Live from Omaha: The Business Class Bus

It's a tough crowd on the flight out to Omaha for Warren Buffett's annual capitalism-fest. For one thing, I've never seen so many copies of the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times in coach. One guy is even reading a book on G.A.A.P., another has a prospectus in front of him, and another is poring over equity research from Bernstein and Wachovia. It slowly begins to emerge this is a group not accustomed to riding in the "back of the bus."

The cabin was crammed with these unruly executives and shareholders devouring the day's business news and consorting with colleagues (the flight attendants twice came on the intercom to remind passengers they hadn't yet turned off the seatbelt sign, nor would they be able to serve drinks if everyone didn't take their seats--which of course they all didn't). This was clearly a group more accustomed to wider seats, easy boarding, and free cocktails.

It's an easy bet that 97 percent of them were Berkshire Hathaway-bound passengers. So much for the idea of reading The Secret in the relative obscurity of coach class. Instead, it was a catch-up read of Randy Cepuch's Weekend with Warren Buffett, which Randy's due to read from tonight at the local Dairy Queen on 14th Street (DQ is a Berkshire investment).

Well, of course they were shareholders or other meeting attendees. Last year, 72,000 passes were handed out for the event. Not that everyone goes--one Omaha local says that procuring passes is a sort of status symbol. He's got four, though he may not use any of them. But at least 20,000 people are expected to descend upon this city. Should make for an interesting scene at the opening cocktail tonight at Borsheim's, the jewelry mart where Bill Gates bought his wife's engagement ring. The mart is a Berkshire holding, natch.

by Laura Rich