To My Fellow Shareholders:I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting. As the British would say, I’m “going quiet.”Sort of.Greg Abel will become the boss at yearend. He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure.I will continue talking to you and my children about Berkshire via my annual Thanksgiving message. Berkshire’s individual shareholders are a very special group who are unusually generous in sharing their gains with others less fortunate. I enjoy the chance to keep in touch with you. Indulge me this year as I first reminisce a bit. After that, I will discuss the plans for distribution of myBerkshire shares. Finally, I will offer a few business and personal observations.* * * * * * * * * * * *As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m grateful and surprised by my luck in being alive at 95.When I was young, this outcome did not look like a good bet. Early on, I nearly died.It was 1938 and Omaha hospitals were then thought of by its citizens as either Catholic or Protestant, a classification that seemed natural at the time.Our family doctor, Harley Hotz, was a friendly Catholic who made house calls toting a black bag. Dr. Hotz called me Skipper and never charged much for his visits. When I experienced a badbellyache in 1938, Dr. Hotz came by and, after probing a bit, told me I would be OK in the morning.He then went home, had dinner and played a little bridge. Dr. Hotz couldn’t, however, get my somewhat peculiar symptoms out of his mind and later that night he dispatched me to St. Catherine’s Hospital for an emergency appendectomy. During the next three weeks, I felt like I was in a nunnery, and began enjoying my new “podium.” I liked to talk — yes, even then — and the nuns embraced me.To top things off, Miss Madsen, my third-grade teacher, told my 30 classmates to each write me a letter. I probably threw away the letters from the boys but read and reread those from the girls ; hospitalization had its rewards.The highlight of my recovery — which actually was dicey for much of the first week — was a gift from my wonderful Aunt Edie. She brought me a very professional-looking fingerprinting set, and I promptly fingerprinted all of my attending nuns. (I was probably the first Protestant kid they had seen at St. Catherine’s and they didn’t know what to expect.)My theory — totally nutty, of course — was that someday a nun would go bad and the FBIwould find that they had neglected to fingerprint nuns. The FBI and its director, J. Edgar Hoover, had become revered by Americans in the 1930s, and I envisioned Mr. Hoover, himself, coming to Omaha to inspect my invaluable collection. I further fantasized that J. Edgar and I would quickly identifyand apprehend the wayward nun. National fame seemed certain.Obviously, my fantasy never materialized. But, ironically, some years later it became clear that I should have fingerprinted J. Edgar himself as he became disgraced for misusing his post.Well, that was Omaha in the 1930s, when a sled, a bicycle, a baseball glove and an electric train were coveted by me and my friends. Let’s look at a few other kids from that era, who grew up very nearby and greatly influenced my life but of whom I was for long unaware.I’ll begin with Charlie Munger, my best pal for 64 years. In the 1930s, Charlie lived a block away from the house I have owned and occupied since 1958.Early on, I missed befriending Charlie by a whisker. Charlie, 6 ⅔ years older than I, worked in the summer of 1940 at my grandfather’s grocery store, earning $2 for a 10-hour day. (Thrift runs deep in Buffett blood.) The following year I did similar work at the store, but I never met Charlieuntil 1959 when he was 35 and I was 28.After serving in World War II, Charlie graduated from Harvard Law and then movedpermanently to California. Charlie, however, forever talked of his early years in Omaha as formative. For more than 60 years, Charlie had a huge impact on me and could not have been a better teacherand protective “big brother.” We had differences but never had an argument. “I told you so” was not in his vocabulary.In 1958, I bought my first and only home. Of course, it was in Omaha, located about twomiles from where I grew up (loosely defined), less than two blocks from my in-laws, about six blocks from the Buffett grocery store and a 6-7-minute drive from the office building where I have worked for 64 years.Let’s move on to another Omahan, Stan Lipsey. Stan sold the Omaha Sun Newspapers (weeklies) to Berkshire in 1968 and a decade later moved to Buffalo at my request. The Buffalo Evening News, owned by a Berkshire affiliate, was then locked in a battle to the death with its morning competitor who published Buffalo’s only Sunday paper. And we were losing.Stan eventually built our new Sunday product, and for some years our paper — formerlyhemorrhaging cash — earned over 100% annually (pre-tax) on our $33 million investment. This was important money to Berkshire in the early 1980s.Stan grew up about five blocks from my home. One of Stan’s neighbors was Walter Scott, Jr. Walter, you will remember, brought MidAmerican Energy to Berkshire in 1999. He was also a valued Berkshire director until his death in 2021 and a very close friend. Walter was Nebraska’sphilanthropic leader for decades and both Omaha and the state carries his imprint.Walter attended Benson High School, which I was scheduled to attend as well — until my dad surprised everyone in 1942 by beating a four-term incumbent in a Congressional race. Life is full ofsurprises.Wait, there’s more.In 1959, Don Keough and his young family lived in a home located directly across the street from my house and about 