这场经典的赛事，甚至还用慢动作播放精彩的第四节，我们以今年封面的颜色表 .53
and they, too, won their league title. Our hero, however, smelled trouble.
Changing boroughs, he joined the Yankees in 1921, and they promptly
won their first pennant in history.
提到管理模式，我个人的偶像是一个叫做Eddie Bennett的球僮，1919年，年仅19
岁的Eddie开始他在芝加哥白袜队的职业生涯，当年度白袜队立刻就打进世界大
赛，隔年Eddie跳槽到布鲁克林道奇队，果不其然，又让道奇队赢得世界大赛，之
后不久，这位传奇性的人物发现苗头不对，接着转换跑道到纽约洋基队，此举更使
得洋基队在1921年赢得队史上的第一座世界大赛冠军。
Now Eddie settled in, shrewdly seeing what was coming. In the next seven
years, the Yankees won five American League titles. What does this have to
do with management? It’s simple – to be a winner, work with winners. In
1927, for example, Eddie received $700 for the 1/8th World Series share
voted him by the legendary Yankee team of Ruth and Gehrig. This sum,
which Eddie earned by working only four days (because New York swept
the Series) was roughly equal to the full-year pay then earned by batboys
who worked with ordinary associates. Eddie understood that how he
lugged bats was unimportant; what counted instead was hooking up with
the cream of those on the playing field. I’ve learned from Eddie. At
Berkshire, I regularly hand bats to many of the heaviest hitters in American
business.
自此Eddie仿佛预知接下来会发生什么事，决定安顿下来，果不其然，洋基队在往
后的七年间，五度赢得美联的冠军，或许有人会问，这跟管理模式有什么相干 很
简单-那就是想要成为一个赢家，就是与其它赢家一起共事，举例来说，1927年，
Eddie因为洋基赢得世界大赛(当年棒球界传奇人物贝比鲁斯也在阵中)而分到700美
元的奖金，这笔钱大约相当于其它球僮一整年的收入，结果Eddie总共只工作4天就拿到
手(因为当年度洋基队四连胜横扫对手)，Eddie很清楚地知道他如何拎球棒并不重
要，重要的是他能为球场上最当红的明星拎球棒才是关键，我从Eddie身上学到很
多，所以在Berkshire，我就经常为美国商业大联盟的超级强打者拎球棒。
Acquisitions
购并活动
We added some sluggers to our lineup last year. Two acquisitions pending
at yearend 2001 were completed: Albecca (which operates under the name
Larson-Juhl), the U.S. leader in custom-made picture frames; and Fruit of
the Loom, the producer of about 33.3% of the men’s and boy’s underwear
sold in the U.S. and of other apparel as well. Both companies came with
outstanding CEOs: Steve McKenzie at Albecca and John Holland at Fruit.
John, who had retired from Fruit in 1996, rejoined it three years ago and
rescued the company from the disastrous path it had gone down after he’d
left. He’s now 70, and I am trying to convince him to make his next
retirement coincident with mine (presently scheduled for five years after
my death – a date subject, however, to extension).
去年我们的打击阵容又增添了好几位强打者，两件从2001年就开始谈的案子在去
年结案，全美相框订做业的领导厂商Albecca(以Larson-Jhul品牌经营)以及Fruit
of the Loom纺织公司，全美约有1/3的男士及儿童内衣系由该公司制造，当然该
公司还有销售其它服装，两家公司都由相当优秀的经理人领军，Albecca有Steve
MaKenzie，而Fruit of the Loom则有John Holland，后者在1996年自该公司退
休，三年前又回锅挽救该公司免于毁灭的命运，他今年70岁，现在我正努力说服他
跟我同进退(目前我个人预定在死后5年再办理退休，并且有可能会视状况予以延
长)。
We initiated and completed two other acquisitions last year that were
somewhat below our normal size threshold. In aggregate, however, these
businesses earn more than $60 million pre-tax annually. Both operate in
industries characterized by tough economics, but both also have important
competitive strengths that enable them to earn decent returns on capital.
此外，去年我们另外又完成的其它两件规模较小的购并案，不过两家公司加起来的
年度税前获利超过6,000万美元，虽然两者所处的产业竞争都相当激烈，但却同样
拥有相当的竞争优势，使得我们的投资依然能够维持不错的报酬率。
The newcomers are:
这两位新成员分别是
(a) CTB, a worldwide leader in equipment for the poultry, hog, egg
production and grain industries; and
(a)CTB-全世界鸡、猪等农畜养殖设备的领导厂商
(b) Garan, a manufacturer of children’s apparel, whose largest and bestknown
line is GaranimalsR.
