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 .8
sets of these. (We draw the line at soft fruit, however.) All of
these goods will again be available this year. We don't consider a
cultural event complete unless a little business is mixed in.
依照惯例，我们在会场上展示了一些Berkshire的产品，今天将会新增一位
GEICO保险公司的业务代表，去年股东会总计卖出了747磅的糖果、759双的
鞋子以及价值超过17,500美元的世界百科全书与相关出版品，另外我们临时还
增加了旗下子公司Quikut所生产的小刀，总计卖出400把(幸好去年公司股价
表现不错，否则这可能是相当危险的一项举动)，今年这些商品将再度与会，我
觉得这项盛会总要带点商业气息才算完整圆满。
Because we expect a large crowd for the meeting, we recommend
that you promptly get both plane and hotel reservations. Those of
you who like to be downtown (about six miles from the Centre) may
wish to stay at the Radisson Redick Tower, a small (88 rooms) but
nice hotel, or at the much larger Red Lion Hotel a few blocks away.
In the vicinity of the Centre are the Holiday Inn (403 rooms),
Homewood Suites (118 rooms) and Hampton Inn (136 rooms). Another
recommended spot is the Marriott, whose west Omaha location is
about 100 yards from Borsheim's and a ten-minute drive from the
Centre. There will be buses at the Marriott that will leave at
7:30, 8:00 and 8:30 for the meeting and return after it ends.
由于预期会有相当多的人与会，我们建议大家最好先预订机位与住宿，想要住在
市中心的人(距离会场约6英哩)可以选择拥有88个房间的一家小旅馆-
Radisson-Redick旅馆或是旁边较大一点的Red Lion旅馆，至于会场附近则有
Holiday Inn (403个房间)、Homewood Suites (118个房间)或Hampton Inn
(136个房间)，另一个推荐的旅馆是位在奥玛哈西区的Marriott，离波仙珠宝店
约100公尺，距离会场约10分钟的车程，届时在哪里将会有巴士分7:30、8:00
跟8:30三班，接送大家往返股东会会场。
An attachment to our proxy material explains how you can
obtain the card you will need for admission to the meeting. A
good-sized parking area is available at the Centre, while those who
stay at the Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn will be
able to walk to the meeting. As usual, we will have buses to take
you to the Nebraska Furniture Mart and Borsheim's after the meeting
and to take you from there to hotels or the airport later.
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，
当天会场有相当大的停车场，住在Holiday Inn 、Homewood Suites或
Hampton Inn的人可以直接走路过来开会，一如往年，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。
NFM's main store, on its 64-acre site about two miles north of
the Centre, is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to
6 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Rose Blumkin -
"Mrs. B" - is now 102, but will be hard at work in Mrs. B's
Warehouse. She was honored in November at the opening of The Rose,
a classic downtown theater of the 20's that has been magnificently
restored, but that would have been demolished had she not saved it.
Ask her to tell you the story.
占地60英亩的NFM主馆距离会场约2英哩远，营业时间平日从早上10点到
下午9点，星期六从早上10点到下午6点，星期日则从中午开到下午6点，
Rose Blumkin-B太太今年高龄102岁，不过每天还是会到B太太仓库工作，
去年十一月她应邀到Rose表演中心担任开幕剪彩嘉宾，原本是20年代老旧的
戏院在B太太大力的支持下得以重新修复，记得问她有关这一段的故事。
Borsheim's normally is closed on Sunday but will be open for
shareholders and their guests from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 5th.
Additionally, we will have a special opening for shareholders on
Saturday, the 4th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Last year, on
Shareholders Day, we wrote 1,733 tickets in the six hours we were
open - which is a sale every 13 seconds. Remember, though, that
records are made to be broken.
平时礼拜天不营业的波仙珠宝，特地在五月五日股东会当天会为股东与来宾开
放，从中午开到下午6点，此外今年在五月四日星期六股东会的前一晚从下午6
点到晚上9点，还将特地为股东开放，去年股东会当天，在短短六个小时的营
业时间内，我们总共收到1,733张订单，等于每13秒就有一笔生意成交，各位
请记得记录本来就是用来打破的。
At Borsheim's, we will also have the world's largest faceted
diamond on display. Two years in the cutting, this inconspicuous
bauble is 545 carats in size. Please inspect this stone and let it
guide you in determining what size gem is appropriate for the one
you love.
