Berkshire distributes, managers of our operating businesses make
contributions, including merchandise, averaging about $1.5 million
annually. These contributions support local charities, such as The
United Way, and produce roughly commensurate benefits for our
businesses.
Berkshire除了透过股东指定捐赠计画对外捐赠之外，我们旗下事业的经理人每
年也会透过公司对外捐赠，包含商品在内每年平均金额约在150万美元左右。
这些捐赠主要是赞助当地像是联合劝募等慈善团体，所得的效益应该与我们所捐
出的相当。
However, neither our operating managers nor officers of the
parent company use Berkshire funds to make contributions to broad
national programs or charitable activities of special personal interest
to them, except to the extent they do so as shareholders. If your
employees, including your CEO, wish to give to their alma maters or
other institutions to which they feel a personal attachment, we believe
they should use their own money, not yours.
然而不管是旗下事业或是母公司的经理人在利用Berkshire的资金对外捐赠给
全国性组织或特别利益团体时，都是以站在股东利益立场所应该做的，相对地若
是你的员工也包含CEO在内，想要与其校友会或其它人建立个人关系的，我们
认为他们最好是用自己的钱，而不是从你的口袋里掏钱。
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The annual meeting this year will be held at the Orpheum Theater
in downtown Omaha at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 29, 1991.
Attendance last year grew to a record 1,300, about a 100-fold
increase from ten years ago.
今年的股东会预计在1991年4月29日，星期一早上9点30分举行在
Orpheum中心召开，去年股东会参加人数突破1,300人，大概是十年前的一
百倍。
We recommend getting your hotel reservations early at one of
these hotels: (1) The Radisson-Redick Tower, a small (88 rooms) but
nice hotel across the street from the Orpheum; (2) the much larger Red
Lion Hotel, located about a five-minute walk from the Orpheum; or (3)
the Marriott, located in West Omaha about 100 yards from Borsheim's
and a twenty minute drive from downtown. We will have buses at the
Marriott that will leave at 8:30 and 8:45 for the meeting, and return
after it ends.
我们建议大家最好先向以下旅馆预订房间(1)Radisson-Redick旅馆-就位在
Orpheum中心对街拥有88个房间的一家小旅馆(2)较大一点的Red Lion旅馆
-离Orpheum中心约五分钟路程，或是(3)Marriott位在奥玛哈西区，离波仙珠
宝店约100公尺，开车到市中心约需20分钟，届时将会有巴士接送大家往返
股东会会场。
Charlie and I always enjoy the meeting, and we hope you can
make it. The quality of our shareholders is reflected in the quality of
the questions we get: We have never attended an annual meeting
anywhere that features such a consistently high level of intelligent,
owner-related questions.
查理跟我一直都很喜欢开股东会，我也希望大家能够来参加，我们股东的素质可
由大家所提出的问题看得出来，我们参加过很多股东会，但从来没有别的公司的
股东像Berkshire的股东一样由高智能水准与经营者荣枯与共的股东组合。
An attachment to our proxy material explains how you can obtain
the card you will need for admission to the meeting. Because weekday
parking can be tight around the Orpheum, we have lined up a number
of nearby lots for our shareholders to use. The attachment also
contains information about them.
后面附有股东会开会投票的相关资料，跟各位解释如何拿到入场所许的识别证，
因为开会当天会场不好停车，我们特地为大家预留了一些位置，附件也有相关说
明供大家参考。
As usual, we will have buses to take you to Nebraska Furniture
Mart and Borsheim's after the meeting and to take you to downtown
hotels or to the airport later. I hope that you will allow plenty of time
to fully explore the attractions of both stores. Those of you arriving
early can visit the Furniture Mart any day of the week; it is open from
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and from noon to 5:30 p.m. on
Sundays. While there, stop at the See's Candy cart and see for yourself
the dawn of synergism at Berkshire.
