RELATED: Gautam Adani edges past Warren Buffett to become world's 5th-richest person
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders face a question that Warren Buffett sought to tackle at the company's annual meeting: How will Berkshire fare when he's no longer around?
Mr Buffett, perhaps the world's greatest investor, and with the star power to draw fans from around the world, is 91. His long-time vice chairman, Charlie Munger, is 98.
Shareholders who watched them speak for hours at the CHI Health Centre arena in Berkshire's home town of Omaha, Nebraska, are facing the reality they are in the twilight of their careers.
Still, Mr Buffett's loyal investors say they will still stick with Berkshire, citing the honesty, humility, integrity and trust they believe his company and its leadership, current and future, embody.
"The company is more than Mr Buffett," said Ernesto Medina, a 61-year-old pastor from Omaha. "It really is about people that agree on a certain set of values and ethics. And those don't change, you know — or at least I hope."
Berkshire, whose dozens of businesses include the BNSF railroad, Geico car insurance, and many energy, manufacturing and retailing companies, has a succession plan in place.
Greg Abel, 59, a vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, will replace Mr Buffett as chief executive when the need arises, while vice chairman Ajit Jain, 70, will likely continue leading insurance operations.
Mr Buffett's oldest son Howard would become non-executive chairman and the billionaire's portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler would take over investments.
Asked by a shareholder how Berkshire might change over time, Mr Buffett said its building blocks will survive him.
"You've got a board of directors that understands our culture is 99.9 per cent of running the business," he said. "If we have the same culture, we will be here in 100 years."
Mr Buffett pledged that Berkshire would preserve its "special relationship" with shareholders, and was built to last.
"There is no finish point," he said. "Nobody is waiting to retire or have their option vested or thinking about 'I'll take another job.' People are doing what they want to do."
Mr Buffett acknowledged there could be changes in how Berkshire operates, noting his own autonomy to make major decisions.
"In a crazy way I look at Berkshire as a painting, and it's unlimited in size," Mr Buffett said. "It's got an ever-expanding canvas, and I get to paint what I want."
Mr Buffett said Mr Abel, in contrast, could face more questions and restrictions from other board members because they know him less well.
"They don't need to, but they'll feel they have to," Mr Buffett said.
Berkshire could also face more pressure to do better on environmental and diversity issues, and corporate governance.
Mr Buffett has fiercely resisted shareholders' calls for improvements, a battle that some analysts see as easier to win in a post-Buffett era.
That's because Mr Buffett still controls 32 per cent of Berkshire's voting power, despite owning just 16 per cent of its shares. He has already given away half his Berkshire stock to philanthropy.
On Saturday, shareholders rejected proposals to improve disclosure of climate-related risks and diversity efforts, and install an independent chair to replace Mr Buffett in that role.
Clark Nowlin, who founded the Golden Ratio coffee company in Austin, Texas, got to the arena three hours before doors opened. He was glad to see his heroes, Mr Buffett and Mr Munger.
"Every time you say, 'it's probably the last year', and they set another record in human achievement," he said.
Yet while Mr Abel and Mr Jain joined Mr Buffett and Mr Munger on stage to answer some shareholder questions, and draw wide praise from Berkshire managers and investors, neither has their magnetism.
Shareholders attending this year's meeting were unsure whether to keep making the pilgrimage after the eventual change at the top.
Amanda Greenfield, a media strategist from New York who went with her husband, said that "obviously, the financial community is still going to come", and other shareholders may want to keep their camaraderie alive.
"But people like us may not feel the need to come every year," she added.
This year's shareholder weekend, the first since 2019, was a scaled-back affair, likely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Buffett said about 12,000 people attended the Friday shareholder shopping day for discounts from Berkshire-owned businesses, down from the 16,188 reported by the Omaha World-Herald for 2019.
The shareholder reception at Borsheims jewellery was confined to the store, shorn of the car park tent with live music and a buffet.
And even Saturday's annual meeting, normally full, appeared to have a couple of thousand empty seats when it began.
Sue Leuschen, an operations analyst from Omaha, said she was confident in Berkshire's choice of Mr Abel to succeed Mr Buffett.
"We want people to come to Omaha," she said. "He'll still do the 5K runs, he'll still do all that stuff, because that's what brings people here."
UAE SQUAD
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mobile phone packages comparison
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
