A record 35,000 shareholders are expected at Omaha, Nebraska, today for the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the company run by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor.

But the atmosphere at the jamboree, known as the Woodstock for capitalists, may not be as reverential as usual towards Mr Buffett, 78, who appears at the meeting with his vice-chairman, Charlie Munger, 85. The two are expected to face tough questions about Mr Buffett’s successor, the economy and the blunders last year that he has admitted making.

In a change from the usual set-up, half the questions in the five-hour question-and-answer period will be posed by journalists after protesters last year took up too much of the session. Mr Buffett and Mr Munger will not know the questions in advance.

Mr Buffett has said that there are three internal candidates to replace him as chief executive and four to become chief investment officer.

David Sokol, chairman of Mid-American Energy, a Berkshire-owned company, and potential successor to Mr Buffett, said yesterday that he had not been approached about the position.

Mr Sokol, a fellow Nebraskan, said that there were many capable people on the Berkshire board.

Ajit Jain, who run’s Berkshire’s complex reinsurance business, is another favourite. Mr Buffett regularly showers Indian-born Mr Jain with praise, saying: “There isn’t anyone like Ajit.”

Berkshire investors have seen their shares slide almost 39 per cent from their peak of $151,650 in December 2007. The stock was down 1.2 per cent at $92,812 per share yesterday morning as Mr Buffett’s faithful set off for Omaha. Berkshire, a conglomerate of about 80 companies, reported net income of just under $5 billion for last year, down 6.2 per cent after Mr Buffett’s bets on the price of oil and derivatives contracts went wrong.

The company’s first-quarter figures, usually released on the eve of the meeting, will be published on May 8.

Mr Buffett will not shy away from criticism. He has already admitted doing some “dumb things” last year.

“I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt,” he told investors. “Furthermore, I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to reexamine my thinking and promptly take action.”

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