The Buffett Essays Symposium: A 20th Anniversary Annotated Transcript by Lawrence A. Cunningham
Among the landmark occasions in the legendary history of Berkshire Hathaway and its iconic co-leaders, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, was a 1996 symposium held in New York at Cardozo Law School. The focus of the symposium was Warren’s letters to Berkshire shareholders. The format was a series of panels with two dozen different experts dissecting all the ideas in the letters, about corporate governance, takeovers, investing, and accounting. Intellectual sparks illuminated the two-day affair, which drew unusual press interest for an academic convocation.
While the principal tangible result of the conference was the publication of the international best-seller, The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, the transcript of the symposium is now being made available with annotations and updated commentary that show just how timeless the topics are and how venerable the principles Buffett laid out remain. Lawrence Cunningham hosted the symposium, edited The Essays, and now presents this archival treasure. It includes current assessments by such luminaries as Robert Hagstrom as well as several participants from the original symposium.
The Buffett Essays Symposium: A 20th Anniversary Annotated Transcript by Lawrence A. Cunningham
About The Author
Lawrence A. Cunningham has written a dozen books, including The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, published in successive editions since 1996 in collaboration with the legendary Mr. Buffett; the critically acclaimed Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values (Columbia University Press 2014); and Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter (Cambridge University Press 2012). Cunningham’s op-eds have been published in many newspapers worldwide, including the Financial Times, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, and his research has appeared in top academic journals published by such universities as Columbia, Harvard, and Vanderbilt. A popular professor at George Washington University, Cunningham also lectures widely, delivering as many as 50 lectures annually to a wide variety of academic, business and investing groups. He is a director of a private investment company, has twice been nominated by shareholder activists to public company boards, and serves on three non-profit boards.
