巴菲特致股东的信（2016年）⑩年度股东大会

The Annual Meeting

年度股东大会

Last year we partnered with Yahoo to air the first-ever webcast of our annual meeting. Thanks to Andy Serwer and his Yahoo crew, the production was a success in all respects, registering 1.1 million unique visits in real-time viewing and 11.5 million more in replays (many of those, to be sure, called up by viewers interested in only certain segments of the webcast).

去年，我们与雅虎合作，首次通过网络直播了年会。感谢AndySerwer 和他的雅虎团队，从各方面来看此次直播很成功。有110 万独立访问者实时观看了直播，有超过1150 万次重播(当然其中很多重播是由那些只对直播的部分片段感兴趣的观众点击的)。

Berkshire’s thank-you mail for initiating the webcast included many notes from three constituencies: the elderly who find travel difficult; the thrifty who find it expensive to travel to Omaha; and those who cannot attend a Saturday meeting for religious reasons.

伯克希尔网络直播收到的感谢信主要包括三类人：有出行困难的老人，感觉前往奥马哈费用昂贵的节俭人士，以及由于宗教原因而不能参加周六会议的人。

The webcast cut attendance at last year’s meeting to about 37,000 people (we can’t get a precise count), which was down about 10%. Nevertheless, both Berkshire’s subsidiaries and Omaha hotels and restaurants racked up huge sales. Nebraska Furniture Mart’s sales broke their 2015 record volume by 3%, with the Omaha store recording one-week volume of $45.5 million.

网络直播使去年出席会议的人数减少至3.7 万人(我们无法准确统计)，下降约10%。然而，伯克希尔子公司和奥马哈的酒店和餐馆都实现了巨大销售额。内布拉斯加家具商场打破了2015 年的销售记录，销售增长3%。奥马哈店一周的销售额为4550 万美元。

Our Berkshire exhibitors at CenturyLink were open from noon until 5 p.m. on Friday and drew a crowd of 12,000 bargain-hunting shareholders. We will repeat those Friday shopping hours this year on May 5th. Bring money.

在CenturyLink 伯克希尔的参展公司从周五中午到下午5 点对外开放，吸引了1.2 万名淘便宜货的股东。今年5 月5 日，我们的营业时间与去年相同。请带上钱过来。

The annual meeting falls on May 6th and will again be webcast by Yahoo, whose web address is https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream. The webcast will go live at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Yahoo will interview directors, managers, stockholders and celebrities before the meeting and during the lunch break. Both those interviews and meeting will be translated simultaneously into Mandarin.

年会在 5 月 6 日举行，雅虎将再次进行网上直播，网址是https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream，网络直播将在中部夏令时间上午9 点开始。雅虎将在会议开始前和午休期间采访董事、经理、股东和知名人士。这些采访和会议将同声传译成中文。

For those attending the meeting in person, the doors at the CenturyLink will open at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday to facilitate shopping prior to our shareholder movie, which begins at 8:30. The question-and-answer period will start at 9:30 and run until 3:30, with a one-hour lunch break at noon. Finally, at 3:45 we will begin the formal shareholder meeting. It will run an hour or so. That is somewhat longer than usual because three proxy items are to be presented by their proponents, who will be given a reasonable amount of time to state their case.

对于那些亲自参加会议的人，CenturyLink 将在周六早上7 点开门，方便他们在股东电影播放前购物。电影将在8:30 开始播放。股东问答在9:30开始，一直持续到下午3:30，中午有一小时午休。最后下午3:45，我们将开始正式的股东会议，会议将持续一个小时左右。由于三个代理项目将由其提议者提出，他们将有合理的时间进行陈述其理由，所以会议会比往常稍长。

On Saturday morning, we will have our sixth International Newspaper Tossing Challenge. Our target will again be the porch of a Clayton Home, located precisely 35 feet from the throwing line. When I was a teenager – in my one brief flirtation with honest labor – I delivered about 500,000 papers. So I think I’m pretty good at this game. Challenge me! Humiliate me! Knock me down a peg! The papers will run 36 to 42 pages, and you must fold them yourself (no rubber bands allowed). The competition will begin about 7:45, and I’ll take on ten or so competitors selected a few minutes earlier by my assistant, Deb Bosanek.

