Still, Buffett gave no indication that he was planning to cede his post anytime soon, and his appearance on stage reassured some investors about his ability to keep pace with the job.

“The level of mental acuity and the humor is still there. It’s really something,” said James Armstrong, whose Henry H. Armstrong Associates oversees investments in Berkshire shares. “I feel pretty satisfied that management of the company is in good shape.”

Buffett joked that the top managers’ ages frankly require a chance for investors to check in on the leaders.

“It’s been three years and it’s a lot better seeing actual shareholders, owners, partners,” Buffett said to kick the meeting off in the morning. “If you’re the owner of a company and you’ve got two guys -- 98 and 91 -- running the company, you’re entitled to actually see them in person.”

Inflation Woes
Buffett again addressed the impact of inflation, after warning shareholders last year that the economy was red hot. Inflation hurts bondholders, as well as people who stash cash under couches.

“It swindles almost everybody,” Buffett said. “If you really could have a totally stable unit of monetary use for the next hundred years, it would be better for business and investors in general.”

Berkshire’s businesses haven’t been immune to the pressures. Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader said in an interview on Friday that it’s a real challenge. Brooks Sports Inc. CEO Jim Weber acknowledged the effects on his business, which makes running shoes, but expressed some optimism that the supply challenges and inflation pressures that have weighed on the economy will lessen.

“There’s been such a bubble in demand post-Covid, people have been buying stuff at an incredible rate,” Weber said. “It isn’t going to crash, I believe, but it’s going to normalize. And when it normalizes, I think all of this capacity challenge in the supply chain is going to go back to normal. I think some prices may be more attractive because there’s going to be overcapacity.”

Bitcoin Criticism
Buffett and Munger have been constant skeptics of cryptocurrencies, with Munger calling it a “noxious poison.” The pair aired their deep criticism again on Saturday, with Buffett noting that he’d rather own lots of farmland or apartments -- what he calls productive assets -- than Bitcoin.

“What would I do with it?” Buffett said. “It isn’t going to do anything.”