Chapter 273 Prophets and accounting
Century Link Center is actually a basketball stadium. The stage is set up behind the basketball hoop. The first three rows start from the free throw line and end at the midfield line. They belong to the center of the entire stadium, and the space effect is very good.
It was because of the great effect that Roland heard all the restless sounds around him.
The buzzing discussions were like noisy mosquitoes, making him smile and shake his head.
Although he couldn't hear what the guys at the scene were talking about, Roland knew in his heart that even though he had a lot of advantages, only his handsome and charming face was worthy of being talked about by others!
"I told you I can't attend, this handsome face is easy to cause a sensation, you don't believe it!"
"Is something wrong now? Look at Warren's stinky face, I think he must be regretting it and want to kick me out!"
If the position where Roland is sitting is near the three-point line, then the place where the two old men are is actually equivalent to the position where the bottom-line reporters are in the Mosaic League. With ability, as long as you work hard, you will definitely be able to spray saliva on the company's directors and important shareholders just like Director Long's angry 58.
It is precisely because of the close distance that facial expressions can be captured.
When Warren Buffett briefly explained, and after a lot of discussion erupted in the quiet scene, everyone could clearly see that the old man's joy hidden under the lens, looking around, and finally shaking his head with a smile, was more like addressing Roland. Popular emotion.
Just when Roland felt good about himself, he was still observing the status of his friends. By the way, Bill Gates, who lamented Roland's super popularity, turned dark and complained: "Can you show some face?"
"These guys are obviously looking for your wealth, what does it have to do with your face?"
"And when you rejected us in the morning, you also said that the change of identity will definitely cause restlessness at the scene. At that time, you could clearly recognize the reality. Why didn't you understand the situation after you came to the venue?"
"Obviously money makes you handsome, not being handsome makes you rich!"
As soon as these words came out, Roland put his hands on his stomach, and Roland, who was leaning there, smiled.
Turned his head and glanced at the other party, "Then you mean, you are more handsome than me?"
"Isn't this an obvious thing?" Bill Gates squinted at him, his face full of reason.
Although it was a small beep, the childish ghost's remarks were still captured by the surrounding people, which made them full of black lines.
As Bill Gates said, during the meal this morning, Roland expressed to the old men that he wanted to go out for a walk and didn't want to attend the shareholders' meeting, and the reason he gave was simple-to avoid distracting the guests.
No matter how low-key Roland is, he doesn't believe that Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders will have more fans than himself!
No matter how low-key Roland is, he can't say that Warren Buffett's popularity is higher than his own words!
No matter how low-key Roland is, he doesn't think that if he goes there, he can become a transparent person who is ignored by everyone!
Although the fields of the two people are different, Roland relies on popularity and fans to make a living. Putting them together is like bullying, but the problem is that the reality never allows the two guys to compete fairly!
As a result, Roland retreated in his heart.
Because he can guess what kind of energy will explode when popularity and net worth come together.
But the problem is that the old man doesn't believe in evil, so he has to be pulled over. Not only that, but he also said that if he came to Omaha but didn't attend the shareholder meeting, he would not give him face as a prophet.
After the old man activated Shanks' innate skills, Roland gave in and followed.
Okay... I can't go on...
The real reason is that the old man has never seen Roland's charisma, and he wants to see what it looks like when the audience exclaims for him.
As an old man who obviously relied on long-term operation and compound interest to generate interest but was smeared by the media as a stock **** who chased ups and downs, although he gave 'RandK' a valuation of 5 billion, this does not mean that all investigations can be terminated.
Before the two parties formally reach a cooperation agreement, the necessary verification must be done.
Although box office appeal and fan purchasing power cannot be calculated with precise amounts using conventional business formulas, how many voices you can grab in your own territory is actually the best embodiment of value.
The guy who came to the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting is either a practitioner in the investment field or a loyal believer of himself. It proves from the side how much repercussions his actions can arouse. Although these things are still false, but...
Isn’t goodwill also potential economic value? And brand value, isn’t the brand as an intangible asset that can’t be truly quantified but actually exists at a certain point in time when it is calculated using a method similar to tangible asset evaluation?
