巴菲特致股东的信（2017年）⑥年度股东大会

The Annual Meeting

年度股东大会

The annual meeting falls on May 5th and will again be webcast by Yahoo!, whose web address is https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream. The webcast will go live at 8:45 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Yahoo! will interview directors, managers, stockholders and celebrities before the meeting and during the lunch break. Both the interviews and meeting will be translated simultaneously into Mandarin.

年度股东大会定于5月5日举行，雅虎 (Yahoo!) 将再次进行网络直播，网址为 https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream。直播将于美国中部夏令时上午8:45开始。雅虎将在会前和午休期间采访公司董事、经理人、股东和各界名人。采访和会议将同步翻译为中文。

Our partnership with Yahoo! began in 2016 and shareholders have responded enthusiastically. Last year, real-time viewership increased 72% to about 3.1 million and replays of short segments totaled 17.1 million.

我们与雅虎的合作始于2016年，股东们的反响十分热烈。去年实时收看人数增长了72%，达到约310万，而短视频片段的回放次数累计达1,710万。

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 9:15 and run until 3:30, with a one-hour lunch break at noon. Finally, at 3:45 we will begin the formal shareholder meeting, which usually runs from 15 to 45 minutes. Shopping will end at 4:30.

对于亲身到场的参会者，世纪互联中心 (CenturyLink) 的大门将于周六上午7:00开放，以便大家在8:30股东电影开播前购物。问答环节将于9:15开始，持续至下午3:30，中午有一小时午餐时间。最后，下午3:45将开始正式的股东大会，通常持续15至45分钟。购物时间在下午4:30结束。

On Friday, May 4th, our Berkshire exhibitors at CenturyLink will be open from noon until 5 p.m. We added that extra shopping time in 2015, and serious shoppers love it. Last year about 12,000 people came through the doors in the five hours we were open on Friday.

5月4日（周五），伯克希尔在世纪互联中心的展区将从中午12点开放至下午5点。2015年我们新增了这段额外的购物时间，热衷购物的朋友们对此赞不绝口。去年周五开放的五个小时里，大约有1.2万人涌入了展区。

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. (Your Chairman discourages freebies.) 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.

购物的场地是毗邻会场的一个面积为194,300平方英尺的大厅，数十家伯克希尔子公司的产品将在这里出售。（你们的董事长可不提倡免费赠品。）跟站在各自展位前的众多伯克希尔经理们打个招呼吧。还一定要去看看精彩的BNSF铁路模型展示，它向我们所有的公司致敬。

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 sixth 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; even with Brooks running shoes, our times would be embarrassing.) Participation in the 5K grows every year. Help us set another record.

我们旗下的跑鞋公司布鲁克斯 (Brooks) 将再次在会上推出一款特别纪念版跑鞋。买一双穿上，周日上午8点来参加我们的第六届年度"伯克希尔5公里跑"——起点就在世纪互联中心。参赛的详细信息会随你的会议凭证一起寄出。参赛者们会发现自己与伯克希尔的许多经理人、董事和同仁并肩奔跑。（不过查理和我会睡懒觉；就算穿上布鲁克斯跑鞋，我们的成绩也会让人不好意思说出口。）5公里跑的参与人数年年增长，来帮我们再创纪录吧。

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 43% from 2016.

盖可保险 (GEICO) 将在购物区设置展位，配备来自全国各地的多名顶级顾问。在去年的股东大会上，我们的保单销售量创下纪录，比2016年增长了43%。

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.

所以一定要过来问问报价。在大多数情况下，盖可保险可以给你一个股东折扣（通常是8%）。这一特别优惠在我们运营的51个辖区中有44个适用。（补充一点：如果你已经享受了其他折扣——比如某些团体折扣——两者不可叠加。）带上你现有的保单信息来对比一下我们的价格。我们能为你们中的很多人省下实打实的钱。把省下来的钱花在其他伯克希尔产品上吧。

Be sure to visit the Bookworm. This Omaha-based retailer will carry more than 40 books and DVDs, among them a couple of new titles. Berkshire shareholders are a bookseller’s dream: When Poor Charlie’s Almanack (yes, our Charlie) made its debut some years ago, we sold 3,500 copies at the meeting. The book weighed 4.85 pounds. Do the math: Our shareholders left the building that day carrying about 81⁄2 tons of Charlie’s wisdom.