周六上午，我们将开展第六届国际报纸投递挑战赛。目标地点仍是克莱顿之家的门廊，其与投掷线的距离刚好为35 英尺。在我青少年时期，我曾短暂做过送报纸的工作，我投递了大概50 万份报纸，所以我觉得自己很擅长这个游戏。向我挑战吧！让我难堪吧！打倒我吧！报纸大概有36 到42 页，你必须自己折叠它们(不许用橡皮筋)。比赛将在早晨7:45 开始，我将与几分钟前由我的助手DebBosanek 挑选的十名左右的投掷手进行对决。

Your venue for shopping will be the 194,300-square-foot hall that adjoins the meeting and in which products from dozens of our subsidiaries will be for sale. Say hello to the many Berkshire managers who will be captaining their exhibits. And be sure to view the terrific BNSF railroad layout that salutes all of our companies. Your children (and you!) will be enchanted with it.

您的购物地点是一个毗邻会场的19.43 万平方英尺的大厅，伯克希尔旗下的数十家子公司的产品将在这里出售。向那些为自己产品站台的伯克希尔经理们问好吧。记得看看BNSF 铁路的布局图，它为了向我们所有的公司致敬而设计，您和您的孩子一定会为它着迷。

Brooks, our running-shoe company, will again have a special commemorative shoe to offer at the meeting. After you purchase a pair, wear them on Sunday at our fourth 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 meeting credentials. Entrants in the race will find themselves running alongside many of Berkshire’s managers, directors and associates. (Charlie and I, however, will sleep in; the fudge and peanut brittle we eat throughout the Saturday meeting takes its toll.) Participation in the 5K grows every year. Help us set another record.

我们经营的Brooks 跑鞋将在会议期间再次推出特别纪念款。买一双穿上它参加我们周日早晨8 点举行的第四届"伯克希尔5 公里"比赛活动吧，起跑点设在CenturyLink。参会的全部详细信息将包含在跟会议入场券一起寄过去的《参会者指南》中。参赛者将发现自己与伯克希尔的经理、董事和同事一起跑步。(不过查理和我要多睡会儿，因为我们在周六吃了太多的软糖和花生脆)。这项活动的参赛者正在逐年增多，也帮我们创下另一个记录。

A GEICO booth in the shopping area will be staffed by a number of the company’s top counselors from around the country. At last year’s meeting, we set a record for policy sales, up 21% from 2015. I predict we will be up again this year.

购物区的GEICO 展位配备来自全国各地的多位顶尖顾问。去年会议上我们创下保单销售新记录，较2015 年增长21%。我预计今年我们的销量还会增长。

So 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. Spend the savings on other Berkshire products.

别忘了在展位下停下看一下报价，多数情况下GEICO 会为你提供股东折扣(通常8%左右)。在我们经营的51 个司法区有44 个允许这个特别折扣。(补充一点：折扣不能和其他折扣同时使用，比如某个享受特别折扣的团体。)带上您现有的保单信息来看看我们的报价，您就会发现真的可以省好多钱。用省下的钱买我们的其他产品吧！

Be sure to visit the Bookworm. This Omaha-based retailer will carry about 35 books and DVDs, among them a couple of new titles. The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike’s Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller. The Bookworm will have piles of Shoe Dog as well as several investment classics by Jack Bogle.

记得去书虫书吧看看。这家总部位于奥马哈的书商将会在那里展出约35 本书和DVD，其中包括几本新书。我去年读过的最好的书是Nike 的PhilKnight 写的《ShoeDog》。Phil 是一个非常聪明、睿智和竞争性很强的人，也是一个天生的会讲故事的人。书虫书吧将有一堆《ShoeDog》以及Jack Bogle 撰写的几本经典投资书籍。

The Bookworm will once again offer our history of the highlights (and lowlights) of Berkshire’s first 50 years. Non-attendees of the meeting can find the book on eBay. Just type in: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Celebrating 50 years of a Profitable Partnership (2nd Edition).

