巴菲特致股东的信（1993年）⑩私人事务

A Few Personal Items

Mrs. B - Rose Blumkin - had her 100th birthday on December 3, 1993. (The candles cost more than the cake.) That was a day on which the store was scheduled to be open in the evening. Mrs. B, who works seven days a week, for however many hours the store operates, found the proper decision quite obvious: She simply postponed her party until an evening when the store was closed.

私人事务

B 夫人(Rose Blumkin)在 12 月 3 日渡过了她 100 岁的生日，(蜡烛比蛋糕还贵)，本来当天家具店预计营业到晚上，对于每周工作七天的 B 夫人来说，二话不说，等到晚上店关门之后，才开始她的生日宴会。

Mrs. B's story is well-known but worth telling again. She came to the United States 77 years ago, unable to speak English and devoid of formal schooling. In 1937, she founded the Nebraska Furniture Mart with $500. Last year the store had sales of $200 million, a larger amount by far than that recorded by any other home furnishings store in the United States. Our part in all of this began ten years ago when Mrs. B sold control of the business to Berkshire Hathaway, a deal we completed without obtaining audited financial statements, checking real estate records, or getting any warranties. In short, her word was good enough for us.

虽然 B 夫人的传奇故事已广为人知，但我还是不厌其烦地再说一次，77 年前她来到美国，不会说英文也没有受过正式的教育，在 1937 年她以 500 美元创立内布拉斯加家具店，截至去年该店的年营业额达到 2 亿美元，远远超过全美其他单一家具店的业绩。我们与她的合作关系开始于十年前，B 夫人将大部分的股权卖给伯克希尔，当然双方既没有看会计师的财务报表、也没有对房地产权状或是提供任何保证，简而言之，B 夫人一诺千金。

Naturally, I was delighted to attend Mrs. B's birthday party. After all, she's promised to attend my 100th.

当然我很高兴能受邀参加她 100 岁的生日宴会，另外她还答应以后要来参加我 100 岁的生日宴会。

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Katharine Graham retired last year as the chairman of The Washington Post Company, having relinquished the CEO title three years ago. In 1973, we purchased our stock in her company for about $10 million. Our holding now garners $7 million a year in dividends and is worth over $400 million. At the time of our purchase, we knew that the economic prospects of the company were good. But equally important, Charlie and I concluded that Kay would prove to be an outstanding manager and would treat all shareholders honorably. That latter consideration was particularly important because The Washington Post Company has two classes of stock, a structure that we've seen some managers abuse.

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华盛顿邮报的董事长凯瑟琳.格雷厄姆(Katharine Graham)在去年正式退休，她在三年前辞去 CEO 的职务。1973 年我们斥资 1000 万美元买进她公司的股份，时至今日我们每年从该公司取得 700 万美元的股利，而持有股票的市值已超过 4 亿美元，当初在决定买进该公司的股份时，我们便看好该公司的前景，但另外一点同样重要的是，查理跟我都认为凯瑟琳将会证明自己是位杰出的经理人，同时能够诚实地对待所有的股东，后面那一点尤其重要，因为该公司股份分成两种，而这种架构常常遭到许多经理人滥用。

All of our judgments about this investment have been validated by events. Kay's skills as a manager were underscored this past year when she was elected by Fortune's Board of Editors to the Business Hall of Fame. On behalf of our shareholders, Charlie and I had long ago put her in Berkshire's Hall of Fame.

而我们做这项投资的正确判断可由许多事件获得证明，凯瑟琳杰出的表现，使得她入选财富杂志编辑部的商业名人堂，而对于身为股东的我们来说，查理跟我早就把她列入伯克希尔的名人堂之中。

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Another of last year's retirees was Don Keough of Coca-Cola, although, as he puts it, his retirement lasted "about 14 hours." Don is one of the most extraordinary human beings I've ever known - a man of enormous business talent, but, even more important, a man who brings out the absolute best in everyone lucky enough to associate with him. Coca-Cola wants its product to be present at the happy times of a person's life. Don Keough, as an individual, invariably increases the happiness of those around him. It's impossible to think about Don without feeling good.

