巴菲特致股东的信（1992年）②所罗门插曲

The Salomon Interlude

Last June, I stepped down as Interim Chairman of Salomon Inc after ten months in the job. You can tell from Berkshire's 1991-92 results that the company didn't miss me while I was gone. But the reverse isn't true: I missed Berkshire and am delighted to be back full-time. There is no job in the world that is more fun than running Berkshire and I count myself lucky to be where I am.

所罗门插曲

去年 6 月，在接手十个月后，我正式辞去所罗门董事会临时主席的职务，大家可以从 1991-1992 年伯克希尔的经营绩效看出，公司并没有因为我的暂时不在而发生任何差错，不过反过来说就不一定了：我很想念伯克希尔且很高兴再度回到公司担任全职工作，对我而言，世界上没有任何其它工作比起经营伯克希尔更有乐趣，很庆幸我自己能够身处现在这个位置。

The Salomon post, though far from fun, was interesting and worthwhile: In Fortune's annual survey of America's Most Admired Corporations, conducted last September, Salomon ranked second among 311 companies in the degree to which it improved its reputation. Additionally, Salomon Brothers, the securities subsidiary of Salomon Inc, reported record pre-tax earnings last year - 34% above the previous high.

这次所罗门的任务虽然不是很愉快，但却相当有趣且值得，在去年 9 月《财富》杂志票选全美最受崇敬企业的年度调查中，所罗门在全部的 311 家公司中名列进步奖第二，此外，所罗门集团其下的证券子公司，所罗门兄弟公司，其税前收益更是创下历史新高，较之前高出 34%之多。

Many people helped in the resolution of Salomon's problems and the righting of the firm, but a few clearly deserve special mention. It is no exaggeration to say that without the combined efforts of Salomon executives Deryck Maughan, Bob Denham, Don Howard, and John Macfarlane, the firm very probably would not have survived. In their work, these men were tireless, effective, supportive and selfless, and I will forever be grateful to them.

所罗门能够得到解救需要感谢许多人，其中有几位尤其要特别提到的，若是没有高管 Deryck Maughhan、Bob Denham、Don Howard 与 John Macfarlane 等人的通力合作，这家券商很可能无法活下来，这些人努力不懈、有效率、无私奉献的精神，让我永远感谢他们。

Salomon's lead lawyer in its Government matters, Ron Olson of Munger, Tolles & Olson, was also key to our success in getting through this trouble. The firm's problems were not only severe, but complex. At least five authorities - the SEC, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice - had important concerns about Salomon. If we were to resolve our problems in a coordinated and prompt manner, we needed a lawyer with exceptional legal, business and human skills. Ron had them all.

所罗门在政府事务方面的首席律师，Munger,Tolles&Olson 联合律师事务所的罗纳德·奥尔森(Ronald L.Olson)也是这次问题能够顺利解决的核心人物，所罗门所面临的问题不但严重而且相当复杂，至少有五个主管机关都牵涉其中：证监会、纽约联邦准备银行、美国财政部、纽约南区地方法院与司法部的反托拉斯部门，若是我们想要以明快有组织性地解决这件事，我们绝对必须要有一位具有商务法律专业与沟通技巧的律师来帮忙，Ron正是具备有这样条件的最佳人选。