Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett gestures during an interview with Liz Claman on the Fox Business Network in Omaha, Neb., Monday, May 5, 2014.Nati Harnik/The Associated Press
Anyone who wants to watch Warren Buffett dispense advice at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting without making the pilgrimage to Omaha this spring can follow it online.
Berkshire and Yahoo said Tuesday that Yahoo Finance would broadcast the meeting this spring. This year's meeting on April 30 will be the first one streamed online.
"Over the past 50 years, we've seen a tremendous increase in the interest around our shareholders meeting," Buffett said.
Last year, more than 40,000 people from around the globe filled an Omaha arena and several overflow rooms for the meeting. Many people attend the Berkshire meeting every year and enjoy getting together with friends at the event.
The heart of the meeting is when Buffett and his Vice Chairman Charlie Munger spend several hours answering questions from shareholders and a panel of reporters and analysts.
The meeting broadcast will start at 9 a.m. Central on April 30 with coverage of some of the surrounding events, including the adjoining exhibit hall where Berkshire subsidiaries display and sell products.
That 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall is always filled with booths from Berkshire's See's Candy, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Justin Boots, the BNSF railroad and other subsidiaries.
Most of the companies Berkshire owns and the more than 300,000 employees it owns are based in the United States, but Buffett has been working to market the conglomerate more overseas as potential buyer of businesses. Buffett said broadcasting the meeting online might help that.
A recording of the meeting will be available on Yahoo Finance for 30 days after the annual meeting, Editor in Chief Andy Serwer said.
"The Berkshire Hathaway shareholders' meeting has been called the 'Woodstock of Capitalism,' and we're thrilled to offer access to a worldwide audience for the first time ever," Serwer said.