巴菲特致股东的信（2014年）⑨年度股东大会

The Annual Meeting

年度股东大会

The annual meeting will be held on Saturday, May 2nd at the CenturyLink Center. Last year’s attendance of 39,000 set a record, and we expect a further increase this year as we celebrate our Golden Anniversary. Be there when the doors open at 7 a.m.

本次股东大会将在今年5 月2 日(周六)Century Link 中心召开。去年有3.9 万人出席会议创下历史记录，我们预计今年庆祝金色50 周年之际，出席人数会再创纪录。会议中心将在当天早晨7 点开门。

Berkshire’s talented Carrie Sova will again be in charge. Carrie joined us six years ago at the age of 24 as a secretary. Then, four years ago, I asked her to take charge of the meeting – a huge undertaking, requiring a multitude of skills – and she jumped at the chance. Carrie is unflappable, ingenious and expert at bringing out the best in the hundreds who work with her. She is aided by our entire home office crew who enjoy pitching in to make the weekend fun and informative for our owners.

伯克希尔的才女CarrieSova 将再次负责安排会议。六年前24 岁的Carrie 作为秘书加入我们。四年前我请她负责年会，这是一个艰巨的任务，需要高超的技能，她欣然接受了挑战。Carrie 镇定专注，顺利地与数百名工作人员协同工作。她得到了我们整个总部办公室工作人员的帮助，他们喜欢参与进来，让我们所有的股东享受一个丰富和有趣的周末。

And, yes, we also try to sell our visiting shareholders our products while they’re here. In fact, this year we will substantially increase the hours available for purchases, opening for business at the CenturyLink on Friday, May 1st, from noon to 5 p.m. as well as the usual 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on meeting day. So bring a smile to Charlie’s face and do some serious shopping.

没错，我们还会向出席会议的观摩股东出售我们的产品。事实上今年我们还会延长购物时间。CenturyLink中心从5 月1 日周五中午到下午5 点以及周六上午7 点到下午4 点开放。所以你们多买一点，查理会很高兴。

Get up early on Saturday morning. At 6:20 a.m., Norman and Jake, two Texas longhorns each weighing about a ton, will proceed down 10th Street to the CenturyLink. Aboard them will be a couple of our Justin Boot executives, who do double duty as cowboys. Following the steers will be four horses pulling a Wells Fargo stagecoach. Berkshire already markets planes, trains and automobiles. Adding steers and stagecoaches to our portfolio should seal our reputation as America’s all-purpose transportation company.

周六早上6:20，Norman 和Jake 这两头体重为一吨的得克萨斯长角牛，将穿越CenturyLink 中心门前的第十大街，牛上坐着的是JustinBoot 公司的两位高管，他们都是兼职牛仔。后面是一辆由四匹马拉着的富国银行马车。伯克希尔已经有了飞机、火车和汽车。马车牛车加入我们的组合，我们就是一家大而全的交通公司了。

At about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, we will have our fourth International Newspaper Tossing Challenge. Our target again will be a Clayton Home porch, located precisely 35 feet from the throwing line. When I was a teenager – in my one brief flirtation with honest labor – I tossed about 500,000 papers. So I think I’m pretty good. Challenge me! Humiliate me! Knock me down a peg! I’ll buy a Dilly Bar for anyone who lands his or her throw closer to the doorstep than I do. The papers will run 36 to 42 pages, and you must fold them yourself (no rubber bands allowed). I’ll present a special prize to the 12-or-under contestant who makes the best toss. Deb Bosanek will be the judge.

周六上午7:30，我们将举办第四届国际扔报纸挑战赛，在距35 英尺的地方把报纸投入克莱顿之家的门廊。我记得我还是个少年的时候，曾投递过50 万份报纸。所以我认为这方面我非常厉害。挑战我！羞辱我！打败我吧！我会为打败我的人买一份DillyBar 冰淇淋。报纸有36 到42 页，你必须先把它们折好(不准用橡皮筋)。我还会为那些12 岁或小于12 岁的优胜参赛者设特别奖。Deb Bosanek 将担任裁判。

At 8:30 a.m., a new Berkshire movie will be shown. An hour later, we will start the question-and-answer period, which (with a break for lunch at CenturyLink’s stands) will last until 3:30 p.m. After a short recess, Charlie and I will convene the annual meeting at 3:45 p.m. This business session typically lasts only a half hour or so.