在波仙珠宝店，将会展出一颗全世界最大的平面钻石，花费两年的时间切割，这
颗不甚起眼的玩意儿总共有545克拉重，请大家好好看看这一颗石头，然后再
决定你应该为你心爱的人买一颗多大的宝石。
On Saturday evening, May 4, there will be a baseball game at
Rosenblatt Stadium between the Omaha Royals and the Louisville
Redbirds. I expect to make the opening pitch - owning a quarter of
the team assures me of one start per year - but our manager, Mike
Jirschele, will probably make his usual mistake and yank me
immediately after. About 1,700 shareholders attended last year's
game. Unfortunately, we had a rain-out, which greatly disappointed
the many scouts in the stands. But the smart ones will be back
this year, and I plan to show them my best stuff.
在前一天5月4日，星期六晚上，Rosenblatt体育馆将会有一场奥玛哈皇家
队对路易维里红鸟队的比赛，我准备在开幕时担任开球工作，拥有该队四分之一
的所有权确保我可以每年担任一次先发，不过一如往常我们的球队经理-Mike
大概都会做出错误的决定，很快地就把我拉下场，去年大约有1,700位股东出
席这项盛会，可惜的是当晚因雨停赛，使得旁边的球僮失望不已，今年好戏将会
重新上演，而我也准备将拿手绝活展现出来。
Our proxy statement will include information about obtaining
tickets to the game. We will also offer an information packet this
year listing restaurants that will be open on Sunday night and
describing various things that you can do in Omaha on the weekend.
股东会资料将告诉大家如何取得入场的门票，同时我们也会提供星期天晚上会开
张的餐厅信息，同时列出假日期间在奥玛哈你可以从事的活动介绍。
For years, I've unsuccessfully tried to get my grade school
classmate, "Pal" Gorat, to open his steakhouse for business on the
Sunday evening preceding the meeting. But this year he's relented.
Gorat's is a family-owned enterprise that has thrived for 52
years, and if you like steaks, you'll love this place. I've told
Pal he will get a good crowd, so call Gorat's at 402-551-3733 for a
reservation. You'll spot me there - I'll be the one eating the
rare T-bone with a double order of hash browns.
多年来我一直无法成功说服我的小学同学-Gorat所开的餐厅在年会当天晚上开
门营业，不过今年他终于屈服，Gorat's是一家有52年历史的老牌餐厅，如果
你爱吃牛排，包准你会爱上这个地方，我已向Gorat拍胸脯保证一定会有很多
顾客上门，所以记得打电话(402-551-3733)去预订，我保证大家一定可以在
那里看到我，通常我会点一大份丁骨牛排加上双份的肉丸。
Warren E. Buffett
March 1, 1996 Chairman of the Board
华伦．巴菲特
董事会主席
1996年3月1日
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
波克夏海瑟崴股份有限公司
To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.:
致所有股东:
Our gain in net worth during 1996 was $6.2 billion, or 36.1%. Pershare
book value, however, grew by less, 31.8%, because the number of
Berkshire shares increased: We issued stock in acquiring FlightSafety
International and also sold new Class B shares.* Over the last 32 years
(that is, since present management took over) per-share book value has
grown from $19 to $19,011, or at a rate of 23.8% compounded annually.
1996年本公司的净值成长了36.1%，约62亿美元，不过每股净值仅成长了31.8%，
原因在于去年我们以发行新股的方式并购了国际飞安公司，同时另外还追加发行了一
些B级普通股*，总计过去32年以来，也就是自从现有经营阶层接手之后，每股净值
由当初的19元成长到现在的19,011美元，年复合成长率约为23.8%。
* Each Class B share has an economic interest equal to 1/30th of
that possessed by a Class A share, which is the new designation for
the only stock that Berkshire had outstanding before May 1996.
Throughout this report, we state all per-share figures in terms of
"Class A equivalents," which are the sum of the Class A shares
outstanding and 1/30th of the Class B shares outstanding.
