Thank you and welcome to the United States. Next.”
Later I’m told I was lucky not to be hauled aside for a cavity search. You don’t need to give these guys much of an excuse – they’re very tightly strung.
The journey to the Oracle began with a 12 hour flight to LA. I chose premium economy on Air New Zealand thinking this might allow me to get some sleep. Fat chance. The service was great but no matter which way you spin it, economy is still economy, even if it does have 'premium' in front of it.
My next stop en route was Denver, Colorado. That’s right, no direct flights from LA to Omaha – it’s only about the size of Christchurch. These internal flights in the US are awful. You have to fight your way onto the plane, because if you don’t get on first all the overhead locker space is taken. Finally, 21 hours after leaving Auckland (including 30 minutes circling Omaha due to severe weather and turbulence preventing us from landing) I arrived in Omaha shattered.
I had a day to look around the city before the conference on 1 May. It’s a bit of a nothing town to be honest. Small midwest America, population 400,000, wide streets, big box retail everywhere. Plenty of billboards around town with Warren’s picture though.
I was up early on the day of the conference to ensure we arrived at the Qwest convention centre with enough time to join the queue and secure a decent seat. Despite arriving just after 6 am, the line was already a couple of thousand deep. At 7 am sharp the doors opened and everyone filed in neatly two by two. No pushing, no queue jumping. I asked myself at the time, would that happen in New Zealand? You have to give the Americans some credit, they are very polite.
We found seats about halfway down and halfway to the stage. The centre is enclosed and was sort of like Vector Arena times two or three. Next door is a massive convention hall which Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s investment company, used to show off the goods of its various companies and entice you to purchase the merchandise.
The first thing that strikes me is the number of people wearing jeans and sneakers with a shirt tucked in. I feel like I’m at a Jerry Seinfeld convention. It was either that or Chino’s, Rockports and a Navy blazer - uniform for conservative America. There were even a few guys in suits, obviously bankers or money managers from the East Coast. I’ve noticed before that the further east you go in America the more dressed up people are.
Wow, did you get to touch the hem of his coat??
Perhaps he missed this: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1511573004
Please report some real business news!
Posted by Paul at 10:09 on June 15, 2010
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