I flew to Omaha to cover Warren Buffett's annual meeting. I didn't know I'd witness history being made.

Theron Mohamed

Sat, May 10, 2025, 11:34 AM 9 min read

• I traveled from London to Omaha to cover Warren Buffett's annual meeting for Business Insider.

• The biggest news story of my career ended up breaking while I was there.

• I immersed myself in all things Buffett for a weekend and had an unforgettable time.

I flew from London to Warren Buffett's hometown of Omaha to cover Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. I wasn't expecting the biggest business story in the world to break while I was there.

Buffett's revelation that he plans to resign as Berkshire's CEO at the end of this year was the headline of my trip. But I also saw rare treasures, spoke to people from all walks of life, visited storied locations, and discovered how Buffett and his businesses pervade almost every part of Omaha.

I had a dream start to my reporting journey.

My nine-hour flight from London to Chicago became far more interesting after I learned my seatmate was making the same pilgrimage.

The value investor in his 30s, who asked not to be named, showed me a Berkshire Class B share certificate — signed by Buffett in 2005 — that his firm had given him as the proof of ownership he needed to get a meeting pass.

He told me that when his wife asked why he was so excited to go to Omaha, he replied, "Imagine you're a Christian and you have a chance to see Jesus Christ."

When he nodded off a few hours later, Buffett's face looked up at me from the Kindle on his lap, as he'd been reading "Tap Dancing to Work."

Arriving in Omaha, it was clear this was Berkshire turf.

I took a connecting flight from Chicago to Omaha and arrived late on Thursday night.

One of the welcome ads on the airport's wall requested visitors to "check your SPACs, Crypto, and EBITDA at the gate" — a nod to Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger's disdain for risky, speculative, and volatile assets.

Munger called the proliferation of special-purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, a "moral failing," dismissed bitcoin as "stupid" and "evil" as well as "rat poison." He also described earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization as "bullshit earnings."

Omaha businesses were ready for Berkshire weekend.

The influx of thousands of Berkshire shareholders to Omaha each year spells opportunity for many local companies.

The Hudson News store in the airport had several areas dedicated to Berkshire books and other financial titles, including "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and "Buffett & Munger Unscripted."