上午8:30 会放映一部关于伯克希尔的新电影。1 小时后，我们将直接开始问答环节，一直持续到下午3:30 结束。中午将在CenturyLink 中心午餐。下午在短暂休息后，查理和我将在3:45 召开年会，通常只持续半小时。

Your venue for shopping will be the 194,300-square-foot hall that adjoins the meeting and in which products from dozens of Berkshire subsidiaries will be for sale. If you don’t get your shopping done on Friday, slip out while Charlie’s talking on Saturday and binge on our bargains. Check the terrific BNSF railroad layout also. Even though I’m 84, it still excites me.

购物采购区设在毗邻会议19.43 万平方英尺的大厅，伯克希尔数十家子公司的产品可供购买。如果你们周五没有买够，可以趁查理说话的时候溜出去，尽情享受我们的便宜货。别忘了看看BNSF 的铁路布局图，尽管我已84 岁了，但这些东西仍让我兴奋。

Last year you did your part as a shopper, and most of our businesses racked up record sales. In a nine-hour period on Saturday, we sold 1,385 pairs of Justin boots (that’s a pair every 23 seconds), 13,440 pounds of See’s candy, 7,276 pairs of Wells Lamont work gloves and 10,000 bottles of Heinz ketchup. Heinz has a new mustard product, so both mustard and ketchup will be available this year. (Buy both!) Now that we are open for business on Friday as well, we expect new records in every precinct.

去年，作为一名购物者，你尽了自己的一份力量，我们的大多数摊位的销售都创下了记录。在周六9 小时内，我们售出了1385 双Justin 皮靴(23 秒一双)，13440 磅喜诗糖果，7267 双WellLamont 工作手套和1 万瓶亨氏番茄酱。亨氏有一个新的芥末产品，我推荐你今年芥末和番茄酱都买。由于今年周五就开卖，我预计销售将再创纪录。

Brooks, our running-shoe company, will again have a special commemorative shoe to offer at the meeting. After you purchase a pair, wear them the next day at our third annual “Berkshire 5K,” an 8 a.m. race starting at the CenturyLink. Full details for participating will be included in the Visitor’s Guide that will be sent to you with your credentials for the meeting. Entrants in the race will find themselves running alongside many of Berkshire’s managers, directors and associates. (Charlie and I, however, will sleep in.)

我们的跑鞋公司Brooks，将提供一款纪念版跑鞋。购买一双后，你能穿着它参加第二天早上8:00 在CenturyLink 举行的第三届"伯克希尔5 公里"比赛。参会的全部细节在会议指南中都有，你将有机会与伯克希尔的经理，董事和合作伙伴一起参加跑步比赛。(不过查理和我会睡懒觉)。

A GEICO booth in the shopping area will be staffed by a number of the company’s top counselors from around the country. Stop by for a quote. In most cases, GEICO will be able to give you a shareholder discount (usually 8%). This special offer is permitted by 44 of the 51 jurisdictions in which we operate. (One supplemental point: The discount is not additive if you qualify for another discount, such as that available to certain groups.) Bring the details of your existing insurance and check out our price. We can save many of you real money.

