Warren Buffett tells Tim Cook to ‘take a bow’ as Apple CEO gets surprise send-off at Berkshire annual meeting

At Berkshire Hathaway’s first annual shareholder meeting, led by new CEO Greg Abel, the spotlight turned again to the company’s chairman, Warren Buffett, and, surprisingly, Tim Cook. Buffett appeared to be fully embracing retirement as the legendary investor sat in the front row wearing a blue sweater instead of his usual suit.

But Berkshire shareholders were in for a surprise when Abel announced that Buffett wanted to have a few words, setting off one of the most important moments of the meeting.

Warren Buffett asks Tim Cook to say hi:

Buffett used the moment to highlight Berkshire’s huge success with its investment in Apple and the manager who has overseen the tech giant’s growth over the past decade. In particular, it is stated that Cook has relinquished his position as Apple’s senior executive and will hand over the management of the company to John Ternus this September.

The legendary investor reminded viewers of the big gamble the company took nearly a decade ago when it decided to allocate about 10% of its resources, or about $35 billion, into Apple shares. Buffett said this was essentially handing over the money to Tim Cook, a leader who was then little known to the average American investor and who, in his words, “accomplished a legend.”

But Berkshire’s return has been surprising. In his speech, Buffett noted that the initial $35 billion investment grew to $185 billion before taxes, accounting for realized and unrealized valuations as well as dividends.

In classic Buffett fashion, the retired investor joked about his own role in the unexpected turn of events. “I didn’t have to do anything,” Buffett told the crowd. “We’re very ambitious here about outsourcing the work and raising the money, but it’s been a success.”

How Tim Cook achieved a ‘legend’:

Buffett talked about the tech giant’s ‘roller coaster’ history, where it was started in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 50 years ago, then Jobs was sidelined from the company for a time. Apple’s founder later returned to the company and led its rebirth with the launch of the iPod, iMac, and iPhone. However, Jobs suffered an untimely death as he succumbed to cancer, prompting Apple’s board of directors to select Cook to lead the company.

“Everyone said who would run Apple when Steve Jobs wasn’t around,” Buffett said. “Probably very few American investors have ever heard of Tim Cook. Tim actually took over the business when Steve died about 14 years ago, but when we made our investment and handed over 10% of Berkshire’s resources, we were turning it over to Tim.”

The legendary investor then asked Cook, who was also sitting in the audience, to stand up and ‘get elected and have our shareholders thank him’.

“How about you step into Steve’s shoes and break his record?” Buffett said during the applause. “This is one of the miracles of American business management.”