(b)Garan-童装生产厂商，以Garanimals等著名品牌对外行销。
These two companies came with the managers responsible for their
impressive records: Vic Mancinelli at CTB and Seymour Lichtenstein at
Garan. The largest acquisition we initiated in 2002 was The Pampered
Chef, a company with a fascinating history dating back to 1980. Doris
Christopher was then a 34-year-old suburban Chicago home economics
teacher with a husband, two little girls, and absolutely no business
background. Wanting, however, to supplement her family’s modest
income, she turned to thinking about what she knew best – food
preparation. Why not, she wondered, make a business out of marketing
kitchenware, focusing on the items she herself had found most useful?
两家公司的经理人过去都拥有令人印象深刻的成绩，CTB的Vic Mancinelli以及
Garan的Seymour Lichtenstein，至于在2002年开始进行的购并案中，规模最大
的就属The Pampered Chef(TPC)-这也是一家拥有辉煌历史的传奇公司，时间回
溯到1980年，当时34岁的Doris Christopher还是一位芝加哥郊区家庭经济学的教
师，与先生育有2个小女儿的她，完全就没有任何商业经验，为了要补贴家庭微薄
的收入，她想到运用本身最拿手的绝活-准备食物，她在想想是不是可以利用家里
的餐具来做点生意，这是她自己认为身边最派得上用场的东西。
To get started, Doris borrowed $3,000 against her life insurance policy – all
the money ever injected into the company – and went to the Merchandise
Mart on a buying expedition. There, she picked up a dozen each of this and
that, and then went home to set up operations in her basement.
为了要创业，Doris利用寿险保单质借了3,000美元，这也是她仅有的一次资金投
入，然后到大卖场进行一趟采购之旅，买了一大堆烹饪餐具，然后回到家里的地下
室展开事业。
Her plan was to conduct in-home presentations to small groups of women,
gathered at the homes of their friends. While driving to her first
presentation, though, Doris almost talked herself into returning home,
convinced she was doomed to fail.
她的计画是集合一群女性友人到其朋友家里进行展示，记得在第一次出发公开展示
的路上，Doris几乎要说服自己放弃打道回府。
But the women she faced that evening loved her and her products,
purchased $175 of goods, and TPC was underway. Working with her
husband, Jay, Doris did $50,000 of business in the first year. Today – only
22 years later – TPC does more than $700 million of business annually,
working through 67,000 kitchen consultants. I’ve been to a TPC party,
and it’s easy to see why the business is a success. The company’s
products, in large part proprietary, are well-styled and highly useful, and
the consultants are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Everyone has a good
time. Hurry to pamperedchef.com on the Internet to find where to attend a
party near you.
所幸当晚她所遇到的女性朋友们相当喜爱她及她的产品，总共买了175美元的东
西，TPC于焉诞生，在她的先生Jay的帮忙之下，Doris头一年总共做了50,000美元
的生意，22年后的今天，TPC的年营业额高达7亿美元，共有67,000名餐饮顾问，
我自己也曾经参加过TPC的宴会，很轻易地就能发现这个行业成功的原因，公司的
产品大部分都是独家专用、造型设计优美且深具实用性，而餐饮顾问的经验丰富且
非常热心，这使得与会的每一位客人都尽兴而归，赶快上pamperedchef.com网站
看看如何才能就近参加她们所举办的派对。
Two years ago, Doris brought in Sheila O’Connell Cooper, now CEO, to
share the management load, and in August they met with me in Omaha. It
took me about ten seconds to decide that these were two managers with
whom I wished to partner, and we promptly made a deal. Berkshire
shareholders couldn’t be luckier than to be associated with Doris and
Sheila.
两年前，Doris找到现任总裁-Sheila O'Connell Cooper加入，以分担管理重责，
两人在八月联袂来到奥玛哈与我会面，我前后只花了10秒钟的时间就确定我想要这
两个人加入我们的团队，当下双方就签订合约，能够与Doris与Sheila在一起共事，
Berkshire的股东实在是再幸运也不过了。
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Berkshire also made some important acquisitions last year through
MidAmerican Energy Holdings (MEHC), a company in which our equity
interest is 80.2%. Because the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA)
limits us to 9.9% voting control, however, we are unable to fully consolidate
MEHC’s financial statements.
