OMAHA, Nebraska, May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett will

take center stage at Berkshire Hathaway's ( BRK/A ) annual

meeting on Saturday as shareholders, some having traveled long

distances, arrived to see the famed investor as well as his

expected successor.

The meeting is the 60th for Buffett, 93, since he took over

Berkshire in 1965. He has largely stopped appearing publicly to

discuss the company. He told investors in November that he felt

good but knew he was "playing in extra innings."

Hundreds of shareholders waited in line overnight to get in

early. When the doors opened, some shareholders ran in to get

good seats and the auditorium quickly filled up.

"I was here since 2:30 a.m.," said Serena Lam, 32, an

investment portfolio manager who flew in with 40 others from

Hong Kong and was standing first in line at one of the

entrances. "I want to see Warren Buffett. I want to get his

perspective about Japanese stocks. I flew over 25 hours for

this."

At a downtown arena, Buffett and Vice Chairman Greg

Abel, 61, will answer about five hours of questions. Vice

Chairman Ajit Jain, 72, will also join. Abel was designated

Buffett's successor as chief executive in 2021.

Bill Gunther, 72, a retired state forester from Newfane,

Vermont, brought a lawn chair to sit in while on line.

"I feel very bullish about Berkshire. They're so

diversified and have a good company culture. That's the one

thing that I loved."

Investors are focused on how the conglomerate will

evolve as it faces challenges including how best to grow without

overpaying for acquisitions, whether to pay a dividend and how

to deploy cash on hand that stood at $189 billion as of the end

of March.

The shareholder meeting is the first since Charlie Munger,

Buffett's longtime friend, business partner and foil, died in

November at age 99.

Munger was known for laconic and acerbic comebacks to

Buffett's often lengthy appraisals about Berkshire, the economy,

Wall Street and life.

"It's going to be hard for Warren to not have Charlie

there," said Paul Lountzis, president of Lountzis Asset

Management, attending his 32nd Berkshire meeting.

SUCCESSION TOP OF MIND

Berkshire is a $862 billion conglomerate with dozens of

businesses including BNSF railroad, Geico car insurance, Dairy

Queen and Fruit of the Loom. It also owns well over $300 billion

of stocks, close to half of which is Apple ( AAPL ).

Berkshire's stock is up 23% over the last year, lagging the

Standard & Poor's 500's 25% gain. Over the last decade,

it has risen 218% versus the S&P's 172% gain.

Ahead of the meeting, Berkshire

reported a record quarterly profit

, bolstered by a significant increase in income from

insurance underwriting. Net income fell, reflecting much lower

unrealized gains from its common stock holdings. The size of

Berkshire's stake in Apple ( AAPL ) stake fell 22% to $135.4 billion as

of March 31.

Buffett is expected to face a wide array of questions on

Saturday from major investments such as Apple ( AAPL ) and Occidental

Petroleum ( OXY ) to how elevated interest rates have affected

the company.

"I want to see Warren's energy," said Steven Check,

president of Check Capital Management, attending his 27th

meeting. "It's good that Greg and Ajit will be out front."

Berkshire will also release first-quarter results and

shareholders will vote on six proposals about climate, diversity

and China. Buffett opposes all six.

The weekend features opportunities for shareholders to buy

goodies such as Berkshire T-shirts and Squishmallows toys at

exhibits featuring Berkshire-owned companies.

Ruth Gearhart, 72, from Omaha, filled her bags with See's

Candies plus tongs and spatulas from Pampered Chef. A 15-year

shareholder, Gearhart said she was mainly concerned with what

Buffett might say regarding his succession.

"I trust him," she said. "He's a brilliant man and he has a

lot of brilliant people. He will get us through this. I'd hate

to see him go, but I think they prepared for it well."