1995: Will Berkshire distribute a video tape of the annual meetings?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Good morning, Mr. Buffett, Mr. Munger, Mike Lee-Chin from Hamilton, Ontario.

Could you consider availing a videotape of this meeting to us, the shareholders?

CHARLIE MUNGER: I didn’t quite get that.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Would you consider availing this videotape of the shareholder — this particular shareholder meeting to us, the shareholders?

CHARLIE MUNGER: Distributing a videotape?

WARREN BUFFETT: A transcript or a videotape?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes.

WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah, we’ve had that suggested a number of times. It’s a good suggestion, and we’ve considered it.

The thing we’re worried about, in connection with that, is discouraging attendance.

I mean, it — (laughter) — we’d hate to have two people here asking questions and then send it out to tens of thousands. So — (laughter) — in the end —

CHARLIE MUNGER: Particularly if it might make sales go down at the jewelry store.

WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah. (Laughter and applause)

Since we were just attacking hypocrisy in American business, Charlie felt like he should add that to my comments. (Laughter)

But we — it’s a close call on that because we would like everybody —

Of course, we try to cover a great many subjects in the annual report. But we like the idea of the meeting — answering a lot of shareholders questions.

We don’t want to discourage attendance. And it’s fun to have everybody come in and ask questions.

And the chances are, if we had far fewer people, we would have, you know, far more — far fewer — good questions. So that the quality of the meeting is enhanced, I think, by having a lot of people come.

But you’ve come a long way, so I can understand why you might be interested in a transcript. (Laughs)

I apprentice that. Thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: — or no. Is that a yes or a no?

WARREN BUFFETT: It’s — (Laughter)

CHARLIE MUNGER: It was a no.

WARREN BUFFETT: It’s a no.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: OK. (Applause)

WARREN BUFFETT: Most everything we say is a no. But we have various ways of getting there. (Laughter)