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另外一位在去年退休的人是可口可乐的唐·基奥(Don Keough)，虽然如同他本人所说的，他的退休生活只维持了 14 个小时，Don 是我认识最杰出的人物之一，他不但拥有绝佳的商业天分，同时更重要的是，他能使得每个有幸与他共事的人发挥其最大潜能，可口可乐希望其产品能够伴随每个人一生最快乐的时光，而 Don 这个人却带给周围的人无限的欢乐，每当想起 Don 时，没有人不会心一笑的。

I will edge up to how I met Don by slipping in a plug for my neighborhood in Omaha: Though Charlie has lived in California for 45 years, his home as a boy was about 200 feet away from the house where I now live; my wife, Susie, grew up 1 1/2 blocks away; and we have about 125 Berkshire shareholders in the zip code. As for Don, in 1958 he bought the house directly across the street from mine. He was then a coffee salesman with a big family and a small income.

在介绍我如何结识 Don 时，顺便介绍一下我在奥马哈的街坊邻居，虽然查理住在加州长达 45 年，但他儿时的老家距离我现在住的地方不到 200 英尺，而我的夫人苏珊从小就住在 1.5 个街区外，伯克希尔有 125 个股东住在同一个邮政编码区域内，而 Don 在 1958 买的房子就在我家的正对面，当年他还是一个收入微薄，却必须养一大家子的咖啡销售员。

The impressions I formed in those days about Don were a factor in my decision to have Berkshire make a record $1 billion investment in Coca-Cola in 1988-89. Roberto Goizueta had become CEO of Coke in 1981, with Don alongside as his partner. The two of them took hold of a company that had stagnated during the previous decade and moved it from $4.4 billion of market value to $58 billion in less than 13 years. What a difference a pair of managers like this makes, even when their product has been around for 100 years.

在 1988-1989 年间，我决定为伯克希尔买下 10 亿美元可口可乐股票的因素之一，就是我对 Don 的印象。罗伯特·戈伊苏埃塔(Roberto Goizueta)在 1981 年当上可口可乐 CEO 时，Don 是他的副手，两人联手接掌这家业务已停滞成长 10 多年的公司，短短 13 年时间将这家原本 44 亿市值的公司变成为 580 亿美元，虽然所贩卖的产品已经问世 100 年，这两个人却还能让这家公司产生如此大的变化。

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Frank Rooney did double duty last year. In addition to leading H. H. Brown to record profits - 35% above the 1992 high - he also was key to our merger with Dexter.

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弗兰克·鲁尼(Frank Rooney)从去年完成两项工作，除了领导布朗鞋业创下盈利历史新高，较去年同期增加35%之外，他还是并购 Dexter 鞋业的关键人物。

Frank has known Harold Alfond and Peter Lunder for decades, and shortly after our purchase of H. H. Brown, told me what a wonderful operation they managed. He encouraged us to get together and in due course we made a deal. Frank told Harold and Peter that Berkshire would provide an ideal corporate "home" for Dexter, and that assurance undoubtedly contributed to their decision to join with us.

Frank 认识 Harold 与 Peter 有好几十年了，在买下布朗鞋业不久之后，他向我提到这家由他们管理良好的公司，他积极地把我们凑在一起，过了不久之后，我们便达成协议，Frank 告诉 Harold 与 Peter，说伯克希尔将会是 Dexter 企业最理想的归宿，而这种安全感无疑是他们最后决定加入我们最关键的因素。

I've told you in the past of Frank's extraordinary record in building Melville Corp. during his 23 year tenure as CEO. Now, at 72, he's setting an even faster pace at Berkshire. Frank has a low-key, relaxed style, but don't let that fool you. When he swings, the ball disappears far over the fence.

过去我曾向各位提过 Frank 在 Melville 公司 23 年 CEO 期间的杰出表现，如今高龄 72 岁的他在伯克希尔的速度甚至比以前还快，虽然 Frank 风格低调又闲散，但千万不要被他的外表所骗，当他大棒一挥时，球儿可是会一飞冲天、消失在围墙之外呢！

Naturally, I was delighted to attend Mrs. B's birthday party. After all, she's promised to attend my 100th.

* * * * * * * * * * * * Frank Rooney did double duty last year. In addition to leading H. H. Brown to record profits - 35% above the 1992 high - he also was key to our merger with Dexter.

I've told you in the past of Frank's extraordinary record in building Melville Corp. during his 23 year tenure as CEO. Now, at 72, he's setting an even faster pace at Berkshire. Frank has a low-key, relaxed style, but don't let that fool you. When he swings, the ball disappears far over the fence.

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

Frank Rooney did double duty last year. In addition to leading H. H. Brown to record profits - 35% above the 1992 high - he also was key to our merger with Dexter.