The last three days have been road travel days as we’ve blown along long swaths of I-80 highway through the states of Iowa, Nebraska and now settled in Sterling, Colorado. While short visits at each stop, there are always interesting things to see, people to meet and time to reflect.
As we drove through Omaha’s fun highway system, I thought of Omaha’s most famous resident, Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and long-time Chairman of investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway. Mr. Buffett’s folksy and world-wise decisions, and down to earth communications style,has made him not only successful as a businessman, but widely respected and admired across the globe.
Just a few weeks back, Berkshire Hathaway held its Annual Meeting Meeting in Omaha and once again it attracted thousands of Berkshire shareholders from all corners of the globe. This year was especially touching to attendees as they honoured the tremendous legacy of Mr. Buffett’s long-time partner, Vice Chairman and best friend, Charles T. Munger. Mr. Munger passed away on November 28, 2023, just 33 days shy of his 100th birthday. Up to the day he died he remained active in his firm and, like Mr. Buffett, played a leading role supporting countless charities and philanthropic endeavours with his leadership and generous contributions. Buffett and Munger are revered not only as two titans of the business world, but they’ve made an importance difference in the lives of many.
This also made me think of my good friends at Raymond James, one of North America’s leading investment dealers and wealth management firms. Transitioning to this new career of free-wheeling adventure with Bernadette is loads of fun, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I miss the many colleagues that I worked with and became friends with at Raymond James over the past two decades. In this day and age, it is pretty special to be so proud of the place and people you worked with.