一定要去逛逛书虫书店 (Bookworm)。这家奥马哈本地的零售商将带来超过40种图书和DVD，其中有几本新书。伯克希尔的股东堪称书商的梦想客户：几年前《穷查理宝典》(Poor Charlie's Almanack)（没错，是我们的查理）首次亮相时，我们在会上就卖出了3,500本。这本书每本重4.85磅。来算个数：我们的股东们那天离开大楼时，带走了大约8.5吨芒格的智慧。

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 most airlines substantially increase 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. The savings for a couple could run to $1,000 or more. Spend that money with us.

随本报告一起附上的委托书材料中，详细说明了如何获取参加会议和其他活动所需的入场凭证。请记住，大多数航空公司在伯克希尔周末期间都会大幅提高票价。如果你从远方赶来，比较一下飞堪萨斯城和飞奥马哈的费用。两个城市之间车程大约2.5小时，飞堪萨斯城可能会为你省下一大笔钱。一对夫妇节省的费用可达1,000美元甚至更多。把省下的钱花在我们这里吧。

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 1st and Monday, May 7th inclusive, and must also present your meeting credential. Last year, the one-week volume for the store was a staggering $44.6 million. Bricks and mortar are alive and well at NFM.

在内布拉斯加家具店 (Nebraska Furniture Mart)——这家占地77英亩的卖场位于72街上、道奇 (Dodge) 和太平洋 (Pacific) 之间——我们将再次提供"伯克希尔周末"折扣价。要享受NFM的伯克希尔折扣，你必须在5月1日（周二）至5月7日（周一）期间购买（含首尾两天），并出示会议凭证。去年，这家店那一周的销售额达到了惊人的4,460万美元。在NFM，实体零售依然生机勃勃。

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 Saturday and 11 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.

这段时间的特别定价甚至适用于几家顶级品牌制造商的产品。这些制造商通常对折扣有着铁一般的规定，但本着我们股东周末的精神，它们为你们破了例。我们感谢它们的配合。"伯克希尔周末"期间，NFM的营业时间为周一至周六上午10点至晚上9点，周日上午11点至晚上8点。周六下午5:30至8点，NFM将举办一场野餐会，欢迎所有人参加。

NFM will again extend its shareholder’s discount offerings to our Kansas City and Dallas stores. From May 1st through May 7th, shareholders who present meeting credentials or other evidence of their Berkshire ownership (such as brokerage statements) to those NFM stores will receive the same discounts enjoyed by those visiting the Omaha store. 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 4th. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 6th, 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).

NFM还将把股东折扣延伸至堪萨斯城和达拉斯门店。从5月1日到5月7日，在这些门店出示会议凭证或其他伯克希尔持股证明（如券商对账单）的股东，将享受与奥马哈门店相同的折扣。在波仙珠宝店 (Borsheims)，我们将再次举办两场仅面向股东的活动。第一场是5月4日（周五）下午6点至9点的鸡尾酒会。第二场——盛大的主活动——将于5月6日（周日）上午9点至下午4点举行。周六波仙将营业至下午6点。记住，买得越多，省得越多（至少我女儿是这么告诉我的，每次我们去这家店的时候）。

We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore, shareholder prices will be available from Monday, April 30th through Saturday, May 12th. During that period, please identify yourself as a shareholder either by presenting your meeting credential or a brokerage statement showing you own our stock.

整个周末波仙都会人潮涌动。因此，为了各位的方便，股东价格的有效期为4月30日（周一）至5月12日（周六）。在此期间，请出示会议凭证或券商对账单以证明你的股东身份。

On Sunday afternoon, on the upper level above Borsheims, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon Osberg, two of the world’s top bridge experts, available to play with our shareholders. If they suggest wagering on the game, change the subject. Ajit, Charlie, Bill Gates and I will likely drop by as well.