全美最顶级的保险顾问将出现在位于购物区的GEICO 展台。顺便来看看你的报价。在大多数情况下，GEICO将会给您一个股东特别折扣(通常是8%)。我们开展业务的51 个行政区域中有44 个都批准了这个特别优惠。(额外提示：这个折扣不可以与其他优惠叠加使用，比如给予特定群体的优惠)。带上你现有的保单详细信息过来看看我们的报价。我们至少可以帮助你们很多人省下更多的保险费。

Be sure to visit the Bookworm. It will carry about 35 books and DVDs, among them a couple of new titles. Last year, many shareholders purchased Max Olson’s compilation of Berkshire letters going back to 1965, and he has produced an updated edition for the meeting. We also expect to be selling an inexpensive book commemorating our fifty years. It’s currently a work in process, but I expect it to contain a wide variety of historical material, including documents from the 19th Century.

一定要去书虫书店的展台看看，这里会有35 种书籍和DVD，其中包括几本新书。去年许多股东买了MaxOlson 整理的自1965 年伯克希尔的股东信合集。今年他为会议制作了更新版。另外，我们还会推出一本便宜一点的纪念我们50 周年的书。目前这项工作正在进行中，但我预计它将包含各种各样的历史材料，包括一些19 世纪的文件资料。

An attachment to the proxy material that is enclosed with this report explains how you can obtain the credential you will need for admission to both the meeting and other events. Airlines have sometimes jacked up prices for the Berkshire weekend. If you are coming from far away, compare the cost of flying to Kansas City vs. Omaha. The drive between the two cities is about 21⁄2 hours, and it may be that Kansas City can save you significant money, particularly if you had planned to rent a car in Omaha. The savings for a couple could run to $1,000 or more. Spend that money with us.

本报告随附的材料包括了帮助你获得参加本次会议和其他活动所需的凭证。届时飞机票可能会因为伯克希尔周末而涨价。如果你从很远的地方来，你可以比较飞到堪萨斯城和到奥马哈的机票。两个城市之间的车程约为2.5小时，如果你打算租车的话，一对夫妇节省的机票钱可能高达1000 美元。把钱省下来到我们这里花。

At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 77-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific, we will again be having “Berkshire Weekend” discount pricing. Last year in the week surrounding the meeting, the store did a record $40,481,817 of business. (An average week for NFM’s Omaha store is about $9 million.)

在72 大街Dodge 和Pacific 之间的内布拉斯加家具商城，届时会有一场"伯克希尔周末"打折大会。去年在会议的那一周，该店创下了40481817 美元的销售记录。(该店平均周销售额约为900 万美元。)

To obtain the Berkshire discount at NFM, you must make your purchases between Tuesday, April 28th and Monday, May 4th inclusive, and also present your meeting credential. The period’s special pricing will even apply to the products of several prestigious manufacturers that normally have ironclad rules against discounting but which, in the spirit of our shareholder weekend, have made an exception for you. We appreciate their cooperation. NFM is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, NFM is having a picnic to which you are all invited.

为了获得伯克希尔在内布拉斯加州家具商城的折扣，你需要在4 月28 日周二至5 月4 日周一期间购物(含这两天)，同时必须出示你出席股东大会的证件。这段时间的特殊折扣甚至适用于多家知名制造商的产品。他们通常有严格的折扣规定，但本着股东周末的精神，为您破例。我们感激他们的合作。内布拉斯加家具商城的营业时间是周一至周五上午10 点至晚9 点，周六上午10 点到晚9:30，周日上午10 点至晚8 点。周六下午5:30 至晚8 点，内布拉斯加家具商城会举办一场野餐会，会邀请各位股东参加。

At Borsheims, we will again have two shareholder-only events. The first will be a cocktail reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 1st. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 3rd, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, we will remain open until 6 p.m. In recent years, our three-day volume has far exceeded our sales in all of December, normally a jeweler’s best month.

我们会在波仙珠宝店再次举行两场股东专属的活动。第一场是5 月1 日周五晚6 点至9 点的鸡尾酒招待会。第二场是5 月3 日周日早9 点至下午4 点的大型售卖活动。周六我们还会开到晚6 点。近几年，我们这种活动的三天销量超过了每年12 月全月销量，而12 月往往是珠宝商销售业绩最好的月份。

We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore, shareholder prices will be available from Monday, April 27th through Saturday, May 9th. During that period, please identify yourself as a shareholder by presenting your meeting credentials or a brokerage statement that shows you are a Berkshire holder.

