Why Warren Buffett’s Annual Meeting is a Can’t-Miss Event for Investors and How You Can Join Them

Anthropologists studying the cultural habits of a certain type of American investor could do no better than to join the thousands who make the annual pilgrimage to Omaha, Neb., where Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) holds its annual shareholder meeting each May.

Most corporate annual meetings are exercises in tedium—scripted affairs where management reads prepared statements, shareholders vote on preset proposals, and everyone shuffles out while still stifling yawns. But those arriving in Omaha find an often raucous affair, complete with memorabilia, investment wisdom, and recollections of storied moments from past meetings.

Key Takeaways

• Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting is far more than a corporate legal obligation; it’s an investment festival that has been dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists.”
• While the highlight of the weekend is a marathon Q&A session with Buffett, there are also shareholder shopping events, an “Invest in Yourself” 5K run, and exhibition halls showcasing Berkshire subsidiaries.
• For those who can’t attend in person, CNBC offers a live broadcast of the Q&A session.

The Main Event: Buffett’s Candid Q&A

In recent years, anyone with an internet connection could watch a livestream of the festivities. But Berkshire shareholders and followers of Buffett’s value investing philosophy have still felt drawn to attend in person. Tyler Crowe, an analyst for the Motley Fool, described it as “making the pilgrimage” after attending the meeting in 2023. With Buffett now in his 90s, he said, “It’s not going to last forever, and so from that perspective, I felt like I absolutely needed to do it.”

For others, it’s about being in a room with like-minded people and fellow “finance nerds.” “It’s like a stadium of 20,000 people who think like me, and it’s really a refreshing kind of gathering,” Certified Financial Planner Matt Frankel said in a video on his YouTube channel.

The heart of the Berkshire gathering is a marathon Q&A, during which Buffett, alongside key lieutenants, speaks candidly for up to five hours. Buffett takes pride in the unscripted nature of these exchanges, which are far from the highly scripted communications typical of public companies.

For the 2025 meeting, Buffett said he would take questions from in-person shareholders, “selected randomly to ask whatever they wish,” and from CNBC host Becky Quick, who would curate a list of questions from shareholders not in attendance. Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, vice chairs for Berkshire, will join him.

“The three of us will not get so much as a clue about the questions to be asked,” Buffett said in the 2025 shareholders guide. “We know you and Becky will pick some tough ones and that’s the way we like it.”

Question topics typically range from specific Berkshire investments to broad economic trends, and from personal philosophy to life advice. Many attendees take studious notes, hoping that a single Buffett insight might improve their investment returns for decades to come.

The actual business portion of the meeting, which takes place after the Q&A session, is remarkably brief, lasting only about 20 minutes despite Berkshire’s enormous size and complexity.

How To Attend: Getting Your Golden Ticket

Joining the Berkshire experience is surprisingly easy. Here’s how to do it:

• For shareholders: Holders of both Berkshire Hathaway stock (BRK.A or BRK.B) can request up to four credentials via a form included with their annual reports. Even a single share of the more affordable Class B stock (trading at about $530 as of May 1, 2025) qualifies you for credentials.
• For non-shareholders: Meeting passes can be bought on eBay (EBAY) for about $20 to $50 each.
• Can’t make it to Omaha? CNBC broadcasts the Q&A session live and will have a webcast that starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on May 3, 2025.

Memorable Moments at Berkshire Meetings

The Berkshire meeting has produced many moments that have become part of investing lore:

• In 2020, Buffett stunned attendees by announcing that Berkshire had sold all of its airline holdings due to COVID-19 uncertainty, sending shockwaves through the industry.
• Lighter moments include Buffett playing ping-pong with his friend Bill Gates, highlighting the meeting’s blend of serious finance and fun.
• The late Charlie Munger, who died in 2023, often offered unfiltered commentary that stole the show. In 2021, he described Bitcoin as “disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization,” sparking headlines worldwide.
• The gathering in 2023 was Munger’s last before his death later that year. Buffett paid tribute to his longtime partner, calling him the “architect of Berkshire Hathaway,” and reflected on their 60-year partnership, which transformed both the company and the investment world.

The Bottom Line

For one weekend each May, Omaha hosts the investment world’s most unlikely festival. Buffett’s “Woodstock for Capitalists” brings together global billionaires and regular investors with savings in Berkshire stock. Unlike Wall Street’s typical emphasis on quarterly results and disruption, the Berkshire meeting celebrates the quintessentially midwestern values of patience and simplicity. For many investors, attending at least once has become a genuine bucket-list experience.