The meeting held in downtown Omaha, Nebraska marked Berkshire's first gathering of shareholders since 2019, prior to the impact of COVID-19 on America's largest corporate event. Shareholders had the opportunity to ask Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain questions for five hours. Buffett announced that Berkshire increased its investments in Chevron Corp and Activision Blizzard Inc significantly to over $31 billion. Despite facing challenges such as supply chain disruptions, the Ukraine invasion, and inflation, Berkshire reported a first-quarter operating profit of $7.04 billion. Buffett expressed his satisfaction with addressing shareholders in person, as the previous two meetings were conducted without them. 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. Buffett explained that he decided to invest in Occidental after reading an analyst report, and in Alleghany after receiving a letter from its CEO, who had previously worked for Berkshire's General Re business. Buffett attributed these investments to seizing opportunities when markets behave unpredictably. "It's not our intelligence but our sanity that I believe sets us apart. Berkshire invested $51 billion in stocks in the quarter, reducing its cash reserves by over $40 billion to $106 billion. However, the company has various sources of generating cash, such as its insurance business, and Buffett reassured that they will always have a substantial amount of cash available." "It's similar to oxygen, always present but if it suddenly disappears, it's game over." During a discussion on the potential of the Ukraine conflict leading to nuclear war, Buffett and Jain struggled to provide definitive answers. Jain, who has been commended by Buffett for many years, admitted to a limitation in estimating Berkshire's insurance risk. Buffett mentioned the extremely low likelihood of a nuclear attack, recalling the near miss during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He emphasized that the world is taking a chance every day. Berkshire Hathaway does not have a solution. Buffett criticized stock markets for resembling a casino or gambling partner, especially in recent years due to encouragement from Wall Street. Munger also disapproved of bitcoin and advised against putting retirement funds in it, as well as criticizing trading firm Robinhood Markets Inc. At the meeting, he and Buffett enjoyed their favorite candies from See's, a company owned by Berkshire, and drank soda from Coca-Cola, a major investment of Berkshire. Abel defended Berkshire's BNSF railroad, stating that there is still work to be done to improve operations and customer service in order to compete with Union Pacific Corp. Buffett reassured shareholders that Berkshire is built to last beyond his and Munger's leadership, emphasizing the company's enduring business culture. Shareholders also voted against proposals for more disclosure on diversity and climate risks, as well as the appointment of an independent chairman to succeed Buffett. Mario Gabelli, a prominent Berkshire investor, opposed ending Buffett's chairmanship, who has been running Berkshire since 1965. He mentioned that it is not wrong for companies to consider having separate individuals as chair and CEO. However, he believes that this is not necessary for Berkshire Hathaway because the current leader has been very successful for half a century. Despite projections of lower attendance compared to the previous year, thousands of people gathered outside the downtown arena before it opened at 7 am, with about 10% to 15% of seats remaining empty. At other events sponsored by Berkshire this weekend, almost everyone did not wear masks, but all had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The meeting was broadcast on CNBC.com. Tom Spain, the founder of Henry Spain Investment Services in Market Harborough, England, arrived at 3:15 a.m. for his third meeting and bought a chair from Walmart to sit down. He mentioned that everyone has been using the chair and that he might bring a large container of coffee to share next year. Lauritz Fenselau, a 23-year-old entrepreneur from Frankfurt, Germany, arrived for his first meeting at 4 a.m. describing it as a pilgrimage. Andres Avila, who had traveled from Boston to Omaha, also arrived sleep-deprived at 4:45 a.m., carrying an umbrella to protect against the rain and expressing his excitement to meet his idols.