Buffett's Work on 50th Anniversary Shareholder Letter Continues



Warren Buffett - Photo: Asa Mathat - One on One with -  Year 2011Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, will be releasing his annual letter to shareholders this Saturday.

Buffett's annual letter is always something special as he provides a glimpse into how his brain works and how he seeks out new investment opportunities. This year, however, is even more special as Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway will be celebrating 50 years together - in the mid '60s, Warren Buffett became the controlling owner of Berkshire Hathaway and the rest is history.

Warren Buffett's annual letters are usually quite lengthy and filled with sound, folksy investing wisdom. This year, however, Buffett has promised something extra, as it is rumored that the soon-to-be released annual letter will be in excess of 20,000 words. In addition, Vice Chairman Charles Munger, who is 91 years of age, will also be contributing an annual letter.

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There are a number of important topics that Buffett is expected to address in this year's annual letter.

To start, some investors are wondering if Buffett will give more insight as to who will take over when he passes away or retires. There are a couple of potential candidates, including Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, but nothing has been officially revealed as of yet. Could Buffett use his 50th anniversary letter to reveal the name of his successor? It's a possibility.

Many investors in Berkshire Hathaway are also wondering what Buffett has in store for the monstrous $60 billion+ in cash that the company possesses. It's an enviable problem to have - Berkshire Hathaway's numerous businesses throw off a tremendous amount of cash each month and Buffett is always scrambling to invest it. The problem? The rising stock market has increased valuations to levels that Buffett often finds too rich, which means that the cash is often left to sit. Buffett has started looking abroad for investment opportunities (Germany seems to be a new favorite target) so don't be surprised if he talks more about this in Saturday's letter.

A number of other topics that may be discussed in Saturday's letter include:

-underperforming investments in International Business Machines Corp. and others

-the current state of the oil industry and why he exited the company's stake in Exxon Mobil

-the top investment opportunities of the next 50 years

-Buffett's opinions on the current state of the US and global economy

-more on his new strategy to team with buyout firm 3G Capital to take down "elephants" (large acquisitions)

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Let's be honest - Warren Buffett is 84 years old and won't be around forever. We need to cherish his annual letters when they are released, and Saturday's letter should be something special.

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Photo: Asa Mathat

Filed under: General Knowledge

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