How Much Does it Cost to Attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting?
Full breakdown of my 7-day trip to Omaha, Nebraska
*USD/CAD FX rate at the time of this post was around 1.36. I round my figures to the nearest 5-dollar increment, unless the sum is small.
*Total cost rounded
*Buffett’s house
Cost to Attend Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting: $0
For those who are not aware, the annual meeting is free to attend for shareholders. All you have to own is a single share of Berkshire Hathaway. The class B shares are the cheapest at around $320 USD at the time of this post. You can request up to 4 passes. The passes have no unique identifier. You can give the pass to any friend, family member, or stranger to attend. I had a friend tag along and he got in just fine.
Flight from Seattle to Vancouver: $300 USD ($410 CAD)
There is no direct flight from Vancouver to Omaha; hence, you have to make a stop at another airport in the US and then transfer to Omaha. The flight is 7 hours long or more from Vancouver, versus 3.5 hours from Seattle. The catch is that you have to drive roughly 3 hours from Vancouver to Seattle, plus border wait times. If you have a Nexus pass, this becomes an easier decision. I crossed the border in the afternoon, so the wait time was 90 minutes. Typically, if you avoid weekends and go in the early morning or evening, wait times should be less than 30 minutes. My entire car ride was around 4.5 hours. If you have the Nexus, it could be just 3 hours. I was also visiting my cousin in Seattle, and I had a place to park my car, so taking the flight from Seattle was a no-brainer.
Gas cost to and from Vancouver: $70 USD (90 CAD)
Gas is cheaper in the States; hence, I recommend watching your fuel gauge and having just enough to cross the border and to purchase gas after you cross the border. Don’t go to the gas stations right outside the border because their rates are significantly higher. I drove for 15 minutes and then asked, “OK Google (prompt to activate voice assistance on Android phones), show me the cheapest gas stations nearest me?” It showed me rates that ranged from $4.00 to $4.60 for regular gas.
*At the time of this post. $4.00 US per Gallon is equivalent to $1.44/litre in CAD @1.36 USD/CAD conversion rate. In Vancouver, regular gas was $1.80, hence you would be paying a 25% premium in Vancouver.
*At least in Vancouver, I’ve never seen a pump play ads while you’re adding fuel to your car.
Taxi: $26 (should have been around $15) + $13 USD
After landing in Omaha, I got a taxi from Omaha to my car rental company. This is the story of how I got hustled.
I had uninstalled UBER because I mainly drive in Vancouver. I didn’t want to bother redownloading. There is a taxi service called ZTrip. I went into the car and asked if I needed to download the app to use their taxi, they said no. I gave them my address. The taxi driver said, "Are you okay with $26?” He was looking at his screen, so I assumed this was an estimated rate, so I said okay. After I agreed, I felt something was off. I recalled that when I picked my car rental company, the location was less than a 10-minute drive from the airport. My suspicions were accurate, as when the driver dropped me off at AVIS, my car rental company, he manually inputted $26. I got hustled, but for some reason I didn’t bother to argue. On my last day, I took a Lyft from the car rental company to the airport, and it was only $13. I know there is usually an airport pick-up surcharge, so even then, the price should have been around $15-$20.
Another tip is to have Uber, Lyft, and ZTrip downloaded ahead of time. Uber and Lyft allow you to pre-order a ride at a set time, date, and location. The day before my departure from Omaha, I needed to arrange for a ride from AVIS to the airport. The quoted rate was $26 for Lyft, $42 for Uber, and $18-24 for ZTrip. They state that there is no premium charged for the rate quoted for pre-orders, but luckily I decided not to pre-order a ride. When I ordered my ride while at AVIS, the price was only $13 with Lyft.
Car Rental Company AVIS: $410 USD (570 CAD)
When I arrived at AVIS, I was given a Mitsubishi Outlander. On the website, the picture that was shown was of a Toyota Camry. The Outlander was a 2019 model, but it was abused quite substantially by its former clients. There were nicks, scratches, and bumps on the bumpers and especially the trunk, where clients likely move their luggage and occasionally hit their luggage against the rear bumper.
There was construction going on at the car rental company. It looked like they were repaving the pavement where cars were parked. Upon loading up my trunk, a black guy wearing very worn-out clothes approached me at a rather quick pace. I immediately locked my car and went to the opposite side of the car, where the driver's side was. I then proceeded to go inside my car. The guy knocked on my window. I opened my driver's side door to ask, "What’s up?” He said something along the lines of, "My hip hurts, and could I drive him to the nearest bus stop?” I simply said, “No, sorry, I can’t do that.” He said, "What?” I quickly responded, “I can’t do that.” He gave up.
