In his annual letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett said the first-ever webcast of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting would allow them to check that he and Charlie Munger, his business partner, “hadn’t drifted off into la-la land”.

The webcast on Saturday confirmed that Mr Buffett, 85, and Mr Munger, 92, were entirely cogent as they conducted the event while nibbling fudge and peanut brittle and sipping Coca-Cola.

Many shareholders had queries about Coca-Cola, which is 9.3 per cent owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Andrew Ross Sorkin, the author, asked the questions on their behalf. Mr Buffett was opposed to investing in cigarettes, even though they were addictive and profitable because of “societal attitudes”. Yet a Tufts University study had concluded that sugared drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths a year. Mr Sorkin said: “Please explain directly why we Berkshire Hathaway shareholders should be proud to own Coke.”