去年透过持股80.2%的中美能源MEHC，Berkshire也进行了几项重要的购并案，由
于公用事业控股公司法(PUHCA)限制我们只能拥有该公司9.9%的投票权，所以我们
无法将MEHC的财务数字，完全并到母公司的财务报表之中。
Despite the voting-control limitation – and the somewhat strange capital
structure at MEHC it has engendered – the company is a key part of
Berkshire. Already it has $18 billion of assets and delivers our largest
stream of non-insurance earnings. It could well grow to be huge. Last
year MEHC acquired two important gas pipelines. The first, Kern River,
extends from Southwest Wyoming to Southern California. This line moves
about 900 million cubic feet of gas a day and is undergoing a $1.2 billion
expansion that will double throughput by this fall. At that point, the line
will carry enough gas to generate electricity for ten million homes. The
second acquisition, Northern Natural Gas, is a 16,600 mile line extending
from the Southwest to a wide range of Midwestern locations. This purchase
completes a corporate odyssey of particular interest to Omahans.
尽管受限于投票控制权的限制，使得MEHC现在的资本结构有点奇怪，但该公司仍
然Berkshire非常重要的一部份，目前它的资产总额达到180亿美元，并成为
Berkshire非保险事业盈余的主要来源，展望未来，其成长依然可期，去年MEHC买
下了两条重要的天然气管线，第一条是从怀俄明州到南加州，名为肯特河的管线，
每天运送9亿立方英呎的天然气，且目前我们又另外投资12亿美元进行扩充，预计
在今年秋天完工后，运输能量可增加一倍，届时将可满足1,000万个家庭用户所需，
第二条路线则是从美国西南部一路延伸到中西部，全长16,600英哩，名为「北方天
然」的管线，这项购并案更是引起奥玛哈地区居民的注意，传为企业美谈。
From its beginnings in the 1930s, Northern Natural was one of Omaha’s
premier businesses, run by CEOs who regularly distinguished themselves
as community leaders. Then, in July, 1985, the company – which in 1980
had been renamed InterNorth – merged with Houston Natural Gas, a
business less than half its size. The companies announced that the
enlarged operation would be headquartered in Omaha, with InterNorth’s
CEO continuing in that job. Within a year, those promises were broken. By
then, the former CEO of Houston Natural had taken over the top job at
InterNorth, the company had been renamed, and the headquarters had
been moved to Houston. These switches were orchestrated by the new
CEO – Ken Lay – and the name he chose was Enron.
自从1930年代初期，「北方天然」一直是奥玛哈地区著名的企业之一，由地方上流
社会的领导人士所经营，不过该公司在1985年(1980年改名为InterNorth)被规模
不到它一半的休斯敦天然气所购并，该公司当时曾宣布将让总部继续设在奥玛哈，
并让原CEO继续留任，只是不满一年，这些承诺就被打破，休斯敦天然气的原任总
裁接掌总裁职位，总部也搬到休斯敦，更有甚者，连公司名称都被后来新继任的总
裁-Ken Lay改名为. . . .「安隆」!!。
Fast forward 15 years to late 2001. Enron ran into the troubles we’ve heard
so much about and borrowed money from Dynegy, putting up the Northern
Natural pipeline operation as collateral. The two companies quickly had a
falling out, and the pipeline’s ownership moved to Dynegy. That company,
in turn, soon encountered severe financial problems of its own. MEHC
received a call on Friday, July 26, from Dynegy, which was looking for a
quick and certain cash sale of the pipeline. Dynegy phoned the right party:
On July 29, we signed a contract, and shortly thereafter Northern Natural
returned home. When 2001 began, Charlie and I had no idea that
Berkshire would be moving into the pipeline business. But upon
completion of the Kern River expansion, MEHC will transport about 8% of
all gas used in the U.S. We continue to look for large energy-related assets,
though in the electric utility field PUHCA constrains what we can do.