*I was filming the damage already present on my car rental just in case my car rental company wanted to accuse me of damage when I returned my car. At 0:54, the black person shows up.
I attempted to tune my car for Bluetooth audio but couldn’t get it to work. Based on what happened, the guy could have good intentions, but now I was not that comfortable in the area I was in. I decided it was a better idea to get out of the area, than to fiddle with my car's audio. It took me 18 minutes to get to my Extended Stay America hotel.
This was, in fact, an interesting encounter within an hour of my landing in Omaha. This made me a little on edge and more aware of my surroundings. As my trip extended to my 5th to 7th day, I can say that although there are sketchier areas in Omaha, my overall impression is that Omaha is a safe city. As with any city, one should be aware of one’s surroundings and take necessary safety precautions.
Extended Stay America Southwest: $570 USD (780 CAD) for 7 nights, $58USD ($80 CAD)/night
Extended Stay America is a no-frills, budget 2-star hotel that provides discounts to those who stay for a week or longer. But the hotel is more like a 1-star hotel in terms of accommodations. Not surprisingly, due to the hotel being a budget hotel and one of the cheapest in the area, the residents of the building tend to be lower-income. I saw a woman get 2 of her credit cards declined before one worked. I’m not implying anything from this, but the hotel felt sketchier than a 3-star or higher hotel in comparison.
Pros:
-Cheap
-AC blows cold
-The mattresses were actually comfortable and not too soft.
-Full sized fridge
-Can cook with 2 stovetops.
-Conveniently located: 8 minutes from Walmart. 7 minutes from a lot of different restaurants and diners. 18 minutes to downtown. 23 minutes to the airport.
Cons:
-Free Wi-Fi is very slow and not suitable for streaming. You can purchase a week’s worth of fast wifi for $23. I didn’t because I had purchased an unlimited data SIM card for T-Mobile on Amazon before traveling. That was fast enough to stream and watch any video on Netflix or YouTube.
*affiliate link for sim card for those traveling to the US: https://amzn.to/3BqZ3Jl
-The shower faucet was somehow tuned in the opposite direction. So hot was cold, and cold was hot.
-The floors aren’t clean. My bare feet attracted a fair bit of dust on the first day. I recommend bringing slippers or flip-flops with you.
-Towels are old and don’t seem that clean. I would highly recommend bringing your own towel.
-They provide a mini shampoo bottle and a bar of soap. You’ll likely have to go to Walmart to buy your essentials, which is only 8 minutes away.
Expectations of an Extended Stay Hotel:
The reason I picked this hotel was because I expected myself to be outside the room for most of the trip, which was the case. I only needed the room to shower and sleep. It served this purpose very well. I had an Indian friend, who works in venture capital, come join me. He had stayed at the Ritz Carlton the night before, a 5-star hotel. He told me the hotel costs $1600 a night. I couldn’t help but laugh at the dichotomy of the situation. Good thing my buddy is a down-to-earth dude.
Prices for 3-star hotels in the area would be around 100-150 USD/night or above. If you tried booking a hotel near the Chi-Health Center, which is where the annual meeting is held, prices easily reached $250-400 USD/night.
Back to the car rental:
After getting situated at my hotel, I needed to go out to buy some more essentials at Walmart. The car’s touch screen was broken, and there was a notification on the dash stating maintenance was required. As I was going to go on a mini road trip with my friend, I went back to the dealership to get the car exchanged.
This time I had the option between a 2022 Nissan Altima and a Chevy Malibu. I picked the Nissan Altima. I highly recommend the 2022 Nissan Altima.
Pros:
-Very zippy and responds quickly
-Handles well
-Has Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Connects seamlessly to your phone, so you can listen to music while having Google/Apple Maps on the screen.
-Great on gas. 39 MPG on highway and 28 in the City. ( 6L/100km Highway and 8L/100km City for Canadian folks)
-Audio and music sound good, sufficient bass
Cons:
-The car is a light car to maximize fuel economy. On a road trip to Des Moines, traveling at high speeds against strong winds, the car was a little shaky and required 2 hands on the steering wheel to feel confident. On the way back, with tailwinds, the card was super smooth again.
-As an Altima/economy car, the car’s sound deadening isn’t like luxury vehicles, but it’s to be expected.
