Omaha made sure to welcome Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider I traveled for 18 hours to Omaha, Warren Buffett's hometown, for his annual meeting. I wanted to see what Buffett stepping down as CEO meant for the city, his company, and his legacy. Walking Omaha's streets, speaking to shareholders, and visiting Buffett's home gave me my answer. I flew 4,400 miles from London to Omaha to cover Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. My goal was to learn what Warren Buffett's recent retirement as CEO means for his hometown, his company, and his legacy. I spoke to more than 25 attendees, walked the streets of Buffett's hometown, and even visited the legendary investor's home. I left with a clear sense that Buffett, and everything he stands for, will live on long after he's gone. Flying from London to Omaha felt like a pilgrimage. The view from my windown seat on the flight to Chicago. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Traveling to Omaha for a fourth time meant my trip felt more like a yearly pilgrimage than a journey into the unknown. I left my home around an hour outside London at around 11 a.m. local time, then traveled by train and tube to London's Heathrow Airport. First, I flew to Chicago, where I had a nearly four-hour layover, then on to Omaha. I ordered an Uber to my hotel and arrived after midnight. Door-to-door, the trip took 18 hours. Buffett's fans were out in force the next morning. Janet and Stanley Baxter Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Janet and Stanley Baxter, late-60s retirees who live locally, were among the hundreds of people waiting for the doors of the CHI Health Center to open on Friday. Around two dozen Berkshire subsidiaries, including Pampered Chef, Dairy Queen, and Brooks Running, set up booths inside the center's exhibit hall each year and sell discounted wares to shareholders. Janet told me she and Stanley "always hit Fruit of the Loom first" as they've "got to buy underwear for Christmas." I asked her how Omaha natives view Buffett. She said he's a "favorite son, and he always will be." "I think we all love him," she continued. "I've never heard a bad thing about him." She said the pair once saw Buffett eating dinner with his daughter in a restaurant, and nobody bothered him. "We know he's there and we're all in awe," she recalled, describing the billionaire philanthropist as a "benevolent man" and adding: "We need more like him." Buffett was still the star of the show. A cardboard cutout of Warren Buffett outside the Nebraska Furniture Mart booth. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Greg Abel might be CEO, but Berkshire clearly remained Buffett's company. I saw Buffett's face everywhere in the shopping hall: on t-shirts, tote bags, air fresheners, rubber ducks, socks, pins, mugs, and plush toys. Berkshire incorporated both Buffett and Abel into the meeting's branding, putting the two men side-by-side with the tagline: "The Legacy Continues." I spotted the legendary Mrs. B on a tote bag. A tote bag showing Mrs. B. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider I was delighted to see that Nebraska Furniture Mart was selling a tote bag featuring a cartoon Rose Blumkin, known as "Mrs. B." Blumkin founded NFM in 1937 and grew it into one of America's largest home-goods retailers. Buffett praised her acumen after acquiring her company in 1983, saying that, even at age 89, she would "run rings around" Fortune 500 CEOs and the best business school graduates. Charlie Munger put his stamp on the city — literally. A Charlie Munger mural in Omaha. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Walking back to my hotel after a long day of interviewing shoppers and executives, I stopped to examine a huge mural of Charlie Munger, Buffett's late business partner. The design was inspired by one of Munger and Buffett's early business ventures, Blue Chip Stamps. The mural featured the quote "Those who keep learning will keep rising in life." The plaque below it read: "In Memory of Charles T. Munger (1924-2023) This mural was created to honor his legacy of wisdom, integrity, and lifelong curiosity." It was heartwarming to see Munger, who died a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday in late 2023, hadn't been forgotten. Buffett's curmudgeonly right-hand man and his love of See's Candies peanut brittle were immortalized in Squishmallow form at this year's meeting, too. Omaha looked stunning as the evening set in. Omaha Theron Mohamed/Business Insider I felt compelled to snap a photo of The RiverFront, a redeveloped public park north of the city's historic Old Market. In the background is the Omaha World-Herald building; Buffett owned his hometown newspaper from 2011 to 2020. The view made me appreciate Buffett's latest Thanksgiving message — a love letter to Omaha