David Cassa finance professor at the University of Maryland, is a longtime participant of the Berkshire HathawayThe annual meeting of stockholders in Omaha, Neb.—an event so popular that it has earned the nickname “Woodstock of Capitalism”. In years past, Kass saw lines forming around the block as early as 6 a.m., along with overflow rooms and packed exhibit halls.
This year’s gathering, held last weekend and the first led by Berkshire’s new CEO, Greg Abel, it felt distinctly different. “The turnout was very low,” Kass told the Observer.
Official figures have not been released, but early estimates suggest the turnout was roughly 30 percent lower than the usual crowd of around 40,000. The drop has raised concerns for local businesses that typically benefit from the event’s economic boost.
For more than 60 years, Buffett’s followers have traveled to Omaha every first weekend in May. What started as an opportunity to hear Buffett’s investment insights has evolved into a full-on spectacle, complete with shopping, picnics and even a 5k run. The 2024 gathering generated more than $21 million in tourism revenue, and last year’s event filled 95 percent of Omaha hotel rooms over two days. Only the College World Series, which takes place every June in Omaha, brings a greater economic impact to the city.
Buffett’s deep ties to Omaha, where he grew up and still lives, have long been part of the draw. Visitors stop at his favorite local spots, including Gorat’s Steakhouse, to order his go-to meal: a rare T-bone steak with a double side of coffee and a cherry cola. The restaurant is usually so busy that it hires extra staff, with the weekend sometimes generating one to two months’ worth of revenue.
This year, however, business at Gorat’s slowed. A decline in shareholder attendance “was reflected in our personal guest count.” Ashley Blodgettthe restaurant’s general manager told the Observer. The slowdown was not a surprise: as early as February, booking calls were already lower than usual.
Events like the Berkshire meet and the College World Series are “what we really look forward to and can sometimes carry us through the rest of the year,” Blodgett said. In an effort to compensate for the lighter traffic, Gorat’s reached out to guests who previously couldn’t get table reservations to let them know seats were open. “It was definitely still a success for us,” Blodgett said. “It just wasn’t as big as the last few years.”
Even the shareholders’ meeting itself had a different tone. Buffett, the tall face of the event, handed the reins to Abel earlier this year after stepping down after a run of six decades.
While Buffett has long been the event’s main figure, he passed the reins this year to Abel, who took over at Berkshire earlier this year from the 95-year-old Buffett. resigned after a reign of six decades. While Abel ably moderated the question-and-answer sessions, some attendees said they didn’t Buffett’s familiar humor and popular charm, especially the dynamic he shared with his late partner, Charlie Munger.
“People were going there both to learn about Berkshire and to have fun, frankly,” Kass said. While he expects the old participants to keep coming back, he believes that the new participants may lose interest. “For shareholders who are more recent, I would predict a decline in the coming years.”
International visitors were another notable absence. Attendees said the crowd felt more American than usual, a change reflected in Omaha businesses. At Gorat’s, Blodgett reported a “huge” drop in tour groups from countries like China, Brazil and Germany, suggesting the conference may lose some of its appeal as a global tourism attraction without Buffett.
Other factors may also be at play, including rising airfare costs and policies from the Trump administration that have made international travel more difficult. “I wonder with the rest of the political climate, if that had an impact on people coming to America,” Blodgett said.
However, not every business felt the slowdown. The Omaha Marriott Downtown in the Capitol District, located near the CHI Health Center where the meeting is being held, was fully booked. “It couldn’t have gotten any busier for us,” said the general manager Carlo Vermeeren. While some businesses further from the venue may have seen declines, his hotel remained at capacity. “We’re not worried about that.”
However, not every business felt the slowdown. The Omaha Marriott Downtown in the Capitol District, located near the CHI Health Center where the meeting is being held, was fully booked. “It couldn’t have gotten busier for us,” Carlo Vermeeren, the hotel’s general manager, told the Observer. While some businesses further from the venue may have seen declines, his hotel remained at capacity. “We are not worried about that,” Vermeeren said.
The massive crowds that now define the Berkshire meeting are actually a relatively recent phenomenon, according to Ernie Gossa professor of economics at Creighton University who has lived in Omaha for about 30 years. “When I first came to Omaha, it wasn’t like that,” he told the Observer. The inaugural meeting in 1965 attracted only a dozen participants.
Even if attendance continues to decline, Omaha will continue to benefit from extensive media coverage of the event, including media outlets such as CNBCGoss said. The only real concern, he added, would be if the meeting ever left Omaha, the city so closely associated with Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. “I think it will continue, of course, and his legacy will remain with Omaha.”