10-Day Sim Card: $42 CAD (30 USD)
I ordered this on Amazon Canada prior to my trip. You should order this SIM card days in advance because you should account for shipping time, 2 days with Amazon Prime, and the SIM card company requires at least 2 days to activate the sim card. So I would order 1 week in advance to be safe. You simply need to log in online and pick a date to activate the card. So even if you order it 1 month in advance, the 10 days don’t start until you activate it.
*affiliate links for US sim cards: 5-days, 6-days, 9-days, 10-days
If you don’t find the exact number of dates you need, don't worry; each card allows you to extend the plan for up to 4 additional days. The cost for each additional day is roughly $2.50 per day.
Food Cost (all in USD):
This can vary greatly depending on what you eat. Compared to Canada, the US is more expensive overall. The standard tip in Omaha is 10-20%. If the service was normal, I tipped 15%, and if it was superior, I tipped 20%. You don’t need to tip if you are simply ordering takeout or drive-through. Here are the prices of the places I went to:
Gorat’s Steakhouse: $70 + 15 tip = $85. Service was immaculate. Server helped me take several pictures and brought out the Warren Buffett sign, hence I tipped 20%
Shirley’s Diner: $30+5 for 2 people. One of the highest rated diners in Omaha
*My Indian bro with the great smile!
Summer Kitchen Café: $19+3 for 1
Popeye’s fried chicken: $12 for 3 piece combo
Bar during happy hour: $22 for 2 people, including a pint of beer and beef nachos during happy hour.
Parliament Pub: $25 before tips for 2 people and 4 beers
Dirty Bird Fried Chicken: $18. Takeout order. 16 dollars for a 3-piece meal comes with bread, vinegared vegetables, and 3 pieces of juicy and tender fried chicken. The best fried chicken I’ve had, literally. They have this special sauce on their spicy chicken that I’ve never had before.
I didn’t bother adding up how much I exactly spent on food, but I think I spent on average $50-70 USD/day on food.
Gas in Omaha:
Gas is insanely cheap in Omaha. Gas in Seattle was $3.99 for regular, while it was $2.99 in Omaha ($1.08/liter in CAD equivalent!!!). My friend and I went on a road trip to Des Moines, Iowa. The drive was roughly 140 miles one way, or a 2-hour drive each way. I spent roughly $70 USD on gas in total for that trip.
Car Rental vs. UBER?
Uber is rather convenient and can be cost-effective if you aren't going to many places. If I were arriving on Friday and leaving Sunday morning and you were staying at a hotel downtown, I would probably go the Uber route. I wanted to explore more of Omaha and wanted to save money on a hotel by staying a bit further from downtown; hence, renting a car made a lot of sense for me. For one, with Uber, I would not be able to go on a road trip. In addition, I found myself driving quite a few times a day. I estimate that if I were to add up the implied fair for Uber, the cost would exceed my renting a vehicle. In addition, Omaha only has a population of 480k, and most places close rather early. If you live outside of the downtown area, ordering an Uber will likely be more difficult late at night.
Furthermore, I purchased additional third-party liability insurance for $18/day. If you drive in Canada and own your vehicle, then adding Roadstar or Roadstar+ is only $20/year. This covers you for $1 million in third-party liability if you rent a car in the US. As my car is in my father’s name, I am not the owner of the vehicle; hence, I would not have third-party liability coverage while renting a car in the US. You are only covered for the state minimum of third-party liability. I tried calling AVIS customer service, and I asked the clerk at my physical location, but no one could tell me what minimum third-party liability coverage I had. By law, every car rental must provide third-party liability based on the state minimum, but somehow no one knew exactly what the amount was. It can be around $30–50k. In Canada, the minimum is 200k. If, for example, you hit a doctor and the doctor loses their hands, the doctor would be eligible for compensation far exceeding 50k as they will no longer be able to use their hands and must be compensated for their future loss of income. I personally believe that although the chances are slim that such an accident could occur, it is ludicrous that the state allows individuals to gamble on their third-party liability as it could potentially bankrupt someone. Also note that credit cards do not provide third-party liability coverage but only damage and collision insurance.
Payment options: Cash vs Credit vs Debit
Carrying large sums of cash isn’t advised. Holding onto large sums of cash gives thieves something tangible to take from you. The benefit of cash is that the fee charged at a currency exchange parlor is lower than what is charged by a credit card company. I personally brought some cash with me because I was going to play poker in Omaha.
Credit cards: Credit cards are a safe alternative to cash, but they come at a hefty FX premium. The rate Visa charges is usually a 2-3% premium over the market spot rate. Credit cards even charge an FX conversion fee of 2-3% on top of the already elevated Visa FX rate. Credit cards are a good solution if you don’t plan on spending much, but if you aren’t planning to spend much, you could just go with cash.
