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Warren Buffett Watch
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Warren Buffett fans from around the world are heading to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting that gets underway tomorrow (Friday night) and gets into full swing on Saturday as Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger spend several hours answering shareholder questions. (Warren Buffett Watch will feature live minute-by-minute dispatches from that session, starting around 10:30a ET.)
This is not a dull, corporate affair. The weekend is essentially an enormous party, hosted by Buffett himself. He calls it 'Woodstock for Capitalists.' We're calling it Buffettstock '08.
We thought it would be interesting to see how CNBC covered Buffettstock '98 one decade ago. So intern Cindy Liu went digging through the dusty archives and found two Scott Cohn reports and an interview with Buffett from the 1998 annual meeting. Among other things, you'll learn how to keep your spouse and shareholders happy.
CNBC.com's video guy notes that Scott looks very young in these clips, while Buffett hasn't changed a bit. Scott just laughed when I mentioned it to him.
Scott Cohn: It's the one weekend a year the normally quiet billionaire practically throws himself at the public. As many as 11,0000 shareholders, 3,000 more than last year.
Shareholder: Where else would you be able to get so close with someone as wealthy and as powerful as Warren Buffett?
Scott: A record 42 news organizations from around the world showed up as well, after hearing Buffett would hold a rare news conference.
Buffett: Well, you people are hard up for something to do. (Laughter.) No, obviously when the stock goes up a lot, it creates interest and we've got a lot more shareholders.
Scott: What started in the 1960s as an annual get-together for the handful of early Buffett believers has turned into a three-day festival. Buffett calls it 'Woodstock Weekend.' Saturday night at the ballgame. Buffett is part-owner of Omaha's triple-A team. A Sunday shopping spree at Borsheim's Jewelry Store. Buffett owns that, too. And this year, an added event. Ice cream at a local Dairy Queen. He recently bought that company, too. But the culmination is an extraordinary six-hour question-and-answer session conducted by Buffett and his sidekick, Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. Ask the most successful investor of all time anything at all, and he'll try to answer, without notes. 
Buffett: It's just easier that way. I mean, if you have to prepare, there's something wrong. There's really nothing to it. And they're asking me about something I spend all my time at.
Scott: Do you think of a message you want to get out to people, that people should take away from this weekend?
Buffett: No, I know what I think. And Charlie knows what he thinks. And we may even disagree on something. But if somebody asks us, we tell 'em. You know, it would be exactly like talking to you right now.
Scott: Which is what the faithful are here for, a chance to learn something, anything, and if they're lucky to rub elbows with the master. Scott Cohn, Today's Business, Omaha.
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