What it’s like to attend one of Wall Street’s wildest conferences

If there’s anything Ron Baron loves more than picking stocks, it’s throwing a good party.

The 82-year-old investing legend and famed Tesla bull held Baron Capital’s 32nd annual conference for investors on November 14, and, as usual, it was full of surprises.

It’s an exclusive event: In order to attend as one of Baron Capital’s shareholders, you need to have at least $40,000 invested with the firm.

One of the reasons it’s so tough to get a seat, even with the massive capacity of the Lincoln Center venue in Manhattan, is that Baron hires some of the top performers in the world to entertain his guests. In the last couple of years, he’s had John Legend, Adam Sandler, Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, Justin Timberlake, and others perform. But the lineup is always kept secret in advance.

His corporate speakers are also impressive. After canceling his appearance last year, Elon Musk was scheduled to speak this year.

One couple I spoke to at the conference had made the journey down from Boston to attend for a third time, turning it into a weekend trip. Their financial advisor, who invests in Baron Capital funds for them, hosted a small party the night before for his clients who were in town for the conference.

So, here’s an inside look at what it was like to attend this year’s Baron Conference.

Arrival just before 9 am

The conference lasts the full day, with doors opening at 6:30 am and talks with CEOs, fund managers, and analysts getting underway at around 9 am.

For the event, Baron Capital rents out the entire Lincoln Center, which is home to the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera.

Teslas line the entrance to the conference

Baron Capital has been a longtime investor in Tesla and continues to bet on the firm. Tesla models lined the Lincoln Center courtyard for guests to see. This year, they had a Tesla Robotaxi.

Breakfast is included

Breakfast was served in the Metropolitan Opera House, where guests mingled as the conference got underway. The morning sessions featured panels with Baron Capital portfolio managers and executives from Shopify, Morningstar, and On.

Tesla robots

After the morning sessions, guests are then assigned one of three venues for a boxed lunch, where they’ll see one of three performers.

I was put into the Koch Theater. On the walk over, I passed a Tesla robot dancing and playing air guitar.

First performance of the day

My badge indicated that the David H. Koch Theater would host the comedy performer. On the way in, guests could choose between a salad and sandwiches made from ham, turkey, or roast beef.

After much anticipation, the comedian turned out to be Sebastian Maniscalco.

“You ever perform to the smell of ham sandwiches?” he quipped to open his set.

Elon Musk appearance

In the afternoon, the entire conference reconvened at the Metropolitan Opera House, where Ron Baron would interview Elon Musk, who was videoconferencing in from California.

The call lasted for an hour and touched on a few of Musk’s companies.

At one point, Baron recalled his $100 million investment in X, which saw its valuation fall by 70% the following day. Baron kept his money invested, and added another $250 million to his position, which is now up 100%, Baron said.

“The test of friendship is who supports you when the chips are down and the times are tough and everyone is against you,” Musk responded. “That’s a real friend, and that’s you, Ron.”

Tesla is the top holding with a 33% weighting in the Baron Partners Fund (BPTIX), which Ron co-manages with his son Michael.

Pink performs

After his conversation with Musk and a Q&A from investors for Baron, famed singer Pink was announced as the day’s final performer.

It always ends with ice cream

Every year for the conference, Baron hires an armada of ice cream trucks. This year, the trucks had the Baron Conference logo and Tesla robots on them. After the performance, guests filed out of the Metropolitan Opera House and picked up free cups of soft serve.

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