届时整个周末，波仙会人潮汹涌。因此，为便于你安排，我们将股东优惠价的时段设定为4 月27 日周一至5 月9 日周六。在此期间，请出示出席会议的证件或代理委托书证明你是伯克希尔的股东。

On Sunday, in the mall outside of Borsheims, Norman Beck, a remarkable magician from Dallas, will bewilder onlookers. Additionally, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon Osberg, two of the world’s top bridge experts, available to play bridge with our shareholders on Sunday afternoon. Don’t play them for money.

周日，在波仙外面的购物中心，来自达拉斯的优秀魔术师NormanBeck 会为观众表演。此外，我们会邀请两位世界顶级桥牌大师Bob Hamman 与Sharon Osberg 当天下午与股东们桥牌比赛。千万别和他们玩牌赌钱。

My friend, Ariel Hsing, will be in the mall as well on Sunday, taking on challengers at table tennis. I met Ariel when she was nine and even then I was unable to score a point against her. Now, she’s a sophomore at Princeton, having already represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics. If you don’t mind embarrassing yourself, test your skills against her, beginning at 1 p.m. Bill Gates and I will lead off and try to soften her up.

我的朋友邢延华(Ariel Xing)周日也会去购物中心与乒乓球挑战者比赛。我认识她时她只有9 岁，那时我连一个球都赢不了她。现在她已经在普林斯顿大学念大二，代表美国参加过2012 年的奥运会。如果你不介意让自己难堪，想和她切磋下球技，那天下午1 点就可以开始了。比尔·盖茨和我都会上场试图削削她的锐气。

Gorat’s and Piccolo’s will again be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 3rd. Both will be serving until 10 p.m., with Gorat’s opening at 1 p.m. and Piccolo’s opening at 4 p.m. These restaurants are my favorites, and I will eat at both of them on Sunday evening. Remember: To make a reservation at Gorat’s, call 402-551-3733 on April 1st (but not before); for Piccolo’s, call 402-346-2865. At Piccolo’s, order a giant root beer float for dessert. Only sissies get the small one.

Gorat's 与Piccolo's 两家餐馆将于周日(5 月3 日)再次向伯克希尔的股东开放。他们都会开到当晚10 点，Gorat's 当天下午1 点开门，Piccolo's 当天下午4 点开门。这两家餐馆都是我的最爱，周日晚上两家我都会光顾。请记住，4 月1 日起预订Gorat's 请拨打402-551-3733(4 月1 日以前不行)，Piccolo's 的订餐电话是402-346-2865。在Piccolo's 可以点特大号的根汁汽水加冰淇淋球作为饭后甜点。娘娘腔才点小份呢。

We will again have the same three financial journalists lead the question-and-answer period at the meeting, asking Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted to them by e-mail. The journalists and their e-mail addresses are: Carol Loomis, who retired last year after sixty years at Fortune, but remains the expert on business and financial matters, and who may be e-mailed at loomisbrk@gmail.com; Becky Quick, of CNBC, at BerkshireQuestions@cnbc.com; and Andrew Ross Sorkin, of The New York Times, at arsorkin@nytimes.com.

我们会再次邀请同样三位财经记者主持会议的问答环节，向查理和我提问的股东可以用电邮向他们提交问题。这三位记者及其电邮地址分别是：为《财富》杂志效力60 年于去年离休的CarolLoomis，但仍然是商业和财务问题专家，她邮箱是：loomisbrk@gmail.com；美国CNBC 记者BeckyQuick 的邮箱是：BerkshireQuestions@cnbc.com；《纽约时报》记者Andrew Ross Sorkin：arsorkin@nytimes.com。

From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the six he or she decides are the most interesting and important. The journalists have told me your question has the best chance of being selected if you keep it concise, avoid sending it in at the last moment, make it Berkshire-related and include no more than two questions in any e-mail you send them. (In your e-mail, let the journalist know if you would like your name mentioned if your question is asked.)

