2000: What happens if Buffett gets hit by a bus?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Cool. A second question, again, not related. But I’ve heard this question several times today. And it comes up every year.

I’d like to couch it in sort of a different phrase. Let’s say that you stepped outside of this building and were hit by a bus.

WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah. We’ve got one fellow who objects to that here who’s a shareholder. It’s normally a truck.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: A truck, OK.

WARREN BUFFETT: And he happened to be in the trucking business, so he —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Or, given —

WARREN BUFFETT: Just so it isn’t a GEICO driver. But — (Laughter)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Given Omaha, it could be a road grader.

What kind, I mean, that would be a sudden — maybe you’d come out of it with a great fastball. Maybe that’s it. But you wouldn’t have your facility at stocks.

What kind of advice would you give people that hold Berkshire Hathaway at a moment such as that?

WARREN BUFFETT: Well, it’s — I’ve got the ultimate test on that. Because my estate, at that point, would be 99 3/4 percent invested in Berkshire. And I feel totally comfortable, considering the arrangements that have been made, and the businesses we own, and the managers we have in place, in terms of that.

But no one will be more affected, financially, let alone in other manners, by that truck than me. (Laughter)

So it’s a thought that’s crossed my mind.

And it’s a more important question to me than to anybody else. And I’ve answered it to my satisfaction. The directors have some of my thoughts on the subject. But the world will go on. The businesses will go on. And I think you’ll have terrific management in place.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you. I appreciate that. And thank you for taking all three of these. They’re so disconnected.

WARREN BUFFETT: OK, thank you.