Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett expressed his gratitude for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you Dr, Fauci,” Buffett said during his opening remarks for the Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday.

“Personally I feel extraordinarily good about being able to listen to Dr. Fauci, whom I'd never heard of a year ago,” said Buffett. “I think we're very, very fortunate as a country to have somebody at 79 years of age, appears be able to work 24-hours a day and keep a good humor about him and communicate in a very, very, straightforward matter about fairly complex subjects and tell you when he knows something and when he doesn't know something.”

Buffett made the remarks during the shareholder meeting, which this year is being held in a virtual format as most states are under shelter-in-place measures due to COVID-19. No shareholders were present at the meeting this year, nor was Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. Buffett shared the stage with Greg Abel, vice-chairman of the non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway.

“I do feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Fauci for educating and informing me— actually along with my friend Bill Gates, too — and I know I get it from a straight-shooter when I get it from either one of those,” said Buffett.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway posted its first quarter results for 2020, showing coronavirus affected its investments. The company’s management said in their regulatory filing, “As efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in the second half of March and continued through April, most of our businesses were negatively affected, with the effects to date ranging from relatively minor to severe.”

Ines covers the U.S. stock market from the floor of the New York Exchange. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

—

Read more:

• Why Warren Buffett’s 2008 message to American investors was timed perfectly

• Warren Buffett warns coronavirus will affect business, but he 'certainly won’t be selling' stocks

• Warren Buffett explains why CEOs prefer ‘cocker spaniels’ over ‘pit bulls’

• Berkshire Hathaway was responsible for 1.5% of the taxes paid by corporate America in 2019

• An unfortunate story that reflects Berkshire Hathaway's incredible scope

Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news

For tutorials and information on investing and trading stocks, check out Cashay

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit.