- Warren Buffett may be out as CEO, but he's still central to Berkshire Hathaway's image.
- The iconic investor appeared on all manner of products at Berkshire's shareholder shopping day.
- We spotted a muppet-like Buffett embracing a giant rat, and a product dubbed "Warren's Oracle Orb."
Warren Buffett may have retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, but he's still the face of the company.
Business Insider is on the ground for Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday, and ahead of the start of proceedings, we went hunting for the best Buffett merch ahead. We spotted the "Oracle of Omaha" on T-shirts, tote bags, tea towels, plush toys, rubber ducks, and more.
Roughly two dozen of Berkshire's subsidiaries — including Geico, Nebraska Furniture Mart, and BNSF Railway — set up shop on Friday and Saturday in the CHI Health Center, the venue for its annual shareholder meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha.
Shoppers lined up in droves to snag the deals on offer.
Berkshire lures shoppers every year with discounted prices for shareholders on a broad range of products.
Friday's shareholder shopping day didn't start until 12 p.m., but people began lining up several hours earlier to nab the best deals.
Once the doors opened, eager buyers rushed to score limited-edition Squishmallows and beat the lines for Fruit of the Loom apparel.
We didn't expect to see Warren Buffett with his arm around a giant rat.
Bell Labs, a manufacturer of rodent-control products that Berkshire acquired last August, featured a muppet-style Buffett with his arm around a huge stuffed rat in its booth.
While they weren't for sale, it was striking to see the newest member of the Berkshire family put its billionaire chairman's likeness to good use.
The Buffett memorabilia ranged from mainstream to niche.
Berkshire's subsidiaries didn't shy away from dressing up Buffett's image to suit their wares.
Justin Brands, a footwear business, was selling a Buffett-themed cowboy boot jack in small and large sizes.
Buffett, in cowboy apparel, also appeared on golf-club covers, socks, and air fresheners.
BNSF Railway showcased Buffett and Abel in plush form.
Shareholders scrambled to buy one of only 2,000 boxes of Buffett and Abel plush toys that Squishmallows made in partnership with BNSF Railway.
Squishmallows, toymaker Jazwares' flagship brand, also teamed up with Geico, NetJets, and See's Candies to make special-edition plush toys for each of those subsidiaries.
Pilot stocked some of the most unusual Buffett merch.
Pilot, the truck stop chain that Berkshire acquired outright in 2024, showcased several fun items at its booth.
They included an item reminiscent of a Magic 8 Ball called Warren Oracle's Orb, as well as ornaments and T-shirts featuring Buffett's hairline and glasses.
Pilot was also selling Berkshire-themed onesies, trucker hats, golf balls, and coffee. Another highlight was a T-shirt listing some of Buffett's favorite things: bridge, ice cream, books, peanut brittle, Omaha, and investing.
Oriental Trading had the widest selection of Buffett items by far.
A traffic jam quickly formed in Oriental Trading's booth as shoppers crowded around the Buffett-themed items on display.
Those ranged from craft kits and bobbleheads to rubber ducks, T-shirts, bibs, beach towels, mugs, flip books, miniature busts, chocolate bars, and pull-back racers.
Buffett was decked out in ice hockey gear at See's Candies.
See's Candies celebrated Abel's favorite pastime, ice hockey, with its packaging this year.
The boxed-chocolate seller imagined Abel, Buffett, and founder Mary See fully geared up and playing the sport.
Perhaps the hidden message for shareholders is that, like Wayne Gretzky, Abel skates to where the puck is going to be.
Charlie Munger wasn't forgotten.
Buffett's late business partner, Charlie Munger, was much less of a presence in Berkshire's booths.
We enjoyed seeing a plush Munger munching on a box of his beloved peanut brittle — the result of a collaboration between Squishmallows and See's Candies.