一如往常，会后我们备有巴士带大家到内布拉斯加家具店与波仙珠宝店或是到饭
店与机场，我希望大家能有多一点的时间好好探索这两家店的奥妙，当然早几天
到的股东也可利用假日逛逛家具店，星期六从早上10点到下午5点30分，星
期日则从中午开到下午5点30分，到那里时记得到喜斯糖果摊逛逛，看看
Berkshire企业综效的初步成果。
Borsheim's normally is closed on Sunday, but we will open for
shareholders and their guests from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 28.
At our Sunday opening last year you made Ike very happy: After
totaling the day's volume, he suggested to me that we start holding
annual meetings quarterly. Join us at Borsheim's even if you just come
to watch; it's a show you shouldn't miss.
波仙星期天通常不开门营业，但在股东会期间特别破例，4月28日星期天从中
午开到下午6点，去年由于大家的卖力表现让Ike相当的开心，在看过那天的业
绩数字之后，他建议我们最好能够每一季都召开股东会，今年记得到波仙去看
看，就算不买也没有关系，那是一场你不能错过的秀。
Last year the first question at the annual meeting was asked by
11-year-old Nicholas Kenner, a third-generation shareholder from
New York City. Nicholas plays rough: "How come the stock is down?"
he fired at me. My answer was not memorable.
去年股东会第一个问题是由来自纽约11岁的Nicholas Kenner所提出，他们
一家三代都是Berkshire的股东，一开场Nicholas就来硬的，：「为什么股价
会下跌?」面对如此强大的火力，我的回答却不甚了了。
We hope that other business engagements won't keep Nicholas
away from this year's meeting. If he attends, he will be offered the
chance to again ask the first question; Charlie and I want to tackle him
while we're fresh. This year, however, it's Charlie's turn to answer.
我希望今年Nicholas最好有其它的事要忙，不要来参加今年的股东会，若他真
的出席了，他可能有机会再提出第一个问题，查理跟我都希望尽量不要碰到他，
还好今年轮到查理先回答。
March 1, 1991
Warren E. Buffett
Chairman of the Board
华伦．巴菲特
董事会主席
1991年3月1日
APPENDIX A
U. S. STEEL ANNOUNCES SWEEPING MODERNIZATION SCHEME*
* An unpublished satire by Ben Graham, written in 1936 and given by the
author to Warren Buffett in 1954.
附录A
美国钢铁公司宣布全面更新计画
本文是葛拉罕于1936年所写未对外公开的讽刺性文章，由巴菲特于1954年提供
Myron C. Taylor, Chairman of U. S. Steel Corporation, today
announced the long awaited plan for completely modernizing the
world's largest industrial enterprise. Contrary to expectations, no
changes will be made in the company's manufacturing or selling
policies. Instead, the bookkeeping system is to be entirely revamped.
By adopting and further improving a number of modern accounting
and financial devices the corporation's earning power will be
amazingly transformed. Even under the subnormal conditions of 1935,
it is estimated that the new bookkeeping methods would have yielded
a reported profit of close to $50 per share on the common stock. The
scheme of improvement is the result of a comprehensive survey made
by Messrs. Price, Bacon, Guthrie & Colpitts; it includes the following
six points:
Myron C. Taylor-美国钢铁公司的董事长，今天宣布令人期待已久，有关全世
界最大的制造公司的全面更新计画，与预期相反的，公司的制造或是销售政策全
部没有变动，反而是会计帐务系统做了大幅度的调整，在采取一系列最新最好的
现代会计与财务措施之后，公司的获利能力因而大幅增进，即使是在景气不佳的
1935年，在采用新的会计制度下，估计每股盈余还是可以达到50美元的水准，
这项改造计画是经由Messrs等人经过广泛的研究调查后制定的，其中主要包含
六大点：
1. Writing down of Plant Account to Minus $1,000,000,000.
2. Par value of common stock to be reduced to 1￠.
3. Payment of all wages and salaries in option warrants.
4. Inventories to be carried at $1.
5. Preferred Stock to be replaced by non-interest bearing bonds
redeemable at 50% discount.