* Some credit cards offer travel insurance if you pay for the flight in full with your card. My Scotiabank credit card offered travel insurance, flight delay insurance, medical travel insurance, lost baggage insurance, and car rental loss/damage insurance, which covers damage to the vehicle in the event of an accident/theft, but there is no third-party liability coverage from the credit card.
CIBC US Smart Debit Card: I am not being sponsored by CIBC here, but CIBC has a US Smart Account/Debit Card. This card made my trip so easy. The account has no monthly fee and is free to use. All you have to do is open a CIBC US savings account. Deposit USD into the CIBC US savings account and transfer it to your CIBC US Smart Account. The USD is then immediately ready to use. You would use the card like any other debit card. The card has a “tap” function, so it’s super convenient to use. In addition, if you pull cash from the ATM, it will reimburse you for 4 transactions a month. I tested it on an ATM, and it did in fact refund me the fee charged by the ATM.
https://us.cibc.com/en/personal/checking/smart-account.html
In order to avoid paying a premium on my credit card, I visited a local FX currency branch in my city. I looked up the FX rates of all my closest currency exchanges. I would call each one and quote the rate offered by the lowest competitor to see what their best quote was. I was able to haggle my way to a rate lower than the lowest in my local area. I then deposited the USD into my CIBC debit card. The premium I paid above the spot rate was 0.74%. The more money you convert, the better your haggling power. You won’t get within 0.5% of the market rate unless you convert over 10K. I converted around 4K CAD and they profited around $30 CAD off of me for the transaction. If you live in Vancouver, the best rate is at Charlie’s Currency Exchange in downtown Vancouver. At the time I did my FX conversion, they charged only a 0.50% premium. They sometimes don’t even charge a premium over the spot rate, likely because their cost basis is lower. I couldn’t be bothered to drive downtown and find parking to save $10. If you work downtown, keep track of the daily rate and head over during your lunch break. *I am not being sponsored by Charlie’s.
Bring a friend/colleague:
My friend joined me for 4 days and 3 nights, and we split the cost of the hotel and car rental for the days he was in Omaha. In addition to lowering the cost of travelling to Omaha, having a friend overall makes the trip more enjoyable and safer. It was a nice opportunity to catch up. Since the area was new to both of us, we found excitement in our daily discoveries. At the annual meeting, we helped each other save seats, look after each other’s belongings, and take pictures. If you don’t have a friend willing to join you, if you work in finance, potentially one of your colleagues might be interested.
Was the trip worth it?
Warren Buffett has been the greatest investing role model I could ever ask for. He is a great investor and a great person. I am skeptical that we will be able to have another Buffett in our time. I personally found this trip priceless. I was able to shake hands with Li Lu and Guy Spier. After shaking Li Lu’s hand, I politely asked Li Lu for a picture, which he agreed to. While I was in the process of loading my camera app, Mohnish Pabrai called out “Li Lu” and snatched him to take a photo with his daughter. On my Instagram, you can see the video of Li Lu, Mohnish Pabrai, and his daughter next to me. I’ll definitely try to get a photo with them in the future.
*Don’t make the same rookie mistake as me next time; have your camera app open at all times. That being said, I tend to not look back at my photos much anyway, so having the memory of meeting these investment greats in real life is already sufficient for me. I do hope that somewhere down the line, I am able to see Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger within a couple meters. I literally walked down the closest flight of stairs on the bleachers, and Buffett still looked blurry. If you are attending the meeting to get up close and personal with Buffett or Munger, then you will likely be disappointed unless you are part of an inner circle.
If your goal is to be inspired, to feel the energy at the annual meeting, to be surrounded by likeminded individuals, and to be reminded of the powers of compounding and a disciplined value-investing approach, then I highly recommend the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.
With optimism, at the end of the question period, Buffett said, “I thank you all for coming; come next year, and maybe we’ll figure out the answers to a few more of these questions.” From this statement, it’s clear to me that Buffett has a strong will to live and is optimistic about his longevity. Buffett still answers questions with extreme clarity. Even though Buffett is in good health, I would attend the meeting sooner rather than later. Buffett is only 1 year older than my grandma. My grandma had a stroke that changed her completely. Once a person’s age exceeds the age of death from an actuarial standpoint, their health can deteriorate quickly. Don’t take the good health of a living legend for granted. I certainly hope and wish that both Buffett and Munger live well past 100.
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