每位记者将在那些提交的问题中选择6 个他/她认为最有趣又最重要的提问。记者们告诉我，如果你不是在最后一刻才提交问题，每封邮件提问未超过两个，而且问题既简洁又和伯克希尔相关，就最有可能被选中。(你可以在邮件中告诉三位记者，如果问题被选中，你是否希望他们公开自己的名字。)

We will also have a panel of three analysts who follow Berkshire. This year the insurance specialist will be Gary Ransom of Dowling & Partners. Questions that deal with our non-insurance operations will come from Jonathan Brandt of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb and Gregg Warren of Morningstar. Our hope is that the analysts and journalists will ask questions that add to our owners’ understanding and knowledge of their investment.

我们还会邀请由三名跟踪伯克希尔的分析师组成的分析师团队。今年保险专家将是Dowling&Partners 的Gary Ransom。保险业以外的问题将来自Ruane,Cunniff&Goldfarb 的Jonathan Brandt、晨星公司的GreggWarren。我们希望分析师与记者提的问题能让我们的股东更了解他们的投资。

Neither Charlie nor I will get so much as a clue about the questions headed our way. Some will be tough, for sure, and that’s the way we like it. All told we expect at least 54 questions, which will allow for six from each analyst and journalist and for 18 from the audience. (Last year we had 62 in total.) The questioners from the audience will be chosen by means of 11 drawings that will take place at 8:15 a.m. on the morning of the annual meeting. Each of the 11 microphones installed in the arena and main overflow room will host, so to speak, a drawing.

对那些将被问到的问题，查理和我都不会得到任何线索。当然，有些问题会很难回答，可那正是我们喜欢的方式。我们希望他们能问至少54 个问题，每位分析师和记者都将提6 个问题，剩余的18 个将由观众来提。去年我们总共回答了62 个问题。提问的观众会由11 次抽签选出。抽签在年会当天上午8 点15 分开始。主分会场将布置11 个麦克风，每个麦克风区域将有一次抽签机会。

While I’m on the subject of our owners’ gaining knowledge, let me remind you that Charlie and I believe all shareholders should simultaneously have access to new information that Berkshire releases and should also have adequate time to analyze it. That’s why we try to issue financial data late on Fridays or early on Saturdays and why our annual meeting is always held on a Saturday. We do not talk one-on-one to large institutional investors or analysts, treating them instead as we do all other shareholders.

既然谈及了股东想要知道的问题答案，那么我来提醒一下，查理和我相信，所有的股东都应当在同一时间接收到伯克希尔发布的新消息，也应当拥有足够的时间来对其进行分析。这就是为什么我们试图在周五晚间或周六早间发布公司相关财报的原因，也正因此，我们的年度股东大会也选择在周六召开。我们不与大型机构投资者或分析师进行一对一的谈话，我们对待他们与对待所有股东都是一样的。

* * * * * * * * * * * *

We get terrific help at meeting time from literally thousands of Omaha residents and businesses who want you to enjoy yourselves. This year, because we expect record attendance, we have worried about a shortage of hotel rooms. To deal with that possible problem, Airbnb is making a special effort to obtain listings for the period around meeting time and is likely to have a wide array of accommodations to offer. Airbnb’s services may be especially helpful to shareholders who expect to spend only a single night in Omaha and are aware that last year a few hotels required guests to pay for a minimum of three nights. That gets expensive. Those people on a tight budget should check the Airbnb website.

