The 500-word highlights of the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting are here!

On Saturday, May 4th, the 94-year-old "Stock God" Warren Buffett led a five-hour Q&A session at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting.

He jokingly said he might not sign any four-year employment agreements anymore:

"My reading speed, physical strength, and operational efficiency have all declined, much lower than 30 years ago. If subsidiary management has better people to report to, why come to me?"

Bad experiences like impersonation made Buffett nervous, comparing AI to the invention of nuclear weapons:

"I have no advice on how the world should handle it. As someone who knows nothing about it, I do think it has enormous potential benefits and enormous potential harms—just don't know how it will turn out."

Buffett confirmed that Apple will remain Berkshire's largest stock holding:

"Unless something dramatic happens to change capital allocation, we will keep Apple as our biggest investment."

He also hinted that selling Apple shares stemmed from wanting to avoid much higher future tax rates:

"The fiscal deficit will be the problem, and the U.S. government may raise taxes to deal with it."

Buffett confirmed for the first time that the next CEO, Greg Abel, will fully take over investment decisions:

"Berkshire's capital allocation should be entirely his responsibility. I don't want 200 people each managing $1 billion."

Abel said that during any transition, the capital allocation principles Berkshire follows today will continue.

Buffett reiterated that Berkshire's investment focus remains the U.S.:

"I understand the rules, weaknesses, strengths, etc., of the U.S. but don't know other cultures well. If Berkshire sticks to a U.S.-oriented stance, it's less likely to make major mistakes."

Buffett is "very satisfied" with returns from investments in Japan, leaving India to the next management, and is now exploring investments in Canada.

He's in no rush to make deals just for the sake of it: "We only swing at pitches we like," predicting cash will rise to $200 billion by the end of Q2.