30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting

As someone who has attended a handful of Berkshire meetings and a regular reader of all things Berkshire I found this book a wonderful collection and synthesis of the main idea/s of each meeting since the early 90’s. The authors have focused on a topic rather than regurgitating endless notes so the book forms a very neat summary of each meeting without the need to search through all the repetitive questions that became a feature of the meetings over the past decade. I have recommended this book to fellow Berkshire fans and think it is worthy of addition to the Berkshire library for anyone serious about learning more of the phenomena that is Berkshire and Buffett. A good companion to Cunningham’s Buffett Essays.

Was a very enjoyable read, interesting to see how Buffett's overall strategy grew and changed over time, but its core always remained mostly the same. It's always amusing to me to see historical bits with the benefit of hindsight, such as Warren noting that Wells Fargo is an ethically strong company, and any ideas that don't necessarily work out to their best potential outcome. Charlie and Warren's back-and-forths always crack me up.

You can tell that the book was put together with a lot of love and respect for the business (and the project, as well). I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in business and investing.

I received this book free from the author.

I really enjoyed the progression of reports for the beginnings of the annual meetings until the present.

I highlighted neat insights and quotes and then transferred them to Evernote in order to remember them or place them in presentations, classes or speeches in the future.

I pulled 89 insights from this book which is really high - most books have 10-12 cool things to say.

So I enjoyed the book and harvested the knowledge so I could use it in the future.

-Thanks for all the hard work Daniel Pecaut

The book gives the author's unique perspective on 30 years of Berkshire annual meetings. He highlights the most pertinent topics so they don't get lost in the huge volume of information. The downside to this is that you lose some detail. This is why I think the book is not a substitute for the annual letters, but a nice addition for Berkshire devotees.

Something striking, which becomes obvious from this birds-eye view, is how wrong Buffett was on some topics. For example, he started calling out the high market levels back 1992 and did it nearly every year until it eventually became true, but nearly 10 years later.

Although I am a Buffett fan and have read everything about him, this book does fill a niche as I have never attended a Berkshire annual meeting.

I’ve read every title covering Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger and I’ve come away with something from each one. That said, many can seem repetitive on subject matter and distant regarding Buffett. Daniel’s work is unique in these areas in that he’s followed Berkshire for decades and personally, or through his partner, recorded all anecdotes and lessons from 30+ annual meetings at Berkshire - the information is impressive even for a cult member like me. The organization and layout of the information is easy to follow and structured to easily find any specifics you may be looking for. What I found most engaging is the journey Daniel and Corey have taken alongside Berkshire as if they were passengers on the freight train Warren and Charlie conducted for the last half century - it’s this up close and personal perspective that differentiates University of Berkshire from its counterpart books. Daniel is no investing slouch himself, which you’ll find once you see the evidence in the book that Warren Buffett is a personal reader of his newsletters. I enjoyed the content about Berkshire but also the insight that the authors provided on said content. Do yourself a favor and read this one.

I’ve attended quite a few Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings but this book filled in the gaps for those I haven’t attended and better still, it underscored any number of valuable insights Buffett and Munger have provided more than once. What’s more, because it covers so many years it shows how they’ve learned and changed and how they haven’t been afraid to fess up to mistakes. All in all, a fascinating look at two extraordinary investors who unselfishly share their many talents and who educate by putting on a very entertaining show in Omaha every spring.

It’s very informative book for value investors. It provides the summaries of 30 years annual shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway company. It can refresh investors’ philosophy with this book. It reminds me what happened back then in stock market and provides historical knowledge to the economic environment in the past 30 years. I do like an enjoy this book . As one of the value investor, I think you can write another sequence of this book to provide more value investment philosophy and analysis to more readers. This book can be the open door for incoming investors to know why and how Berkshire Hathaway’s success in the past 30 years . But I would like to know more behind the summaries of Berkshire Hathaway, such as the analysis of the deal or acquisition they made in the past 30 years. I believe it will help more readers especially the beginner to know how to invest in their own business , stock markets and even themselves. Investment is a lifetime learning journey such as our life , it never ends. We all learn from the mistakes and failures. Your book provide me a source to reflect myself in investment.