that highlighted the ties of Munger, Abel, and many other key people in his life to the city. "Can it be that there is some magic ingredient in Omaha's water?" Buffett mused. "Looking back I feel that both Berkshire and I did better because of our base in Omaha than if I had resided anywhere else." Buffett and Berkshire popped up at my hotel. A Moxy stash l,ocker with an "I heart Warren" sticker. Business Insider/Theron Mohamed Buffett and Berkshire were omnipresent in Omaha. I spotted an "I Heart Warren" sticker on one of my hotel's stash lockers. There were also special "Berkshire Weekend" drinks menus in the lobby during my stay. Even the city's trash cans had signs welcoming Berkshire shareholders. Omaha's embrace of Buffett and Berkshire isn't just rooted in admiration. The tens of thousands of disciples who flood the city every spring provide a huge boost to the local economy, filling the city's hotels, restaurants, bars, stores, and taxis. Shareholders were feeling positive about the future. John Choe Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Buffett's decision to hand off hosting duties to Abel inevitably led to fewer people making the trip to Omaha this year. But shareholders told me that Abel's Q&A had left them optimistic about the company's future. John Choe, 31, who hails from Atlanta and invests in real estate and stocks, told me at a book-signing event in the Marriott on Sunday morning that Buffett stepping out of the spotlight was "bittersweet." "I personally missed him being on stage," he said. But he was impressed by Abel and the two deputies he brought onstage, Katie Farmer and Adam Johnson. "It felt like a fresh beginning, and I felt very hopeful," Choe said. Abel's performance reassured the Berkshire faithful. Mortez Washington and Melinda Williams. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider Mortez Washington, 52, an ICU nurse from Memphis, and Malinda Williams, 40, a local financial advisor, told me they thought Abel's impressive Q&A had boosted shareholders' confidence in him and clarified his vision. Washington praised Abel for inviting Johnson and Farmer to join him on stage, saying it helps with succession planning by introducing key personnel to shareholders. "Not everybody's going to stay at the company until they're 95 years old, or 99 and three-quarters," Washington said, nodding to Buffett's current age and Munger's age at his death. "I don't know, it's a pretty good company, they might," Williams quipped. Williams told me that her 9-year-old son had attended the meeting for the first time this year, and she loved seeing it through his eyes. "Of course, he doesn't understand all the terminology and the jargon, but it gets the conversation going, and it gets him dreaming big," she said. I visited Buffett's home for the first time. Two Warren Buffett fans outside of his home. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider On Sunday morning, I took an Uber to Buffett's home, around a 10-minute drive west of the city. The investor purchased the house for $31,500 in 1958 and has resided there ever since. I watched a steady stream of people arrive by car, walk around the investor's family home, pose for a few pictures, then depart. It struck me as remarkable that a billionaire's home address is public information, and anyone can visit his leafy suburban neighborhood and try to catch a glimpse of him through his hedges. Prashant Dugar and Anand Behl were posing for photos with their Buffett Squishmallow outside his home. When I asked why they'd come, Behl joked it was like "asking why are Christians at Jesus' birthplace." Buffett lies at the "intersection of human excellence and human values," Behl said. "You look for heroes in life, right?" Dugar added, noting that Buffett is one of the very few people in finance who make the cut. The pair told me that Buffett's choice of home speaks to his core values such as humility and frugality, his desire to avoid the noise and distractions that come with luxury and big-city life, and his long-term investing approach. There was no escaping Buffett, even at the airport. An airport book stand featuring lots of Berkshire books. Theron Mohamed/Business Insider The titles on display included "The Oracle & Omaha," "My New Berkshire ABC," and "Buffett & Munger Unscripted." I had a chance to meet the author of "The Warren Buffett CEO," Robert Miles, at a book signing shortly after the Q&A. He gave me some vital context for the elevation of Abel, Johnson, and Farmer in the company: Berkshire has shifted from earning virtually all of its income from insurance to a more even split between its energy, railroad, consumer, and insurance units. I received a fitting farewell from a See's Candies sign near my departure gate that read: "Sweet Travels, Shareholders!" Read the original article on Business Insider