100 yards away from where the Munger family had lived. Don was then a coffee salesman but was destined to become president of Coca-Cola as well as a devoted director of Berkshire.When I met Don, he was earning $12,000 a year while he and his wife Mickie were raising five children, all destined for Catholic schools (with tuition requirements).Our families became fast friends. Don came from a farm in northwest Iowa and graduatedfrom Omaha’s Creighton University. Early on, he married Mickie, an Omaha girl. After joining Coke, Don went on to become legendary around the globe.In 1985, when Don was president of Coke, the company launched its ill-fated New Coke.Don made a famous speech in which he apologized to the public and reinstated “Old” Coke. Thischange of heart took place after Don explained that Coke incoming mail addressed to “SupremeIdiot” was promptly delivered to his desk. His “withdrawal” speech is a classic and can be viewed on YouTube. He cheerfully acknowledged that, in truth, the Coca-Cola product belonged to the public and not to the company. Sales subsequently soared.You can watch Don on CharlieRose.com in a wonderful interview. (Tom Murphy and Kay Graham have a couple of gems as well.) Like Charlie Munger, Don forever remained a Midwestern boy, enthusiastic, friendly and American to the core.Finally, Ajit Jain, born and raised in India, as well as Greg Abel, our Canadian CEO-to-be,each lived in Omaha for several years late in the 20th Century. Indeed, in the 1990s, Greg lived only a few blocks away from me on Farnam Street, though we never met at the time.Can it be that there is some magic ingredient in Omaha’s water?* * * * * * * * * * * *I lived a few teenage years in Washington, DC (when my dad was in Congress) and in 1954 I took what I thought would be a permanent job in Manhattan. There I was treated wonderfully by Ben Graham and Jerry Newman and made many life-long friends. New York had unique assets — and still does. Nevertheless, in 1956, after only 1½ years, I returned to Omaha, never to wander again.Subsequently, my three children, as well as several grandchildren, were raised in Omaha. My children always attended public schools (graduating from the same high school that educated my dad (class of 1921), my first wife, Susie (class of 1950) as well as Charlie, Stan Lipsey, Irv and RonBlumkin, who were key to growing Nebraska Furniture Mart, and Jack Ringwalt (class of 1923), who founded National Indemnity and sold it to Berkshire in 1967 where it became the base upon which our huge P/C operation was constructed.* * * * * * * * * * * *Our country has many great companies, great schools, great medical facilities and eachdefinitely has its own special advantages along with talented people. But I feel very lucky to havehad the good fortune to make many lifelong friends, to meet both of my wives, to receive a great start in education at public schools, to meet many interesting and friendly adult Omahans when I was very young, and to make a wide variety of friends in the Nebraska National Guard. In short, Nebraska has been home.Looking back I feel that both Berkshire and I did better because of our base in Omaha than if I had resided anywhere else. The center of the United States was a very good place to be born, toraise a family, and to build a business. Through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth.* * * * * * * * * * * *Now let’s move on to my advanced age. My genes haven’t been particularly helpful — thefamily’s all-time record for longevity (admittedly family records get fuzzy as you work backwards) was 92 until I came along. But I have had wise, friendly and dedicated Omaha doctors, starting with Harley Hotz, and continuing to this day. At least three times, my life has been saved, each withdoctors based within a few miles from my home. (I have given up fingerprinting nurses, however.You can get away with many eccentricities at 95 . . . . . but there are limits.)* * * * * * * * * * * *Those who reach old age need a huge dose of good luck, daily escaping banana peels, natural disasters, drunk or distracted drivers, lightning strikes, you name it.But Lady Luck is fickle and — no other term fits — wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck — which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge. Dynastic inheritors have achieved lifetime financial independence the moment they emerged from the womb, while others have arrived, facing a hell-hole during their early life or, worse, disabling physical or mental infirmities that rob them ofwhat I have taken for granted. Inmany heavily-populated parts of the world, I would likely have had a miserable life and my sisters would have had one even worse.I was born in 1930 healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America. Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck. My sisters had equal intelligence and better personalities than I but faced a much different outlook. Lady Luck continued to drop by during much of my life, but she has better things to do than work with those in their 90s. Luck has its limits.Father Time, to the contrary, now finds me more interesting as I age. And he is undefeated; for him, everyone ends up on his score card as “wins.” When balance, sight, hearing and memory are all on a persistently downward slope, you know Father Time is in the neighborhood.I was late in becoming old — its onset materially varies — but once it appears, it is not to be denied.To my surprise, I generally feel good. Though I move slowly and read with increasingdifficulty, I am at the office five days a week where I work with wonderful people. Occasionally, I get a useful idea or am approached with an offer we might not otherwise have received. Because of Berkshire’s size and because of market levels, ideas are few — but not zero.