周日下午，在波仙楼上，我们将安排世界顶级桥牌专家鲍勃·哈曼 (Bob Hamman) 和莎朗·奥斯伯格 (Sharon Osberg) 与股东们切磋。如果他们提议在牌桌上下注，赶紧换个话题。阿吉特 (Ajit)、查理、比尔·盖茨 (Bill Gates) 和我也可能会顺道过来看看。

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. 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.) I will participate on an advisory basis only.

我的朋友邢延华 (Ariel Hsing) 周日也会在商场出现，在乒乓球台上迎战各路挑战者。我在她九岁时就认识她了，即便那时我也从没在她身上赢过一分。邢延华曾代表美国参加了2012年奥运会。如果你不怕丢脸的话，下午1点起来试试自己的身手吧。比尔·盖茨去年跟邢延华打得不错，所以他可能会再次应战。（我的建议是：把赌注押在邢延华身上。）我将仅以顾问身份参加。

Gorat’s will be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 6th, serving from 12 p.m. until 10 p.m. To make a reservation at Gorat’s, call 402-551-3733 on April 2nd (but not before). Show you are a sophisticated diner by ordering the T-bone with hash browns.

戈拉特牛排馆 (Gorat's) 将于5月6日（周日）专门为伯克希尔股东开放，营业时间为中午12点至晚上10点。预订请于4月2日致电402-551-3733（不要提前）。想要展示你是一位老练的食客？那就点一份T骨牛排配土豆饼。

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.

我们将继续由同样三位财经记者主持股东大会的问答环节，他们会向查理和我提出股东通过电子邮件提交的问题。这三位记者及其邮箱分别是：她那个时代最杰出的商业记者卡罗尔·卢米斯 (Carol Loomis)，邮箱；CNBC的贝基·奎克 (Becky Quick)，邮箱；以及《纽约时报》的安德鲁·罗斯·索尔金 (Andrew Ross Sorkin)，邮箱。

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.)

每位记者将从收到的问题中挑选他或她认为对股东最有趣、最重要的6个。记者们告诉我，如果你的问题简洁明了、不要在最后时刻才提交、与伯克希尔相关、每封邮件不超过两个问题，那么被选中的概率最高。（请在邮件中注明，如果你的问题被选中，是否希望提及你的姓名。）

An accompanying set of questions will be asked by 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. 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.

另外还有三位跟踪伯克希尔的分析师会提出一系列问题。今年的保险行业专家是道林合伙公司 (Dowling & Partners) 的加里·兰瑟姆 (Gary Ransom)。有关非保险业务的问题将由鲁安·坎尼夫·戈德法布 (Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb) 的乔纳森·布兰特 (Jonathan Brandt) 和晨星公司 (Morningstar) 的格雷格·沃伦 (Gregg Warren) 提出。既然这是一场股东大会，我们希望分析师和记者提出的问题能够加深股东们对自身投资的理解和认识。

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.

查理和我对即将面对的问题连一点线索都不会提前知道。有些问题肯定很刁钻，但这正是我们喜欢的方式。不允许一人连问多题；我们希望让尽可能多的提问者有机会向我们发难。我们的目标是让你们离开会场时比来的时候更了解伯克希尔，同时在奥马哈度过一段愉快的时光。

All told, we expect at least 54 questions, which will allow for six from each analyst and journalist and for 18 from the audience. After the 54th, all questions come from the audience. Charlie and I have often tackled more than 60 by 3:30.

总体而言，我们预计至少会有54个问题——每位分析师和记者6个，观众18个。第54个问题之后，所有问题都来自现场观众。查理和我经常在3:30之前就回答了超过60个。

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.

来自观众的提问者将通过11次抽签选出，抽签于年会当日上午8:15举行。安装在主会场和溢出会场的11个麦克风，每个对应一次抽签。

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 that information 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).

说到让我们的股东增长知识，让我提醒你们，查理和我认为所有股东都应当同时获取伯克希尔发布的新信息，如果可能的话，还应有充足的时间在交易发生之前消化和分析这些信息。这就是为什么我们尽量在周五晚些时候或周六早上发布财务数据，也是为什么我们的年度股东大会总是安排在周六（这一天也有助于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.