* B级普通股拥有A级普通股三十分之一的权利，这是从1996年五月开始Berkshire新增的股份类
型，在年报中所谓的每股数字系以A级普通股约当数为基础，亦即全部流通在外的A级普通股数加上
流通在外的B级普通股数的三十分之一。
For technical reasons, we have restated our 1995 financial
statements, a matter that requires me to present one of my less-thanthrilling
explanations of accounting arcana. I'll make it brief.
基于技术性原因，我们必须将1995年的财务报表予以重编，这使我能够再度展现令
人震摄的会计密技，相信我，我会试着长话短说。
The restatement was required because GEICO became a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Berkshire on January 2, 1996, whereas it was previously
classified as an investment. From an economic viewpoint - taking into
account major tax efficiencies and other benefits we gained - the value
of the 51% of GEICO we owned at year-end 1995 increased significantly
when we acquired the remaining 49% of the company two days later.
Accounting rules applicable to this type of "step acquisition," however,
required us to write down the value of our 51% at the time we moved to
100%. That writedown - which also, of course, reduced book value -
amounted to $478.4 million. As a result, we now carry our original 51%
of GEICO at a value that is both lower than its market value at the time
we purchased the remaining 49% of the company and lower than the value at
which we carry that 49% itself.
重编的原因是因为原先被列为被投资的GEICO保险在1996年1月2日正式成为
Berkshire 100%持有的子公司，从经济观点来看，考量可观的租税优惠与其它优点，
我们原先在1995年底持有的51%的GEICO股权，其价值在二天后我们取得剩余49%
股权之后大幅增加，然而对于这种渐进式购并，一般公认会计原则却要求我们必须在
取得100%股权时，将原因帐上51%的成本反向予以调减，使得帐面价值减少为4.784
亿美元，这结果使得原来51%股权的帐面价值不但远低于后来49%股权的取得市价，
也低于我们持有后来这49%股权的帐面价值。
There is an offset, however, to the reduction in book value I have
just described: Twice during 1996 we issued Berkshire shares at a
premium to book value, first in May when we sold the B shares for cash
and again in December when we used both A and B shares as part-payment
for FlightSafety. In total, the three non-operational items affecting
book value contributed less than one percentage point to our 31.8% pershare
gain last year.
不过除了刚刚提到净值的减少之外，我们在1996年两度溢价发行股份，第一次是在
五月办理现金增资发行B级普通股，第二次是在十二月发行A级与B级普通股，以购
并国际飞安公司，总的来说，以上三项非营业项目对于去年本公司31.8%的每股净值
成长率的净影响还不到1%。
I dwell on this rise in per-share book value because it roughly
indicates our economic progress during the year. But, as Charlie Munger,
Berkshire's Vice Chairman, and I have repeatedly told you, what counts at
Berkshire is intrinsic value, not book value. The last time you got that
message from us was in the Owner's Manual, sent to you in June after we
issued the Class B shares. In that manual, we not only defined certain
key terms - such as intrinsic value - but also set forth our economic
principles.
今年我之所以一再强调每股净值，原因在于它大约就等于我们在去年的实质进展，不
过就像是查理跟我一再提醒各位的，对Berkshire来说，真正重要的不是帐面价值，
而是实质价值，最近一次跟各位提到是在今年六月本公司发行B级普通股时，在送给
各位的股东手册当中，我们不但对于一些名词予以定义，诸如实质价值等，同时也揭
露了我们的企业宗旨。
For many years, we have listed these principles in the front of our
annual report, but in this report, on pages 58 to 67, we reproduce the
entire Owner's Manual. In this letter, we will occasionally refer to the
manual so that we can avoid repeating certain definitions and
explanations. For example, if you wish to brush up on "intrinsic value,"
see pages 64 and 65.
多年来，我们在年报前头揭示这些宗旨，在这里我们偶尔也会提到股东手册，这样我
们就可以不必再重复解释一些常用的名词，比如说如果你想要了解一下什么叫实质价
值，建议大家可以再翻翻那本手册的第64、65页。
Last year, for the first time, we supplied you with a table that
Charlie and I believe will help anyone trying to estimate Berkshire's
intrinsic value. In the updated version of that table, which follows, we
trace two key indices of value. The first column lists our per-share
ownership of investments (including cash and equivalents) and the second
column shows our per-share earnings from Berkshire's operating businesses
before taxes and purchase-accounting adjustments but after all interest
and corporate overhead expenses. The operating-earnings column excludes
all dividends, interest and capital gains that we realized from the
investments presented in the first column. In effect, the two columns
show what Berkshire would have reported had it been broken into two parts.
