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Publicist, Public Relations
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Division: CNBC

When: Monday, May 5th
Where: CNBC's "Squawk Box"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. During the interview, Buffett discusses the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting, Yahoo! & Microsoft and Fed rate cuts, among other topics.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
KERNEN: LET'S GET TO BECKY AND A VERY SPECIAL GUEST. BECKY?
QUICK: JOE, HI. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WASN'T SURE IF THIS WAS GOING TO WORK OR NOT. WE ARE STANDING LIVE WITH WARREN BUFFETT, THE ORACLE OF OMAHA. CAN WE GRAB YOU FOR A FEW MINUTES? I KNOW YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY OUT THE DOOR. WE JUST WANTED TO CATCH UP WITH YOU TO CHAT A LITTLE ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND. END OF THE MEET, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR WEEKEND?
BUFFETT: THE HIGHLIGHT WAS 31,000 PEOPLE COMING. BUT HAVING 31,000 PEOPLE, MAYBE MORE THAN 31,000 PEOPLE COME AND JOIN US HERE, IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN.
QUICK: YOUR VOICE DOES SOUND HOARSE. YOU DID A LOT OF TALKING OVER THE WEEKEND.
BUFFETT: I HAD A THREE-HOUR PRESS CONFERENCE YESTERDAY AND THEN WE WENT TO DINNER AND TALKED A LOT THERE AND TALKED AFTERWARDS.
QUICK: ABOUT 5 1/2 HOURS OF SHAREHOLDER QUESTIONS DURING THE MEETING ITSELF.
BUFFETT: RIGHT.
QUICK: HERE I'LL BE A TOTAL PAIN AND I'LL ASK YOU TO USE YOUR VOICE A LITTLE BIT MORE IF THAT WORKS OUT FOR YOU.
BUFFETT: OKAY.
QUICK: MR. BUFFETT, I KNOW A LOT OF TIMES, WE TALKED TO YOU LAST WEEK AFTER THE WRIGLEY AND MARS DEAL AND GOT TO ASK YOU A LOT OF QUESTIONS. BASICALLY AT SQUAWK BOX, WE'VE THROWN EVERYTHING WE COULD AT YOU. WE'VE ALL COME UP WITH OUR BEST QUESTIONS AND TOSSED THEM AT YOU. WE'VE HAD OUR VIEWERS WRITE IN QUESTIONS AND YOU WERE GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO ANSWER THEM. I WONDER IF YOU'D MIND PLAYING A NEW GAME WITH ME.
BUFFETT: WHATEVER YOU WANT.
QUICK: LET'S DO A LITTLE BIT OF ROLE PLAYING HERE. SINCE YOU HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM EVERYBODY ELSE, I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS DIFFERENTLY. MY THOUGHT WAS, IF I WAS A WORLD LEADER, I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER PERSON TO ASK SOME ADVICE FROM THAN THE ORACLE OF OMAHA. SO IF I'M A WORLD LEADER AND I COULD GET ABOUT A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME, I MIGHT HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU. SO I'LL BE THE WORLD LEADER.YOU BE WARREN BUFFETT. DEAL?
BUFFETT: OKAY. NEXT TIME I GET TO BE THE WORLD LEADER.