我们不会像通常做法那样与大型机构投资者或分析师进行一对一的沟通，我们对待他们与对待所有其他股东完全一样。对我们来说，没有谁比那些资源有限却把自己积蓄的很大一部分托付给我们的小股东更重要。当我管理公司日常事务的时候——当我写这封信的时候——我脑海中浮现的就是这些股东的面孔。

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

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，我经常赞扬我们经营经理人的成就。他们是真正的全明星球员，经营各自的业务就像那是自己家族拥有的唯一资产。我还相信，在大型上市公司的世界里，你找不到比我们的经理人更具股东导向思维的管理团队了。我们的大多数经理人在经济上完全不必工作。打出商业上的"本垒打"给他们带来的满足感，一点都不亚于薪水本身。

If managers (or directors) own Berkshire shares – and many do – it’s from open-market purchases they have made or because they received shares when they sold their businesses to us. None, however, gets the upside of ownership without risking the downside. Our directors and managers stand in your shoes.

如果经理人（或董事）持有伯克希尔股票——而且许多人确实持有——那些股票要么是他们从公开市场购买的，要么是他们把自己的公司卖给我们时收到的。然而，没有人能在不承担下跌风险的情况下享受持股的收益。我们的董事和经理人与你们站在同一条船上。

We continue to have a wonderful group at headquarters. This team efficiently deals with a multitude of SEC and other regulatory requirements, files a 32,700-page Federal income tax return, oversees the filing of 3,935 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.

我们的总部团队一如既往地出色。这个团队高效处理着大量美国证券交易委员会（SEC）和其他监管要求，提交了32,700页的联邦所得税申报表，监督3,935份州税申报表的提交，回复无数股东和媒体的询问，出版年度报告，为全美最大的年度股东大会做准备，协调董事会活动，核实这封信的真实性——还有许许多多其他事务。

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 at the annual meeting in whatever way they are needed. They are proud to work for Berkshire, and I am proud of them.

他们欢快而高效地处理着所有这些工作，让我的生活轻松愉快。他们的付出远不止于伯克希尔的日常事务：比如去年，他们接待了40所大学（从200所申请者中筛选出来的）送到奥马哈来跟我进行问答活动的学生。他们还处理我收到的各种各样的请求，安排我的行程，甚至给我买汉堡和薯条当午餐（当然要蘸亨氏番茄酱）。此外，他们还在年度股东大会上哪里需要就去哪里帮忙，毫无怨言。他们为在伯克希尔工作而自豪，我也为他们感到骄傲。

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I’ve saved the best for last. Early in 2018, Berkshire’s board elected Ajit Jain and Greg Abel as directors of Berkshire and also designated each as Vice Chairman. Ajit is now responsible for insurance operations, and Greg oversees the rest of our businesses. Charlie and I will focus on investments and capital allocation.

我把最好的留到了最后。2018年初，伯克希尔董事会选举阿吉特·贾恩 (Ajit Jain) 和格雷格·阿贝尔 (Greg Abel) 为伯克希尔董事，并同时任命两人为副董事长。阿吉特现在负责保险业务，格雷格负责监管其余所有业务。查理和我将专注于投资和资本配置。

You and I are lucky to have Ajit and Greg working for us. Each has been with Berkshire for decades, and Berkshire’s blood flows through their veins. The character of each man matches his talents. And that says it all.

你和我都很幸运，有阿吉特和格雷格为我们效力。他们两位都在伯克希尔工作了数十年，伯克希尔的血液流淌在他们的血管里。每个人的品格都与他的才能相匹配。这就说明了一切。

Come to Omaha – the cradle of capitalism – on May 5th and meet the Berkshire Bunch. All of us look forward to your visit.

5月5日来奥马哈吧——来这个资本主义的摇篮——与伯克希尔大家庭见面。我们所有人都期待你们的到来。

February 24, 2018 Warren E. Buffett Chairman of the Board

2018年2月24日沃伦·巴菲特 (Warren E. Buffett) 董事会主席