Subject: Re: Yellow BRK Trivia & Memories
Bruce (bbmd,

I recall it was Charlie Page that came up with the Yellow BRK'er suggestion. Charlie was a prominent citizen in Carmel and used to travel to the annual meeting with Bertie, although he kept that quiet. Didn't want to stand out in the crowd. He once told me that Bertie tried to get him to invest in BRK when it was under $3ks a share. Charlie said he said that was "too high" and waited until it "went down" to $8500 a share before investing.

We were good friends - he used to travel back in forth to Andy's parties in my car. We were a close knit group. One of the early years, the group gathering was at the French Cafe (IIRC). Buffett was in the audience with Susan and his bodyguard (I have a photo of wife and myself in the background. He had his baseball uniform on to throw out the first pitch at the local team baseball game that afternoon.) Charlie was on the stage, and helped present Debbie with a Tee Shirt saying "What Part of No Comment Don't You Understand?"

I remember Ms Sherrie (RIP)and the party she organized that year. We were still a pretty closely knit group then.

I also recall us trying to organize a $100k party at Charlie's home. It overlooked Carmel, part of a real estate package he bought early and later sub-divided into five properties. His was the best. It would have been a great party, but it never happened.

Later readers need to recognize that BRK shareholders were a relatively small group in the early days. This was before Buffett issued the B shares, so it took a sizeable commitment to become a BRK shareholder. I know friends who attended early meeting in a lunchroom with few attendees. Buffett deliberately didn't split the shares as a way of self-selecting shareholders committed to his principles and mode of management. That has changed to some extent now, but still largely remains IMHO. No "put down" on B share holders.

It was a different, and closer, time. It was a lot easier to get to know each other. But I think one thing still holds true - that Buffett continues to attract shareholders aligned with him and his principle. I think there's enough of us that nothing will change rapidly when Buffett is no longer around.

As part of my morning reading, I also reread the earlier WSJ article about Howie succeeding Buffett. One comment I hadn't noted before - Karen said that Howie said he didn't know if he could stand up to the 8 hours of the meeting like his
Dad. Was he implying that he will be on stage after Warren isn't? Part of that January 2025 article also said that Buffett had not intention of retiring early.

Hang on folks. We're still in the transition period. I would be very surprised if Warren announced he was stepping down - sort of a medical issue which would be a significant development. But I know nothing more than any of the rest of us.