The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, May 4, edition that the folksy wisdom and jokes that were a staple of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting for decades when Warren Buffett led the show was mostly replaced Saturday with detailed business discussions led by new chief executive officer Greg Abel. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that attendance is down significantly this year with the arena only a little over half full, but still no other corporate meeting can come close to matching the crowds at Berkshire's Woodstock for Capitalists. For years, more than 40,000 attended to listen to the 95-year-old Mr. Buffett and, before his death in 2023, Mr. Buffett's long-time partner Charlie Munger was always part of the fun. Mr. Buffett gave up the CEO title in January, but he remains chairman and did make a few comments during the meeting. Berkshire's businesses were the focus, but timely topics like the Iran war and the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence also came up. Vice-chairman Ajit Jain said Berkshire would be willing to insure ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz if the price was right and the U.S. Navy escorted those ships.