Therefore, after hearing the unexpected exclamation at the scene, the old man's eyes shone with satisfaction, and when he found that these rational investors could look away from himself, his desire to make this deal , it is even stronger.
The old man has never been a guy who sticks to his status.
He has been endorsing his own company brand.
As Susan Buffett said, after turning Berkshire Hathaway from a textile mill into a financial insurance company, this old man married himself to capital and could give everything for high returns .
Of course, after seeing the effect, the verification can stop.
After all, it’s Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting, not Roland Allen’s fan meeting!
After Roland greeted everyone symbolically, the camera returned to the center of the stage, as if everything was taken for granted. Roland would not explain his wealth, and media reporters would not interview him.
As for the reason...
Come to the scene of CNBC, that is an old acquaintance of Bill Gates.
CNBC is a sub-channel of NBC, and NBC is a subsidiary of General Electric.
Bill Gates’ Microsoft reached a cooperation agreement with General Electric on MSNBC two years ago. There was an old man laughing and laughing with Roland there. How could those media stare at Roland blindly?
Roland refused to accept the interview, so give them ten guts, and they don't dare to come up with the microphone!
In this way, when the two old men faced the microphone and took over the topic, the shareholder question-and-answer session officially began.
From 9:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon, except for the one-hour lunch break, the other five hours are all divided into two and a half hours of upper and lower halves, and after the end of the second half, everyone rests for another half an hour.
After the final summary report is handed over, the shareholders meeting will be over.
It seems that the time is very long, and the content should be very full, but in fact...
It's actually pretty boring.
What is the introduction of the board members, the minutes of the board meeting and the issuance of shares, the election of the board of directors...
These things are all on the table.
And then during the Q&A session—
The first shareholder asked the question of price-earnings ratio;
The second stakeholder asked the question of the efficient market hypothesis polluting business schools;
The third shareholder directly recommended the book he read, "Distinguished Investor Digest" and the publisher Henry Emerson;
The fifth one is related to Berkshire Hathaway's internal talent pool...
What left Roland speechless the most was that the eighth shareholder's question turned out to be who chose the color for the cover of Berkshire Hathaway's annual report!
The thirteenth shareholder's question is to ask Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to recommend some of their own book lists!
This is simply the seven aunts and eight aunts sitting together and having a tea party!
Although Roland was mentally prepared, to be honest, compared with the jewelry industry and Nvidia that he talked about the first day, this shareholder meeting is really too watery.
That feeling, like after reading a chapter of a novel, at the end of the comment, 'That's it? '
And just when Roland was about to fall asleep, a shareholder from Melbourne, Australia gave him a jolt and revived him who was drowsy.
Mark Rabinov: "Gentlemen, we own a lot of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and you all know they've been hurt a lot in the past when rates went up. I'm wondering if you think the future Will it still hurt when rates go up?"
Warren Buffett: “The thing about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in terms of interest rates, it’s a particular business model. In a sense, very low interest rates are more of a long-term threat. Because if you Your portfolio is flooded with -- let's say a four percent mortgage or something like that, and then your rates go up a lot, and for a while, it's going to be pretty painful even if you're doing anything in terms of hedging. "
When Roland heard such a question and answer, he leaned against Bill Gates and narrowed his eyes.
‘It turns out that these old **** have already seen the subprime mortgage crisis! '
The subprime mortgage crisis is due to the cooling of the American housing market, especially the increase in short-term interest rates, which caused the subprime mortgage repayment interest rate to rise sharply, resulting in increased repayment burdens for home buyers and unable to repay the loan on time. Unable to sell at a high price, resulting in a financial crisis caused by large-scale losses.
Although the leader at that time was not launched into the sun, the impact was still far-reaching.
The subprime mortgage crisis bankrupted a bunch of companies and lowered the living standards of residents, but…
But companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan made a lot of money.
It would be a lie to say these guys couldn't foresee the risks.
And now...
‘It seems that the old man is also one of them. '
After mentioning Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the shareholder meeting finally got on the right track, and the content of the conversation was also related to investment. When a shareholder named Carey Black proposed to the two old men that Disney was When Metropolis swallowed ABC, the foundation they established had been used for bribery. The news made Roland frown.
