巴菲特致股东的信（2009年）①概述

To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.:

致伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司所有股东：

Our gain in net worth during 2009 was $21.8 billion, which increased the per-share book value of both our Class A and Class B stock by 19.8%. Over the last 45 years (that is, since present management took over) book value has grown from $19 to $84,487, a rate of 20.3% compounded annually.*

公司 2009 年的账面价值增加 218 亿美元，A/B 股每股的账面价值增长了 19.8%(标普 2.7%)，自现任管理层接手的 45 年以来，每股账面价值由当初的 19 美元成长到目前的 84487 美元，年复合成长率约为 20.3%。*

*All per-share figures used in this report apply to Berkshire’s A shares. Figures for the B shares are 1/1500th of those shown for A.

*本报告中使用的所有每股数字均适用于伯克希尔的A股。B股的数字是A股的1/1500。

Berkshire’s recent acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) has added at least 65,000 shareholders to the 500,000 or so already on our books. It’s important to Charlie Munger, my long-time partner, and me that all of our owners understand Berkshire’s operations, goals, limitations and culture. In each annual report, consequently, we restate the economic principles that guide us. This year these principles appear on pages 89-94 and I urge all of you – but particularly our new shareholders – to read them. Berkshire has adhered to these principles for decades and will continue to do so long after I’m gone.

公司最近收购了伯灵顿北方圣太菲铁路公司(BNSF)，这使我们已有的约 50 万名股东至少增加了 6.5 万名。对于我和我的长期合伙人查理芒格而言，最重要的是所有的股东都能了解公司的业务、目标、局限性和文化。因此，在每次的年报中，我们都重述了指导我们的经济原则。我强烈建议所有人尤其是新股东认真阅读这些原则。伯克希尔数十年来都在坚守这些原则，在我不在之后的长时间内会继续坚持。

In this letter we will also review some of the basics of our business, hoping to provide both a freshman orientation session for our BNSF newcomers and a refresher course for Berkshire veterans.

此外，在这封信中我们将回顾基本业务的运营情况，希望为新加入的 BNSF 股东提供专项辅导，老股东也同时复习。