书虫书吧将再次伯克希尔50 周年纪念册，讲述伯克希尔50 年的起起伏伏，未参会者可以在EBAY 上找到这本书，只需键入：Berkshire HathawayInc. Celebrating 50 years of a Profitable Partnership (2nd Edition)。

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. Keep in mind that airlines have sometimes jacked up prices for the Berkshire weekend – though I must admit I have developed some tolerance, bordering on enthusiasm, for that practice now that Berkshire has made large investments in America’s four major carriers. Nevertheless, 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. The savings for a couple could run to $1,000 or more. Spend that money with us.

本报告的附件材料可以告诉您如何获得年会及其他活动的所需凭证。机票有时会在伯克希尔周末前提价，尽管我必须承认，伯克希尔对美国四大航空公司进行了大量投资，我对这种做法有利一定的容忍度，甚至抱有热情。尽管如此，如果您从很远的地方来，您可以比较飞到堪萨斯城和奥马哈的费用，两个城市之间车程为2.5 小时。飞到堪萨斯可能为你节省一大笔钱，一对夫妇大概可以节省1000 多美元。把省下的钱花在我们的产品上！

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. To obtain the Berkshire discount at NFM, you must make your purchases between Tuesday, May 2nd and Monday, May 8th inclusive, and must 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. During “Berkshire Weekend,” NFM will be 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 hosting a picnic to which you are all invited.

在位于道奇和太平洋之间的72 街，占地77 英亩的内布拉斯加家具商城，我们将再次举行"伯克希尔周末"折扣价活动。要获得NFM 的折扣优惠，您必须在5 月2 日(周二)至5 月8 日(周一)之间进行购买，别忘带着您的参会凭证。几家平常没有折扣活动的著名制造品牌也会参加特价活动，本着股东周末的特别精神为您破例。我们非常感谢他们的配合。在"伯克希尔周末"NFM 将在工作日从上午10 点营业至晚上9 点，周六将从上午10 点营业至晚上9 点半，周日从上午10 点营业至晚上8 点。周六晚5 点半至8 点，NFM 将举办一场野餐活动，我们邀请所有股东参加。

This year we have good news for shareholders in the Kansas City and Dallas metro markets who can’t attend the meeting or perhaps prefer the webcast. From May 2nd through May 8th, shareholders who present meeting credentials or other evidence of their Berkshire ownership (such as brokerage statements) to their local NFM store will receive the same discounts enjoyed by those visiting the Omaha store.

在Kansas City 和Dallas 不能出席会议，或更喜欢网络直播的股东们，今年我们有好消息给他们了。从5 月2 日到5 月8 日，股东向当地NFM 出示会议入场券或证明是伯克希尔股东的其它文件(如经纪声明)，可享受与在奥马哈店股东一样的折扣。

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 5th. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 7th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, we will remain open until 6 p.m. Remember, the more you buy, the more you save (or so my daughter tells me when we visit the store).

在波仙珠宝店，我们还将举行两场只有股东可以参加的活动。第一场将于5 月5 日(周五)下午6 点到9 点举行鸡尾酒会。第二场大型售卖活动将在5 月7 日(周日)举行早上9 点至下午4 点举行。周六波仙将营业至下午6点。记住，你买的越多，省的钱也越多(当我们逛商店时我女儿告诉我的)。

We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore, shareholder prices will be available from Monday, May 1st through Saturday, May 13th. During that period, please identify yourself as a shareholder either by presenting your meeting credential or a brokerage statement showing you own our stock.

周末期间波仙珠宝将迎来大量客流。因此，为了您的方便，股东价格优惠期间定于5 月1 日周一到5 月13 日周六。在此期间，请您出示自己的参会凭据，或出示能显示您持有我们股票的经纪声明，以便确定您的股东身份。

On Sunday, in the mall outside of Borsheims, Norman Beck, a remarkable magician and motivational speaker from Dallas, will bewilder onlookers. On the upper level, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon Osberg, two of the world’s top bridge experts, available to play with our shareholders on Sunday afternoon. If they suggest wagering on the game, change the subject. I will join them at some point and hope Ajit, Charlie and Bill Gates will do so also.

