īuffett may weigh in on how politicians, regulators and greedy investors mess up the markets. īerkshire's $75 billion stock cache has included blue-chip names such as American Express, Coca-Cola ,Procter & Gamble and Wells Fargo. Then on April 28, it deployed $6.5 billion tied to Mars' purchase of chewing gum maker Wm Wrigley Jr. In March, it paid $4.5 billion for three-fifths of Marmon Holdings Inc, whose products are used in construction and energy. The company ended the year with $44.3 billion of cash, but has since agreed to spend some. About half its business comes from insurance and reinsurance. Buffett later sold the stake based on valuation.īerkshire sells such items as bricks, candy, car insurance, carpets, ice cream, jewelry, knives, paint and underwear. The meeting may have less controversy than last year, when some shareholders demanded that Berkshire divest its stake in PetroChina because of the oil company's links to Sudan. Most of that amount is in Berkshire stock, and all of that stock will someday go to charity. Buffett is worth $62 billion, making him the world's richest person, Forbes magazine said. Shares of Berkshire, meanwhile, rose 29 percent. It boosted profit 20 percent to $13.2 billion, and revenue the same amount to $118.2 billion, despite increased competition in insurance and several of its more than 70 businesses hurting from the housing slump. "I hate to sound so corny, but that is exactly what happens."īerkshire had a good year in 2007.
"It restores your enthusiasm for what we know in our heart is right in investing, management ethics and everything that is good about capitalism," said Frank Betz, a principal at Carret/Zane Capital Management in Warren, New Jersey.
Shareholders will listen to Buffett and his effervescent sidekick, 84-year-old Berkshire Vice Chairman Charles Munger, answer questions on business, the economy and life. Buffett will be the center of attention on Saturday at the annual shareholder meeting for Berkshire Hathaway, his roughly $200 billion holding company.īerkshire estimates that 30,000 to 32,000 people, up from 27,000 last year, will fill the Qwest Center in Omaha for what has become known as "Woodstock for Capitalists."
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