6. A $1,000,000,000 Contingency Reserve to be established.
(1)将厂房价值减少到负的10亿美元
(2)普通股每股面额减到一美分
(3)以认股权的方式支付所有的薪水与奖金
(4)存货的帐面价值减为1美元
(5)原有特别股改成不必马上支付利息50%折价发行的公司债
(6)建立10亿美元的或有准备
The official statement of this extraordinary Modernization Plan
follows in full:
以下就是这项全面更新计画的官方完整声明
The Board of Directors of U. S. Steel Corporation is pleased to
announce that after intensive study of the problems arising from
changed conditions in the industry, it has approved a comprehensive
plan for remodeling the Corporation's accounting methods. A survey
by a Special Committee, aided and abetted by Messrs. Price, Bacon,
Guthrie & Colpitts, revealed that our company has lagged somewhat
behind other American business enterprises in utilizing certain
advanced bookkeeping methods, by means of which the earning power
may be phenomenally enhanced without requiring any cash outlay or
any changes in operating or sales conditions. It has been decided not
only to adopt these newer methods, but to develop them to a still
higher stage of perfection. The changes adopted by the Board may be
summarized under six heads, as follows:
美国钢铁公司的董事会很高兴向大家宣布，在经过对产业界所面临的问题广泛地
研究之后，我们已经核准了一项重新塑造公司会计制度的方案，一项由特别委员
会主导并经Messrs等人协助之下完成的调查显示，我们公司在运用最先进的会
计制度方面远远落后于其它美国企业，透过这样的做法，公司不必负担额外的支
出、营业与销售政策也不必改变，就可以不费吹灰之力地大大改善获利能力，所
以大家一致决定不但要立即跟进采用，而且还要将这项技术发展到淋漓尽致的境
界，董事会所采用的做法，主要可以归纳为以下六点：
1. Fixed Assets to be written down to Minus $1,000,000,000.
固定资产减为负的10亿美元
Many representative companies have relieved their income
accounts of all charges for depreciation by writing down their plant
account to $1. The Special Committee points out that if their plants
are worth only $1, the fixed assets of U. S. Steel Corporation are worth
a good deal less than that sum. It is now a well-recognized fact that
many plants are in reality a liability rather than an asset, entailing not
only depreciation charges, but taxes, maintenance, and other
expenditures. Accordingly, the Board has decided to extend the
write-down policy initiated in the 1935 report, and to mark down the
Fixed Assets from $1,338,522,858.96 to a round Minus
$1,000,000,000.
许多代表公司都已将其帐列厂房价值减为象征性的1美元，好让其损益表免于
折旧费用沉重的负担，特别委员会指出如果它们的厂房只值1美元，那么美国
钢铁的的固定资产比起它们来说还要少很多，事实上近来大家都承认一项事实，
许多厂房对公司来说实际上是一种负债而不是资产，除了要摊提折旧之外，还要
负担税金、维修及其它开支，因此董事会决定要从1935年开始将资产打销，从
原先帐列1,338,522,858.96美元减少为负的1,000,000,000美元。
The advantages of this move should be evident. As the plant wears
out, the liability becomes correspondingly reduced. Hence, instead of
the present depreciation charge of some $47,000,000 yearly there will
be an annual appreciation credit of 5%, or $50,000,000. This will
increase earnings by no less than $97,000,000 per annum.
这样做法的效益相当明显，随着工厂逐渐折减，所代表的负债也相对地减少，因
此以往每年4,700万的折旧费用不但可以免除，以后每年还可以有5,000万美
元的折旧利益，一来一往等于让公司的获利至少增加9,700万美元。
2. Reduction of Par Value of Common Stock to 1￠, and
将普通股面额减少到1美分。
3. Payment of Salaries and Wages in Option Warrants.
所有的薪资与奖金一律以认股权的方式发放。
Many corporations have been able to reduce their overhead
expenses substantially by paying a large part of their executive
salaries in the form of options to buy stock, which carry no charge
against earnings. The full possibilities of this modern device have
apparently not been adequately realized. The Board of Directors has
adopted the following advanced form of this idea:
许多企业早已将本来应该支付给经营主管薪水奖金的大笔支出改以不必认列费
用的股票认股权方式取代，这种现代化的创新做法很明显地还没有被充分运用，
所以董事会决定采取一项更先进的做法。
The entire personnel of the Corporation are to receive their
compensation in the form of rights to buy common stock at $50 per
share, at the rate of one purchase right for each $50 of salary and/or
wages in their present amounts. The par value of the common stock is
to be reduced to 1￠.