周日在波仙珠宝外面的商场，来自达拉斯的杰出魔术师和励志演讲家NormanBeck 将会进行令人眼花缭乱的魔术表演。在商场上层，我们邀请到了世界顶级桥牌专家BobHamman 和SharonOsberg，股东可在周日下午和他们切磋牌艺。不要跟他们赌钱。我会在某个时候加入牌局，并希望能把Ajit 查理和比尔盖茨也请过来。

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. Ariel represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics. Now, she’s a senior at Princeton (after interning last summer at JPMorgan Chase). If you don’t mind embarrassing yourself, test your skills against her, beginning at 1 p.m. Bill Gates did pretty well playing Ariel last year, so he may be ready to again challenge her. (My advice: Bet on Ariel.)

我的朋友Ariel Hsing 周日也会来到商场，接受乒乓球的挑战。我第一次见到她时才9 岁，即便那会儿我也一分都赢不了她。她在2012 年就已经代表美国出征过奥运会，现在是普林斯顿大学的大四学生(去年夏天在摩根大通实习)。如果您不介意输球的尴尬的话，可以和她切磋一下球技，活动下午1 点开始。去年比尔·盖茨表现就不错，所以他今年可能准备再次挑战她(我赌Ariel 会赢)。

Gorat’s will be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 7th, serving from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. To make a reservation at Gorat’s, call 402-551-3733 on April 3rd (but not before). Show you are a sophisticated diner by ordering the T-bone with hash browns.

5 月7 日周日Gorat's 餐馆将再次为伯克希尔股东独家开放，预定请于4 月3 日(请勿提前)拨打402-551-3733。为了显示您是一个资深食客，点一份T 形牛骨和土豆饼。

We will 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, the preeminent business journalist of her time, 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.

我们将再次邀请同样的三位财经记者主持大会期间的问答环节，他们会向我和查理提出股东通过电子邮件发送的问题。三名记者和他们的邮件分别是：杰出的商业记者CarolLoomis：loomisbrk@gmail.com；来自CNBC 的BeckyQuick：BerkshireQuestions@cnbc.com；来自《纽约时报》的AndrewRossSorkin：arsorkin@nytimes.com。

From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the six he or she decides are the most interesting and important to shareholders. 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.)

每位记者会从收到的问题中，选出他们认为最有意思最重要的6 个问题。几位记者告诉我，为了增加您的问题被选中的几率，您的问题要简洁，避免在最后一刻才发送出去，要和伯克希尔相关，并且一封邮件里问题数量不要超过两个。(在邮件里说明，如果您的问题被选中您是否希望透露自己的名字)。

An accompanying set of questions will be asked by three analysts who follow Berkshire. This year the insurance specialist will be Jay Gelb of Barclays. Questions that deal with our non-insurance operations will come from Jonathan Brandt of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb and Gregg Warren of Morningstar. Since what we will be conducting is a shareholders’ meeting, our hope is that the analysts and journalists will ask questions that add to our owners’ understanding and knowledge of their investment.

三名关注伯克希尔的分析师会提出另外一组问题。今年的保险业专家是来自巴克莱银行Barclays 的Jay Gelb。与我们非保险业务相关的问题，将会由来自Ruane,Cunniff&Goldfarb 公司的Jonathan Brandt 和晨星(Morningstar)的Greg gWarren 提出。我们希望分析师和记者提出的问题有助于增进股东们对自己投资的了解。

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. Multi-part questions aren’t allowed; we want to give as many questioners as possible a shot at us. Our goal is for you to leave the meeting knowing more about Berkshire than when you came and for you to have a good time while in Omaha.

查理和我对于将要回答的问题并没有什么线索。当然有些问题会很刁钻，这是我们喜欢的方式。一个问句里包含多个问题是不允许的，我们想要让尽可能多的人有机会向我们提问。我们的目标是让你在离开会议时，比来的时候更了解伯克希尔，并在奥马哈度过一段美好的时光。

All told, we expect at least 54 questions, which will allow for six from each analyst and journalist and for 18 from the audience. 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.