"Do you know what's going on here?" Roland slapped Bill Gates and asked shamelessly.
"Shouldn't you ask Steven this question?"
Bill Gates was a little puzzled, but he still answered Roland's question, "When Disney acquired Metropolis, they made some accounting adjustments. To a certain extent, they wrote off the cost of previously held projects. Not only that, Disney also charged a large amount of fees for the amortization of intangible assets, about 400 million per year, and intangible assets are not tax-deductible, so if you recalculate according to the process and add the amortization back, Disney's financial returns actually far outstrip reported earnings..."
‘Hold the grass, isn’t this special one making fake accounts? '
Roland's eyes flickered, "Is no one checking?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized that there was a problem.
Because there are no accounts that cannot be checked in the world, only accounts that dare not be checked.
So, he changed his words: "How many shares does the company hold in Disney?"
"It's almost going to be announced." This question is not confidential, and Bill Gates answered quickly.
‘That’s almost five percent? ’ Roland recorded this number in his heart.
Although he doesn't know what these things are for, they have something to do with Disney anyway.
Of the five hours of shareholder Q&A, Roland was only useful for half an hour.
The point is that the doubts arising from the questions were all answered by Bill Gates. The two old men on the stage were basically talking nonsense, talking about others, which perfectly demonstrated what it means to point a deer into a horse.
Even though Roland is just a layman, based on the memory of his previous life, he also understands that if you invest according to the advice of these two old men, you will die a miserable death, because they have already excluded you from the beginning. The correct answer.
However, if you think about it briefly, you will feel normal.
Because Roland will not tell Bill Gates that the future Internet will not be dominated by portal websites at all.
The Internet of Things they laid out is too advanced.
After the shareholders meeting, there will be a picnic from 5:30 to 8:00.
All stakeholders can participate, much like a buffet.
When Roland arrived at the scene, the guys who hadn't figured out the situation before stepped forward one after another, wanting to know more. Facing those guys who wanted to break the casserole and ask the bottom line, Roland just wandered around and was overwhelmed by wild enthusiasm. Scared off.
The male style of painting is normal.
‘Roland, when did you buy Berkshire Hathaway stock? '
‘How many years have you held the stock? Why choose him? '
‘Are you friends with Bill Gates? During the shareholder meeting, you all sit together. '
Women...
While asking high-sounding questions, he approached quietly.
After approaching, they showed their fangs decisively, and tried to take off his clothes and his pants under the banner of verifying his integrity!
‘Luo Bao! Let mom see if you're real! '
Grab the grass! Is there a second male Yin who is as handsome as me in the world?
You fake fan!
On Sunday, which is the second day of the shareholder meeting, there will be 5,000-meter running, table tennis, bridge and other activities.
Roland can't play bridge, but he doesn't like table tennis.
Even if you can't play the special effects in the eyes of the Japanese players who have a good life, it is definitely enough to bully the old man.
After beating a group of old men into a rage, that night, a group of people who wanted revenge poured him alcohol.
Even if he didn't talk about anything, Roland didn't even know how he got back to his residence in the end, but the contact numbers of Wells Fargo, IBM, American Express, Procter & Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs, and General Motors made him wake up. Very satisfied.
"Although I came here to kill Sony, and I didn't find an ally here to kill Sony, but the jewelry industry has attracted investment, and the semiconductor industry has also looked forward to it. I know that the old coin of Warren Buffett has seen it for a long time. The loan crisis, and knowing that Disney has done a lot of shit, this wave, it’s not a loss..."
Note: ① There was a video of the 1998 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting on CNBC, which really mentioned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and the risk of thunderstorms with low interest rates. Not only that, but what happened to Disney was also said by Warren Buffett himself. There is a problem with their accounting accounts, and their annual net profit is at least 400 million yuan (this exact figure comes from Warren Buffett’s mouth), As for where the money went, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger did not say, they just said that if Disney adjusted back, future earnings would skyrocket. ②The general meeting of shareholders is actually very boring. Those old men never answer questions directly, and those general meetings of shareholders before were not broadcast live to the outside world, and all news was strangled inside.
(end of this chapter)