企业所有的员工将发给认购价为50美元的认股权作为薪资的替代，而普通股面
额则减少到1美分。
The almost incredible advantages of this new plan are evident
from the following:
这项计画很明显的有下列好处：
A. The payroll of the Corporation will be entirely eliminated, a
saving of $250,000,000 per annum, based on 1935 operations.
A公司将不再有任何的薪资支出，参考1935年的情况，每年估计将因此省下
2.5亿美元。
B. At the same time, the effective compensation of all our
employees will be increased severalfold. Because of the large earnings
per share to be shown on our common stock under the new methods,
it is certain that the shares will command a price in the market far
above the option level of $50 per share, making the readily realizable
value of these option warrants greatly in excess of the present cash
wages that they will replace.
B同时，所有员工的报酬将因此增加好几倍，因为在新的会计原则之下公司帐上
显示的每股盈余将因此大增，从而使得公司的股价远高于认股权所设定的50美
元认购价，于是所有的员工都将因为认股权的行使而受惠，所得到的报酬将远比
他们原来领的现金收入要高的多。
C. The Corporation will realize an additional large annual profit
through the exercise of these warrants. Since the par value of the
common stock will be fixed at 1￠, there will be a gain of $49.99 on
each share subscribed for. In the interest of conservative accounting,
however, this profit will not be included in the income account, but will
be shown separately as a credit to Capital Surplus.
C透过这些认股权的行使，公司因此还可以实现额外特别的年度利益，而由于我
们将普通股面额设定为1美分，因此每认购一股便能产生49.99美元的利益，
虽然就会计学保守的立场，这些利益可能无法显现在损益表之上，但却可以在资
产负债表上以资本溢价的方式单独列示。
D. The Corporation's cash position will be enormously
strengthened. In place of the present annual cash outgo of
$250,000,000 for wages (1935 basis), there will be annual cash inflow
of $250,000,000 through exercise of the subscription warrants for
5,000,000 shares of common stock. The Company's large earnings
and strong cash position will permit the payment of a liberal dividend
which, in turn, will result in the exercise of these option warrants
immediately after issuance which, in turn, will further improve the cash
position which, in turn, will permit a higher dividend rate -- and so on,
indefinitely.
D企业的现金部位也会因此大大地增强，每年不但不再有2.5亿美元的薪资流
出，透过行使500万股认股权的做法，每年还可以创造2.5亿美元的现金流入，
公司惊人的获利能力加上坚强的现金部位将使得我们可以随心所欲地配发股
利，然后我们又可以透过行使认股权的方式补强现金实力，之后又可以有更高的
配股能力，如此一直循环下去。
4. Inventories to be carried at $1.
4.帐列存货价值调为1美元
Serious losses have been taken during the depression due to the
necessity of adjusting inventory value to market. Various enterprises
-- notably in the metal and cotton-textile fields -- have successfully
dealt with this problem by carrying all or part of their inventories at
extremely low unit prices. The U. S. Steel Corporation has decided to
adopt a still more progressive policy, and to carry its entire inventory
at $1. This will be effected by an appropriate write-down at the end of
each year, the amount of said write-down to be charged to the
Contingency Reserve hereinafter referred to.
在经济衰退时因为必须将存货价值调整至市价，公司可能会因此蒙受钜额的损
失，因此许多公司，尤其是钢铁与纺织公司纷纷将其帐列存货价值压到相当低的
程度，而成功地解决这方面的问题，有鉴于此美国钢铁公司决定采用一种更积极
的做法，打算将存货价值一举压低到1美元的最低限度，在每年底都会进行这
样的动作，将存货予以调整，差异的数字则全部摆到前面所提到的或有准备科目
项下。
The benefits to be derived from this new method are very great.
Not only will it obviate all possibility of inventory depreciation, but it
will substantially enhance the annual earnings of the Corporation. The
inventory on hand at the beginning of the year, valued at $1, will be