我们预计总共会收到至少54 个问题，其中分析师和记者每人可以问6 个问题，听众可以提出18 个问题。听众的问题将通过11 次抽签的方式选出来，抽签时间为年度会议当天早上的8:15。在大会场馆和主要分会场一共安置有11 个麦克风，每个麦克风将会进行一次抽签。

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, if possible, should also have adequate time to digest and analyze it before any trading takes place. 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 (a day that also eases traffic and parking problems).

在我谈论让股东获取信息的主题时，我要提请大家注意，查理和我相信所有的股东都应该能够同时接收到伯克希尔发布的新信息；而且如果条件允许的话，股东应该在进行交易前用充足的时间消化和分析这些信息。正是出于这个原因，我们尽量在周五晚间或周六早间发布财报数据，年度大会也总是在周六举办(这一天还可以缓解交通和停车问题)。

We do not follow the common practice of talking one-on-one with large institutional investors or analysts, treating them instead as we do all other shareholders. There is no one more important to us than the shareholder of limited means who trusts us with a substantial portion of his or her savings. As I run the company day-to-day – and as I write this letter – that is the shareholder whose image is in my mind.

我们并不采用和大型机构投资者或分析师进行一对一的交谈的惯常做法，而是像对待所有其他股东一样对待他们。对我们来说，没有人比收入有限的股东更重要的了，因为他们基于信任把大部分积蓄托付于于我们打理。在我每天经营这家公司的时候，在我写这封信的时候，这些股东就会在我的脑海浮现。

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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 also believe the mindset of our managers 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，我常常夸赞公司的运营经理所取得的成就，他们都是全明星级别的经理人，经营自己的业务就好像这些资产是他们家族拥有的唯一财产一样谨慎。我也相信我们的管理者心态是以股东利益为导向，就像在大型上市公司中管理一样。我们大多数经理人并不需要为钱而工作。对他们来说，打出商业"全垒打"所带来的愉悦跟收到薪水支票同样重要。

Equally important, however, are the men and women who work with me at our corporate office. This team efficiently deals with a multitude of SEC and other regulatory requirements, files a 30,450-page Federal income tax return, oversees the filing of 3,580 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, fact-checks this letter – and the list goes on and on.

在我们公司总部办公室工作的24 名男女雇员也同样重要。他们高效地处理SEC 和其它监管要求，提交了30450 页联邦所得税申报表，还要监管3580 份州税申报表，回应无数的股东和媒体问询，发布年度报告，准备美国最大规模的企业年会，协调董事会的活动，对这封信进行事实审核……这份任务列表还可以写很长。

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, for example, 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. In addition, they cheerfully pitch in to help Carrie Sova – our talented ringmaster at the annual meeting – deliver an interesting and entertaining weekend for our shareholders. They are proud to work for Berkshire, and I am proud of them.

他们愉快高效处理了所有这些业务任务，让我的生活倍感轻松愉悦。他们还努力处理一些并非和伯克希尔严格相关的活动：比如，去年他们接待了40 所大学(从200 所申请大学挑选出来的)派出的学生到奥马哈和我进行一天的问答活动。他们还处理我收到的各种请求，安排我的旅程，甚至午餐时还帮我买汉堡和炸薯条(当然裹满了亨氏番茄酱)。此外，他们还兴致勃勃的帮助我的助理Carrie Sova 安排年会事宜，从而让我们的股东度过了一个有趣且愉快的周末。他们为能为伯克希尔工作而自豪，我也为他们感到骄傲。

I’m a lucky guy, very fortunate in being surrounded by this excellent staff, a team of highly-talented operating managers and a boardroom of very wise and experienced directors. Come to Omaha – the cradle of capitalism – on May 6th and meet the Berkshire Bunch. All of us look forward to seeing you.

我是一个幸运的人，很幸运有这些优秀的员工，一支才华横溢的运营经理团队以及一个由非常聪明且经验丰富的董事组成的董事会围绕在我身边。5 月6 日，来资本家的摇篮奥马哈与伯克希尔大家族碰面吧。我们所有人都期待看到你们。

February 25, 2017 Warren E. Buffett Chairman of the Board

2017年2月25日沃伦·巴菲特董事会主席