2021: Will shareholders ever get to hear from Ted and Todd?

BECKY QUICK: This question is from Ryan Fusaro in New York City, who says, “Todd and Ted have taken on increased responsibility at Berkshire over the years, managing larger pools of capital, including the company’s sizable Apple holdings, participating in M&A strategy, and even overseeing the company’s now shuttered healthcare partnership with Amazon and J.P. Morgan. We are grateful for their efforts, but Todd and Ted are still not made available to shareholders at the annual meeting each year. Given their growing importance to the firm, can you discuss this policy and whether we can expect to hear from them more in the coming years?

WARREN BUFFETT: They’re both absolutely terrific, and that’s one reason I don’t want people quizzing them on stocks. They are assets of Berkshire. There’s no reason for them to be out educating other people on how to compete with us. It always seemed so silly that people expect it. They don’t expect Merck or Pfizer or something to tell them exactly what their scientists are working on and where they stand or where the failures have been so they can eliminate those. If you’ve got talent that knows how to evaluate businesses, and those two fellows have gone far beyond that. They’re terrific assets. They love love Berkshire and they work extraordinary hours, but we don’t really want them going around with people asking them questions about why you like this industry better than that industry or anything of the sort.