时光飞逝，话说到了15年之后的2001年，安隆营运发生重大困难，被迫向另一家
能源公司Dynegy借钱，并以「北方天然」这条管线作为质押担保品，结果不久之
后，这条管线的所有权就移转到Dynegy的名下，只是没想到Dynegy过不了多久也
发生严重的财务问题， MEHC在7/26星期五接到Dynegy公司打来的电话，对方希
望将这条管线立即变现以取得现金，我想他们算是找对人了，紧接着在7/29，我们
就签订了一项合约，就这样「北方天然」终于回到家乡的怀抱，早在2001年初，
查理跟我压根就没想到，我们会介入能源管线业的经营，不过在完成肯特河管线扩
充案之后，MEHC所运送的天然气，将占全美使用量的8%，而在这之后，我们仍将
继续寻求大型的能源事业投资案，虽然在能源产业，PUHCA依然对我们还有诸多限
制。
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A few years ago, and somewhat by accident, MEHC found itself in the
residential real estate brokerage business. It is no accident, however, that
we have dramatically expanded the operation. Moreover, we are likely to
keep on expanding in the future. We call this business HomeServices of
America. In the various communities it serves, though, it operates under
the names of the businesses it has acquired, such as CBS in Omaha, Edina
Realty in Minneapolis and Iowa Realty in Des Moines. In most metropolitan
areas in which we operate, we are the clear market leader.
几年前，MEHC在无意中，发现自己介入不动产中介业的经营，只是后来我们大幅
扩张这方面的业务却绝非意外，更有甚者，我们有意在未来继续拓展营运规模，我
们将之称呼为"美国人的居家服务"，虽然依照地区的不同，我们以取得当地据点时
的原名称对外经营，比如说奥玛哈的CBS、明尼拿波里市的Edina不动产或Des
Moines的艾荷华不动产等，在多数我们有营运的大都会中，我们都是市场的领导
者。
HomeServices is now the second largest residential brokerage business in
the country. On one side or the other (or both), we participated in $37
billion of transactions last year, up 100% from 2001. Most of our growth
came from three acquisitions we made during 2002, the largest of which
was Prudential California Realty. Last year, this company, the leading
realtor in a territory consisting of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego
Counties, participated in $16 billion of closings. In a very short period,
Ron Peltier, the company’s CEO, has increased HomeServices’ revenues –
and profits – dramatically. Though this business will always be cyclical, it’s
one we like and in which we continue to have an appetite for sensible
acquisitions.
居家服务现在是全美第二大的住宅不动产中介商，我们去年参与了总值370亿美元
的不动产交易案，(包含单边或双边)，较2001年增加了一倍，大部分的成长动力来
自于我们在2002年进行的三项购并案，其中最大的一件是保德信加州不动产，该
公司是洛杉矶、橘郡及圣地亚哥等地最大的业者，去年促成的不动产成交总额高达
160亿美元，该公司的CEO-Ron Peltier在相当短的时间之内，就让居家服务的营
收及获利大幅成长，虽然这个行业的产业循环波动性相当的大，但仍然不失为我们
想要继续进行购并扩张的行业。
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dave Sokol, MEHC’s CEO, and Greg Abel, his key associate, are huge assets
for Berkshire. They are dealmakers, and they are managers. Berkshire
stands ready to inject massive amounts of money into MEHC – and it will be
fun to watch how far Dave and Greg can take the business.
Dave Sokol-MEHC的CEO及其主要伙伴Greg Abel，现在已成为Berkshire珍贵的
资产，他们是梦想创造者，更是优秀的经理人，Berkshire已准备好要挹注大量的
资金到MEHC，相当期待Dave与Greg会如何运用这些资金开疆辟土。
The Economics of Property/Casualty Insurance
产物意外险的经营
Our core business — though we have others of great importance — is
insurance. To understand Berkshire, therefore, it is necessary that you
understand how to evaluate an insurance company. The key determinants
are: (1) the amount of float that the business generates; (2) its cost; and (3)
most critical of all, the long-term outlook for both of these factors.
我们最主要的本业就是保险，当然其它事业也相当重要，想要了解Berkshire，你
就必须知道如何去评估一家保险公司，其中主要的关键因素有(1)这家公司所能产生
的浮存金数量(2)以及它的成本(3)最重要的是这些因素长期的展望。
To begin with, float is money we hold but don't own. In an insurance
operation, float arises because premiums are received before losses are
paid, an interval that sometimes extends over many years. During that
time, the insurer invests the money. This pleasant activity typically carries
with it a downside: The premiums that an insurer takes in usually do not
cover the losses and expenses it eventually must pay. That leaves it
running an “underwriting loss,” which is the cost of float. An insurance
business has value if its cost of float over time is less than the cost the
