The gathering in downtown Omaha, Nebraska marked Berkshire's first shareholder meeting since 2019, prior to the impact of COVID-19 on corporate events. Shareholders had the opportunity to ask Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain questions for five hours. Buffett announced that Berkshire had significantly increased its investments in Chevron Corp and Activision Blizzard Inc, now totaling over $31 billion. Despite facing challenges from supply chain disruptions, COVID-19 variants, the Ukraine invasion, and inflation, Berkshire's first-quarter operating profit remained steady at $7.04 billion. Buffett, 91, expressed satisfaction in being able to speak directly to shareholders in person again after two years of virtual meetings. Attendees at the event included JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and actor Bill Murray. In his annual shareholder letter in February, Warren Buffett expressed frustration over the lack of investment opportunities. However, in March, Berkshire Hathaway purchased 14.6% of Occidental Petroleum Corp and agreed to acquire insurer Alleghany Corp for $11.6 billion. When asked what changed, Buffett explained that he decided to invest in Occidental after reading an analyst report and in Alleghany after receiving a letter from its former CEO, who had previously worked at Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett emphasized that markets can be unpredictable, providing occasional opportunities for Berkshire Hathaway to make investments. "It's not due to our intelligence.... I believe we are rational." Berkshire invested $51 billion in stocks during the quarter, causing its cash reserves to decrease by over $40 billion to $106 billion. Despite this, the company has various sources of income, such as its insurance business, and Buffett confirmed that they will not run out of reserves. "We will always have a significant amount of cash," he stated. "It's similar to oxygen, always present but if it goes away even for a short time, it could be catastrophic." When questioned about the possibility of the Ukraine conflict escalating into nuclear war, Buffett and Jain were uncertain. Jain, who has been praised by Buffett for many years, admitted to having difficulty estimating Berkshire's insurance risk. Buffett stated that the chances of a nuclear attack were extremely low, despite the close call during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Buffett likened the current state of the world to flipping a coin every day. "Berkshire cannot provide a solution." Buffett also criticized stock markets for resembling a casino or gambling partner at times, particularly in the past few years with encouragement from Wall Street. Munger, aged 98, shared similar sentiments by comparing bitcoin to Nancy Reagan's "just say no" campaign and also spoke out against trading firm Robinhood Markets Inc. He and Buffett enjoyed their usual candies from See's, which is owned by Berkshire, and drank Coca-Cola at the meeting. Abel defended Berkshire's BNSF railroad, stating that there is room for improvement in operations and customer service to compete with Union Pacific Corp. Buffett reassured shareholders that Berkshire's business culture will outlast his and Munger's leadership. Shareholders rejected proposals for more transparency on diversity and climate risks, as well as having an independent chairman replace Buffett. Buffett has led Berkshire since 1965, and prominent investor Mario Gabelli opposed removing him as chairman. "It is not considered inappropriate for companies to consider separating the roles of chair and CEO," he stated. "However, in the case of Berkshire Hathaway, it does not seem necessary as the current leader has been very successful for the past 50 years. While we support the concept in general, it is not needed here." Prior to the doors opening at 7 am, thousands of people gathered outside the downtown arena where the meeting was held. Despite projections for lower attendance compared to 2019, there were still about 10% to 15% of empty seats in the usually full arena. At other events sponsored by Berkshire this weekend, almost all attendees did not wear masks, but they all had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The meeting was broadcast on CNBC.com. Tom Spain, founder of Henry Spain Investment Services in Market Harborough, England, arrived at 3:15 a.m. for his third meeting and brought a chair from Walmart so he could sit down. He mentioned that everyone has been using the chair and joked about bringing a large container of coffee to give out next year. Lauritz Fenselau, a 23-year-old software startup owner from Frankfurt, Germany, arrived at his first meeting at 4 a.m. stating that it felt like a pilgrimage. Andres Avila, who had traveled from Boston to Omaha and had only five hours of sleep before lining up at 4:45 a.m., mentioned that he carried an umbrella to protect himself from the rain and expressed his excitement about meeting his idols.