As Buffett steps down, Omaha is grateful—and a little worried

OMAHA, Neb.—Investors worldwide have plenty of questions about the future of Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffett leaves the top job. This city has some, too.

Buffett’s presence here has for decades created its own economic weather. Tens of thousands of people gather in Omaha for the company’s annual investor conference, which alone pumps at least $22 million into the local economy. The Buffett mystique draws curious tourists year-round, too.

“Every time I get a news update on my phone about Buffett, I do hold my breath,” said Adam Raffety, 33 years old, who supplements his high-school teacher’s income by leading two-hour tours focused on Buffett’s Omaha life. They include stops at the modest white-clapboard home where Buffett’s family lived when he was born, his current abode in the Dundee neighborhood and the site of his great-grandfather’s original grocery store, which is now a state office building.

Buffett is recommending Greg Abel, who currently runs Berkshire’s noninsurance business and lives in central Iowa, to succeed him. Buffett, long nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha,” has lived in the city most of his life.

By design, Buffett’s name isn’t on any roads or highways—he has turned down such requests.

But he has become woven into the community of about 483,000 through a quiet life filled with simple pleasures, including McDonald’s breakfasts and steaks at his favorite restaurant. Then there are the Berkshire investor conferences that draw throngs of aficionados to hear Buffett hold forth on business and life. The events have even become hot spots for romantic mergers.

“It’s a lot like a Star Wars convention,” Raffety said one of his clients once explained to him. “You tell people you’re going and they don’t get it, but once you’re there, the other people that are there, they get it.”

Buffett’s long life, fame and Berkshire tenure have made him synonymous with Omaha. Mayor Jean Stothert said that whenever she meets people while traveling, the topic turns to the famous resident.

“The first question is always: Have you met Warren Buffett?” she said.

While Omaha has long expected Buffett to step back, the timing of the closely held news still caught people by surprise, Stothert said. She said it fueled some nervousness and uncertainty about Berkshire’s future and annual confabs.

Buffett’s regular-guy persona belies his huge Omaha impact. While the College World Series each June brings the most revenue to the city, the annual Berkshire meeting is the biggest convention, said Deborah Ward, executive director of Visit Omaha. Her agency estimates the baseball event delivers $115 million, while the Berkshire gathering adds $22 million, plus additional revenue from sidebar meetings the same weekend.

“He’s certainly an attraction, along with our world-renowned zoo,” Ward said of Buffett.

Famously frugal, Buffett is known for his middle-class tastes despite his vast wealth. He has lived in the same home for more than six decades and likes to eat out at Gorat’s Steak House.

Buffett is known to go for the 22-ounce T-bone ($60), a double helping of hash browns ($12, without cheese or onions) and a soft drink. The menu also features “billionaire deviled eggs” starters for $14.

A man ranked in the top 10 globally for wealth could obviously afford a fancier place, but the restaurant reflects the billionaire’s “working-class” tastes, said Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.).

Bacon said he once told Buffett he wanted to introduce legislation to name an interstate highway in the city after the investor’s family. Buffett’s Republican father represented the area in Congress for portions of the 1940s and 1950s, so it seemed fitting.

“He asked me not to do that,” Bacon said. “He’s got a humble spirit.”

This laid-back style is a model for people at both ends of the income spectrum, said Eric Krelle, a product development supervisor in Omaha for Oriental Trading Co., a Berkshire-owned company that specializes in value-priced party goods, crafts, novelties and school supplies.

“You don’t have to let your status go to your head and become this, you know, diva,” said Krelle, who wore a pink Oriental Trading running shirt. “So, yeah, he’s kind of like a good example for an everyday kind of American.”

Krelle had just finished an “Invest in Yourself” 5K race through downtown Omaha on Sunday that is part of the shareholder weekend.

Greg Hagen, a retired 68-year-old insurance underwriter in Omaha who also ran the 5K, recalled reading about Buffett’s investing philosophy in his 20s. He said the advice helped lead him toward a secure retirement.

Hagen believes Buffett’s children and others who made their fortunes investing in Berkshire will continue supporting Omaha, though he worries the company could lose its commitment to the city without its longtime leader.

“My big doubt is, will someone try to move the corporation now?” Hagen said.

Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to a question about its plans, but officials in the past have said the company wouldn’t leave its Omaha headquarters.

Heath Mello, chief executive of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said he expects Buffett and his followers will continue making Berkshire’s annual meetings major events.

“People will keep coming and I think it’s going to be incumbent, not just upon us, but many other folks in the metro area, to continue to make Omaha that ‘Woodstock of Capitalism,’” he said.

Mello hopes to persuade Abel, the future CEO, to relocate here from Iowa. He can also imagine a Warren Buffett museum some day, with the family’s blessing.

Rod Jewell, an investment adviser from Omaha, spent part of Sunday morning helping Buffett fans from out of town. He took their pictures at Buffett’s favorite McDonald’s. He also took one visitor on a private tour of Omaha, including Buffett’s home, after they struck up a conversation.

Jewell said he has seen Buffett around town, including at local restaurants. And he is hoping that will continue as the nonagenarian eases into his next chapter while still keeping a hand in the business.

“Hopefully he’s got another 10 years in the saddle,” Jewell said.

Write to Joe Barrett at Joseph.Barrett@wsj.com and John McCormick at mccormick.john@wsj.com