One of the many things that I think attributes to Warren's genius is his ability to use everyday analogies to explain more complex financial ideas. I think the authors did an excellent job capturing those analogies and entertaining anecdotes alongside the financial news of that event.

In most of the shareholder meetings Warren makes predictions about the future of the financial market, which the authors added to their own notes for the readers at the end of the year's notes. For example: At the beginning of the book in the late 80s, Warren predicts that interest rates will rise in the times to come at more than one shareholder meeting.

However, while the book uses the lens of history to show interesting pieces of information (The share price of the company and what the return on investment would be over time), it does not take advantage of that same hindsight to explain where Warren was "vaguely right" (as opposed to being specifically wrong).

I feel that both young readers who were not paying attention to the financial market then and older readers without perfect memories could be positively impacted by having more information about how the predictions turned out to be more or less true or false. And thus, have a clearer understanding of how Buffet earned the title of "Oracle" or "Sage" of Omaha. Probably pretty solvable with Google nearby.

My current progress is limited to the mid 90s, but I look forward to making more progress when life slows down a little more and I have time to finish it.
4 stars as I haven't finished it yet, but might be 5 stars by the end.

This book chronicles the analyses of each of Berkshire Hathaway's AGMs from 1986 - 2016 and the wisdom imparted by their superstar leaders Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger.

In what could have been a very dry and technical read, University of Berkshire Hathaway actually delivers its material with wit and liberal sprinkles of fascinating insights which makes it an altogether easy read even for those not investment markets minded. The author does a good job of conveying how the fortunes of the company have evolved from modest beginnings through the ups and downs of the global markets. The book documents how Buffet & Munger's investment strategies have evolved over time, the thought processes behind them and Mr Pecault's own in-the-moment views/commentary on events.

Would recommend.

As an inexperienced investor I was unsure of how much I would learn from this book. I have no doubt that some of the insights went right over my head but I can confidently say that I learned a lot from it too. Just taking a few big picture ideas from this book really helped me enhance my own investing strategy. Its filled with great and actionable advice. Not everything that Berkshire Hathaway does is relevant to small investors but the overarching principles absolutely are. As an added bonus the book showcases Buffet's and Munger's dry sense of humor to make this an enjoyable read too.

This book is one that Buffett and Munger disciples will enjoy. It serves as a terrific complement to Cunningham's "Essays" by expanding on some of the key lessons that have been shared by the two men over the years. In addition, the book's chronological structure reinforces how consistent Buffett and Munger have remained in their approach to investing over the years, and how this consistency has allowed them to avoid big risks (e.g. tech bubble, subprime meltdown, etc.). In short, this is a quick but valuable read that is worth your time.

The book provides a an excellent grouping of notes from the annual shareholders meeting in Omaha. I have had the pleasure of attending it several times and always leave awed. This book provides an excellent summary of so many years with colorful sayings and insights into why some things were done.

A well-executed and easy to read book that captures the essence of the insightful Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting accounts that Dan Pecaut has shared for years with those of us who get his investment newsletter. I cannot believe this book wouldn't be on display, if not promoted by Buffett himself, at this year's shareholders' meeting. Well done.

This book is a fantastic summary of Bekshire Hathaway annual meetings during the last 30 years. The authors do a great job of condensing Buffett and Munger's comments in a way that is easy to understand and follow. This is probably the best resource to understand what happened during these meetings for those of us who could not be there.

Wrenn and Pecaut have parlayed 30+ years of attendance at Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings into an informative and entertaining book curating Warren Buffet's and Charlie Munger's Q & A sessions. Some who are not sympathetic to the tenets of value investing may find repetition in the discussions, but as someone who has attended many of the meetings myself, there is a lot of repetition there. Over and over again we learn the catechism: a share of stock is ownership in a business, the business has an intrinsic value, the stock price can be wildly above that intrinsic value or well below. If we buy stocks at prices well below their intrinsic value we should do well over time. Those principals have not changed in the thirty years covered in this book.

A very nice overview of Buffet and Munger's thoughts and insights over the decades. Since it is a synopsis of annual newsletters reviewing the annual reports, there is a fair amount of reinforcement and a lack of retrospective on previous year's commentary. However, that also reinforces their maxim of never getting caught up in the macro environment while focusing on valuation, moats, and management. The authors are also willing to posit the occasional question and avoid a feeling of breathless amazement at Berkshire's rise.

