This luxurious, historic hotel in downtown Omaha was home to the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting from 1980-1985.
Having outgrown the lunchroom at National Indemnity Co., Warren relocated the meeting to the Red Lion which saw attendance grow from about 100 to 250.
In 1986, the annual meeting relocated to the Joslyn Art Museum.
History & Trivia
Originally opened as the Hilton in 1970, it became the Red Lion in 1980. In 2012 it was rebranded as the DoubleTree by Hilton Omaha Downtown.
In an Omaha World-Herald article, a longtime attendee recalled,
“Sometimes Buffett would have breakfast at the Red Lion coffee shop before the meeting, and people could talk to him then, too.
““Even when it was 100 people, you got to meet everybody,” Scargle said. “People were getting his autograph.” Once he held Buffett’s coat while he signed a $100 bill. Buffett would mingle with the crowd and knew many of the people by name. At one of the Red Lion meetings, he sat down with the shareholders and just talked.”
Location
DoubleTree by Hilton Omaha Downtown
1616 Dodge Street
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 346-7600
Website
[google_map location_id=”77″/]
Links
“The 1979 Berkshire Hathaway meeting: 20 people in a lunchroom” Omaha World-Herald
“The DoubleTree Building: A Look Back at 40 Years” Omaha Magazine