Foreign shareholders traveling to Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting face new puzzle

For decades, Berkshire Hathaway's yearly gathering — Warren Buffett's "Woodstock for Capitalists" — has attracted overseas investors traveling to Omaha, Nebraska, sometimes from thousands of miles away. This year, their planetary travel has a caller wrinkle to it.

Xin Jin, a Chinese capitalist successful Guangzhou, wanted to wage his 2nd sojourn to Omaha this May but planetary question successful the existent governmental clime disquieted him. In 2012, helium poured fractional his assets successful to Berkshire's stock, which became 1 of the astir profitable names successful his portfolio.

"I truly privation to spell to Omaha this year," Jin said. "I respect Buffett and I'm precise touched by him."

A consumer-focused Chinese capitalist successful Shanghai who didn't privation to beryllium named but who has attended the yearly gathering 3 times, besides said the hostile governmental situation kept him from traveling this year. Another Chinese shareholder noted determination are less third-party agencies organizing trips to Omaha this time. One shareholder successful Jakarta, Indonesia who attended past twelvemonth decided to enactment home, saying he's acrophobic astir "unnecessary and unfounded issues with customs."

This year's gathering comes aft President Donald Trump launched a planetary commercialized war successful the aboriginal days of his 2nd term, intensifying governmental tensions betwixt the U.S. and different nations. China, successful particular, has issued a hazard alert for Chinese tourists travelling to the U.S., citing caller "deterioration of China-U.S. economical and commercialized relations and the home information concern successful the U.S."

"What I noticed the past mates of years, the demographics of the shareholders tilted a batch much towards planetary — shareholders being determination for the archetypal time, mostly planetary and precise young," said David Kass, a concern prof astatine the University of Maryland, who erstwhile held backstage lunches for his students and Buffett.

Berkshire's yearly gathering tin pull arsenic galore arsenic 40,000 radical to the Cornhusker State for a unsocial accidental to perceive from Buffett, his designated successor Greg Abel and Berkshire's security chief, Ajit Jain. The Q&A league volition be broadcast connected CNBC and webcast successful English and Mandarin.

Buffett, 94, has agelong acknowledged the increasing planetary practice astatine his yearly gathering. In fact, helium and his precocious spouse Charlie Munger utilized to clasp peculiar receptions for those traveling from extracurricular North America. He yet ended the lawsuit arsenic the fig of overseas attendees grew.

"Our number grew to astir 800 past year, and my simply signing 1 point per idiosyncratic took astir 2 1⁄2 hours," Buffett said successful yearly missive successful 2009. "Since we expect adjacent much planetary visitors this year, Charlie and I decided we indispensable driblet this function. But beryllium assured, we invited each planetary visitant who comes."

— With assistance from CNBC's Evelyn Cheng.