This is not a traditional textbook on finance and investing. It is not a dry rehashing of meeting notes or of Buffet's Annual Shareholder Letters. University of Berkshire Hathaway is a warm, concise, easy to read recount of 30 years of investment philosophy, with 30 years of American history thrown in. I appreciated Buffet's and Munger's thoughts on value investing and the barbs they threw at academia. But perhaps as much or more, I enjoyed the fact that these insights came through the lens of the specific time in history. On many occasions, I caught myself pondering, or even looking up, the economic, political, and technological time of the specific meeting. This book passes along many great investment lessons, but it is also fun to read.

For someone who never attended a BH annual meeting, this was a great way to travel to the past and get a glimpse of the event as its grown. In terms of additional knowledge, the book offers good organization of investing thoughts from WB and CM but not much new if you've read the shareholder letters. My favorite chart was in Appendix IV showing the firm's allocation over time among cash / credit / equity investments.

Solid, common-sense business and life advice shared through straightforward reporting and through anecdotes and stories laced with humor. Even those who do not have any expertise or experience in economics, accounting or investing will find a lot to take away from the advice of Buffett and Munger.

This is a great collection of the wit & wisdom of both Buffett and Munger over the past few decades. Thought provoking ideas frequently followed by a quick one-liner Munger-ism. For those not yet ready to read through all of the annual shareholder letters, this is a good place to start. See you at next year's meeting!

Amazing book! Filled with tons of knowledge and great lessons from the great duo in the investment industry. The way the book is laid out, much of the knowledge is first hand straight from Warren and Charlie's mouth. The authors have also been very keen on pointing out key insights during each meeting, which adds some context. The structure of the book is great too, broken down into topics discussed in each meeting grouped together.

Thank you for sharing notes which captured real-time key messages from the expanding curriculum at the University of Berkshire Hathaway. I have been a proud “part-time” student myself and marvel at the memories released by thumbing through your own journal. What strikes me most is the low valuation of so many of the items discussed in the early years only to realize just how far forward compound interest has taken so many of what started as small seedlings within Berkshire Hathaway. Today so many of them are enormous and well beyond my original esteem.
Great work. Congratulations. A must read.

The premise of the book was wonderful. The curated sections of the newsletters contain so much amazingly insightful info - they truly are a look into Buffett's and Munger's minds. The structure of notes do an amazing job of bringing them both to life on paper - I laughed out loud and smiled often.

Overall, a fantastic book - what a collection of wisdom!

I find this book very knowledgeable and trustworthy. I would not have thought of the ideas presented in the text in years, or maybe I wouldn’t have thought of them at all. Overall I believe this is a great read if you are just starting to get into the investing world, or even if you’ve been in it for 10 years.

Not only does this book provide literally a wealth of knowledge. It grants a rare and wonderful opportunity to those of us who would otherwise not gain access to the Annual Shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway. Let alone 30 years of Annual Meetings. From the well written and detailed notes taken by the authors during each meeting, we are provided a front row seat. And learn directly from the insights of Buffet and Munger. University of Berkshire Hathaway, a very appropriate name.

This is an amazing book. I really loved reading it. The way the authors have attended the meetings, taken notes and shared through this book is amazing. Their sheer act of attending the meeting year-after-year and taking rigorous notes is what great discipline is all about. Thank you for bringing this book out.

Anyone interested in making money, investing in stock market, and acquisitions this is a must read! Buffett and Munger are phenomenal. The authors of this book did a great job at taking notes in those annual meetings. I now want to buy shares at Berkshire Hathaway just to join the weekend party at that annual meeting.

This book is interesting because it follows an inner logics: Buffet talks in an University where he allows to his people to study for a degree. His words must excite those future agents more than pose rational problems about the economics. Buffet choices the terms of his language in a clear way, he knows well where this people wait him, the feed-back exists surely, but it is founded in a cycle of auto-references. It's the model of Luhmann which wins against that of traditional industry.

