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Peace, Love and Money: Three Days With the Richest Man In Th

Published: May 02, 2008

 Finance       
This weekend, in what has become known as "Woodstock For Capitalists," approximately 30,000 shareholders in Berkshire Hathway, the investment firm founded and run by the richest man on the planet, Warren Buffet, will descend upon the firm's headquarters in Nebraska for its annual shareholder meeting.

After the firm releases its first quarter financial results this afternoon, the party will begin with food and cocktails at an Omaha area jewelry store (owned by Berkshire), which will sell souvenirs such as Berkshire board games, towels and license plate frames. The fest culminates on "Shareholder Sunday" at one of Buffett's favorite restaurants where last year 915 dinners were served to shareholders.

The main stage performance of the weekend is the Saturday shareholder meeting, during which the investment guru Buffett will hold court at Omaha's Qwest Center, giving his thoughts to the crowd about everything from the current credit crisis and the future of the economy to the upcoming presidential election (he plans to vote Democrat but hasn't yet pledged his support to either remaining candidate) and who might be next in line to succeed him as head of Berkshire.

For the time being, Buffett, 77, isn't going anywhere, and last year he proved that he still has it: Despite a struggling economy dragging down performance of several of Berkshire's 70 companies, Buffett's firm increased revenue and profit by 20 percent to $118.2 billion and $13.2 billion, respectively, while its stock price rose 22 percent.

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