Buffett's methods ought to be as much of an inspiration to corporate boards as to investors

SINGAPORE (May 13): Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s corporate vehicle Berkshire Hathaway hogged the headlines around the world this past week for doing nothing more than holding its annual shareholder meeting as scheduled on May 4.

The sometimes-styled “Woodstock for Capitalists” drew a reported attendance of some 40,000 people, and was live-streamed across the world. Buffett, 88, and his long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, spent hours fielding questions related to Berkshire’s corporate matters as well as the outlook for the US economy and the state of politics in the country. Some who attended the meeting simply wanted to test Buffett’s and Munger’s wisdom on everything from saving and investing to the importance of delayed gratification and understanding human nature.

To be sure, Berkshire’s huge following is largely a reflection of the stellar returns it has delivered over the last five decades. When Buffett took control of Berkshire in 1965, it was a waning textiles manufacturer. Buffett used the cash generated by the textiles operation to invest in more promising fields. This famously included the purchase of significant stakes in public-listed companies such as Coca-Cola, Bank of America, American Express and, recently, Apple.