Thank you for sharing notes which captured real-time key messages from the expanding curriculum at the University of Berkshire Hathaway. I have been a proud “part-time” student myself and marvel at the memories released by thumbing through your own journal. What strikes me most is the low valuation of so many of the items discussed in the early years only to realize just how far forward compound interest has taken so many of what started as small seedlings within Berkshire Hathaway. Today so many of them are enormous and well beyond my original esteem.
Great work. Congratulations. A must read.

The premise of the book was wonderful. The curated sections of the newsletters contain so much amazingly insightful info - they truly are a look into Buffett's and Munger's minds. The structure of notes do an amazing job of bringing them both to life on paper - I laughed out loud and smiled often.

Overall, a fantastic book - what a collection of wisdom!

I find this book very knowledgeable and trustworthy. I would not have thought of the ideas presented in the text in years, or maybe I wouldn’t have thought of them at all. Overall I believe this is a great read if you are just starting to get into the investing world, or even if you’ve been in it for 10 years.

Not only does this book provide literally a wealth of knowledge. It grants a rare and wonderful opportunity to those of us who would otherwise not gain access to the Annual Shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway. Let alone 30 years of Annual Meetings. From the well written and detailed notes taken by the authors during each meeting, we are provided a front row seat. And learn directly from the insights of Buffet and Munger. University of Berkshire Hathaway, a very appropriate name.

This is an amazing book. I really loved reading it. The way the authors have attended the meetings, taken notes and shared through this book is amazing. Their sheer act of attending the meeting year-after-year and taking rigorous notes is what great discipline is all about. Thank you for bringing this book out.

Anyone interested in making money, investing in stock market, and acquisitions this is a must read! Buffett and Munger are phenomenal. The authors of this book did a great job at taking notes in those annual meetings. I now want to buy shares at Berkshire Hathaway just to join the weekend party at that annual meeting.

This book is interesting because it follows an inner logics: Buffet talks in an University where he allows to his people to study for a degree. His words must excite those future agents more than pose rational problems about the economics. Buffet choices the terms of his language in a clear way, he knows well where this people wait him, the feed-back exists surely, but it is founded in a cycle of auto-references. It's the model of Luhmann which wins against that of traditional industry.

A fascinating read. The authors' meticulous notes over the past 30 years of Berkshire's annual shareholder meetings act as a true masterclass. Buffet and Munger continually offer nuggets of sound wisdom throughout the years. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in investing.

As a tremendous fan and ardent follower of Warren Buffett, I truly enjoyed this book. If you've been meaning to read the historical investor letters for years, but never quite found the time...consider this your turbo-charged crib sheet. Personal observations and anecdotes from the author offer new insight and provide added color to the oft-told story of Buffett and his textile-company-turned-investment-behemoth.

The book is structured around the author's experience at thirty years of annual Berkshire Hathaway investor meetings. Pecaut draws on his career as an investment adviser and contemporary of Buffet and Munger in nearby Sioux City, Iowa. Each chapter begins with a short dossier of facts and figures on the meeting itself, plus BRK and benchmark performance to date. I found myself regularly pausing in awe at both the stunning outperformance and the precocious wisdom of Buffett and Munger, a feature well highlighted by the book's "time capsule" approach. Pecaut's notes are laid out in a straightforward, easy to navigate manner and the prose is spry and clear. Investment geeks and Buffet fans (no doubt two largely overlapping sets) will find themselves pulling this book off the shelf many times for reference and enjoyment alike.

Loved the book. Have come across many books on Berkshire letters, but none on the shareholder meetings. This book does an excellent job of crystallizing 5-6 hour long annual meetings into a few pages packed with insight and Warren & Charlie's inimitable humor.

I just started reading this book and I am already enjoying it very much.

I only attended the past 4 BRK meetings. So I am humbled by 30 years of experience and note taking.

I wish I had started earlier.

A great way to understand the simplicity and consistency of Buffett and Munger's thinking over 30+ years. There are some repetitive themes, but that seems to be a function of BRK sticking to their guns. I would have liked more of the analysis that's provided for some years by the authors - they write with directness and insight similar to Warren and Charlie.

This book is like a time capsule. I enjoyed being able to select a year and learning what Pecaut and Wrenn had to say about the meeting.

This book is a pleasure to read or just flip through. Each time I sat down to read this, I always read a couple more chapters then intended.