年会期间，我们将得到成千上万奥马哈居民和企业的大力帮助，他们希望各位在这里度过一段开心的时光。今年，由于预计出席会议的人数将创历史新高，我们担心会出现酒店房间不足的情况。为了解决这个问题，Airbnb 为此付出了特别努力，向我们提供了会议期间与会者所能选择的酒店房间清单。Airbnb 的服务给予了希望在奥马哈镇短暂停留一晚的股东极大帮助。去年股东大会期间，有一些酒店就要求住宿的客人最少支付三晚的房间费用，那相当昂贵。对于预算紧张的参会股东来说，应当提前在Airbnb 网站上查看住宿信息。

* * * * * * * * * * * * For good reason, I regularly extol the accomplishments of our operating managers. They are truly All- Stars who run their businesses as if they were the only asset owned by their families. I believe the mindset of our managers also to be as shareholder-oriented as can be found in the universe of large publicly-owned companies. Most of our managers have no financial need to work. The joy of hitting business “home runs” means as much to them as their paycheck.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 出于充分的理由，我经常赞扬我们运营经理人的成就。他们是真正的全明星，他们经营各自的企业就像是他家族唯一拥有的资产一样。我相信，我们的经理人的心态是以股东利益为导向，和那些大型上市公司管理层完全相同。大多数经理人根本没有任何工作的经济需求；对他们来说，在企业经营上打出本垒打得到的快乐，完全不亚于收到一大笔薪酬支票。

Equally important, however, are the 24 men and women who work with me at our corporate office. This group efficiently deals with a multitude of SEC and other regulatory requirements, files a 24,100-page Federal income tax return and oversees the filing of 3,400 state tax returns, responds to countless shareholder and media inquiries, gets out the annual report, prepares for the country’s largest annual meeting, coordinates the Board’s activities – and the list goes on and on.

然而，同样重要的还有那些与我并肩作战的24 位总部办公室员工。这个团队有效地处理了SEC 与其他监管机构提出的大量监管要求，提交了多达24100 页的联邦所得税申报表，并监督了3400 项州纳税申报表的提交，回答了无数股东和媒体的问询，发布公司年度报表，准备全美最大规模的上市公司年度股东大会，协调董事会活动，这样的例子数不胜数。

They handle all of these business tasks cheerfully and with unbelievable efficiency, making my life easy and pleasant. Their efforts go beyond activities strictly related to Berkshire: Last year they dealt with the 40 universities (selected from 200 applicants) who sent students to Omaha for a Q&A day with me. They also handle all kinds of requests that I receive, arrange my travel, and even get me hamburgers and french fries (smothered in Heinz ketchup, of course) for lunch. No CEO has it better; I truly do feel like tap dancing to work every day.

他们异常高效地愉快地处理了所有这些问题，我的生活因此轻松愉快。他们的努力已经不局限于跟伯克希尔严格相关的活动：去年他们组织来自40 所高校(从200 所候选学校中筛选出)的学生代表来奥马哈，跟我进行了一天问答。他们还处理我收到的各种邀请，安排我的行程，甚至帮我买汉堡和(当然是裹着亨氏番茄酱)薯条作午餐。没有哪个CEO 像我做得这么舒服了；我真的感觉像是天天跳着踢踏舞去上班。

Last year, for the annual report, we dropped our 48-year-old “no pictures” policy – who says I’m not flexible? – and ran a photo of our remarkable home-office crew that was taken at our Christmas lunch. I didn’t warn the gang of the public exposure they were to receive, so they didn’t have on their Sunday best. This year was a different story: On the facing page you will see what our group looks like when they think someone will be noticing. However they dress, their performance is mind-boggling.

去年年度报告中，我们放弃了延续48 年的"没有照片"政策(谁说我们死板的？)，刊登了一张我们出色的总部办公室工作人员圣诞节共进午餐的照片。当时我没有提醒他们这张照片会对外公开，所以他们未着盛装。今年就不同了：你将在看到我们总部团队正式对外的样子。不管他们穿着如何，他们的工作表现都令人惊叹。

Come meet them on May 2nd and enjoy our Woodstock for Capitalists.

来跟他们会面，并享受我们为资本家准备的Woodstock 狂欢派对吧。

February 27, 2015 Warren E. Buffett Chairman of the Board

2015年5 月2 日沃伦·巴菲特董事会主席