从去年开始我们首度提供给各位一张查理跟我本人认为可以帮助大家估计Berkshire
公司实质价值的表格，在下面这张经过更新资料的表上，我们可以发现到两项与价值
相关的重要指针，第一栏是我们平均每股持有的投资金额(包含现金与约当现金)，第
二栏则是每股在扣除利息与营业费用之后，来自本业的营业利益(但未扣除所得税与购
买法会计调整数)，当然后者已经扣除了所有来自第一栏投资所贡献的股利收入、利息
收入与资本利得，事实上，若是把Berkshire拆成两部份的话，这两栏数字将分别代
表这两个部门的损益绩效。
Pre-tax Earnings Per Share
Investments Excluding All Income from
Year Per Share Investments
---- ----------- -------------------------
1965................................$ 4 $ 4.08
1975................................ 159 (6.48)
1985................................ 2,443 18.86
1995................................ 22,088 258.20
1996................................ 28,500 421.39
Annual Growth Rate, 1965-95......... 33.4% 14.7%
One-Year Growth Rate, 1995-96 ...... 29.0% 63.2%
As the table tells you, our investments per share increased in 1996
by 29.0% and our non-investment earnings grew by 63.2%. Our goal is to
keep the numbers in both columns moving ahead at a reasonable (or, better
yet, unreasonable) pace.
从这张表大家可以看出，我们1996年的每股投资金额增加了29%，而非投资的本业
盈余则增加了63.2%，我们的目标是让这两栏的数字以合理的速度稳定地成长，当然
若是偶尔能以不合理的速度暴增也不错。
Our expectations, however, are tempered by two realities. First,
our past rates of growth cannot be matched nor even approached:
Berkshire's equity capital is now large - in fact, fewer than ten
businesses in America have capital larger - and an abundance of funds
tends to dampen returns. Second, whatever our rate of progress, it will
not be smooth: Year-to-year moves in the first column of the table above
will be influenced in a major way by fluctuations in securities markets;
the figures in the second column will be affected by wide swings in the
profitability of our catastrophe-reinsurance business.
不过这样的预期可能会受到两项现实的因素所干扰，首先，我们很难再达到或接近过
去那样高的成长速度，原因在于Berkshire现在的资本规模实在是太庞大了，事实上
以我们现在的资本规模已经可以排在全美企业的前十名，过多的浮滥资金一定会影响
到整体的报酬率，第二点，不管成长的速度如何，铁定很难以平稳的速度增加，第一
栏的数字将很容易随着股市大环境上下波动，第二栏的数字则会跟着超级灾害再保业
务获利的不稳定变动而变化。
In the table, the donations made pursuant to our shareholderdesignated
contributions program are charged against the second column,
though we view them as a shareholder benefit rather than as an expense.
All other corporate expenses are also charged against the second column.
These costs may be lower than those of any other large American
corporation: Our after-tax headquarters expense amounts to less than two
basis points (1/50th of 1%) measured against net worth. Even so, Charlie
used to think this expense percentage outrageously high, blaming it on my
use of Berkshire's corporate jet, The Indefensible. But Charlie has
recently experienced a "counter-revelation": With our purchase of
FlightSafety, whose major activity is the training of corporate pilots,
he now rhapsodizes at the mere mention of jets.
在这张表中，股东指定捐赠的款项被列为第二栏的减项，虽然我们将之视为股东的福
利而非支出，企业其它的支出同样也被放在第二栏当作减项，这些开支远低于其它美
国大企业的平均水准，每年我们企业总部的费用占净值的比率大约不到万分之五，即
便如此查理还是认为这样的比率高得离谱，我想主要要怪罪于我个人所使用的
Berkshire企业专机-无可辩解号，不过最近在我们买下国际飞安-这家专门负责训练