* * * * * * * * * * * *My unexpected longevity, however, has unavoidable consequences of major importance to my family and the achievement of my charitable objectives.Let’s explore them.What Comes NextMy children are all above normal retirement age, having reached 72, 70 and 67. It would be a mistake to wager that all three — now at their peak in many respects — will enjoy my exceptional luck in delayed aging. To improve the probability that they will dispose of what will essentially be myentire estate before alternate trustees replace them, I need to step up the pace of lifetime gifts to their three foundations. My children are now at their prime in respect to experience and wisdom but have yet to enter old age. That “honeymoon” period will not last forever.Fortunately, a course correction is easy to execute. There is, however, one additional factor to consider: I would like to keep a significant amount of “A” shares until Berkshire shareholdersdevelop the comfort with Greg that Charlie and I long enjoyed. That level of confidence shouldn’t take long. My children are already 100% behind Greg as are the Berkshire directors.All three children now have the maturity, brains, energy and instincts to disburse a largefortune. They will also have the advantage of being above ground when I am long gone and, ifnecessary, can adopt policies both anticipatory and reactive to federal tax policies or otherdevelopments affecting philanthropy. They may well need to adapt to a significantly changing world around them. Ruling from the grave does not have a great record, and I have never had an urge to do so.Fortunately, all three children received a dominant dosage of their genes from their mother. As the decades have passed, I have also become a better model for their thinking and behavior. I will never, however, achieve parity with their mother.My children have three alternate trustees in case of any premature deaths or disabilities. The alternates are not ranked or tied to a specific child. All three are exceptional humans and wise in the ways of the world. They have no conflicting motives.I have assured my children that they do not need to perform miracles nor fear failures or disappointments. These are inevitable, and I have made my share. They simply need to improve somewhat upon what generally is achieved by government activities and/or private philanthropy, recognizing these other methods of redistribution of wealth have shortcomings as well.Early on, I contemplated various grand philanthropic plans. Though I was stubborn, these did not prove feasible. During my many years, I’ve also watched ill-conceived wealth transfers bypolitical hacks, dynastic choices and, yes, inept or quirky philanthropists.If my children simply do a decent job, they can be certain that their mother and I would be pleased. Their instincts are good and they each have had years of practice with very small sumsinitially that have been irregularly increased to more than $500 million annually.All three like working long hours to help others, each in their own way.* * * * * * * * * * * *The acceleration of my lifetime gifts to my children’s foundations in no way reflects anychange in my views about Berkshire’s prospects. Greg Abel has more than met the high expectations I had for him when I first thought he should be Berkshire’s next CEO. He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters manyCEOs don’t even consider. I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government – you name it – that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine.Greg understands, for example, far more about both the upside potential and the dangers of our P/C insurance business than do a great many long-time P/C executives. My hope is that his health remains good for several decades. With a little luck, Berkshire should require only five or six CEOs over the next century. It should particularly avoid those whose goal is to retire at 65, to become look- at-me rich or to initiate a dynasty.One unpleasant reality: Occasionally, a wonderful and loyal CEO of the parent or asubsidiary will succumb to dementia, Alzheimer’s or another debilitating and long-term disease.Charlie and I encountered this problem several times and failed to act. This failure can be a huge mistake. The Board must be alert to this possibility at the CEO level and the CEO must be alert to the possibility at subsidiaries. This is easier said than done; I could cite a few examples from the past at major companies. Directors should be alert and speak up is all that I can advise.During my lifetime, reformers sought to embarrass CEOs by requiring the disclosure of the compensation of the boss compared to what was being paid to the average employee. Proxystatements promptly ballooned to 100-plus pages compared to 20 or less earlier.But the good intentions didn’t work; instead they backfired. Based on the majority of myobservations – the CEO of company “A” looked at his competitor at company “B” and subtlyconveyed to his board that he should be worth more. Of course, he also boosted the pay of directors and was careful who he placed on the compensation committee. The new rules produced envy, not moderation.The ratcheting took on a life of its own. What often bothers very wealthy CEOs – they arehuman, after all – is that other CEOs are getting even richer. Envy and greed walk hand in hand. And what consultant ever recommended a serious cut in CEO compensation or board payments?* * * * * * * * * * * *In aggregate, Berkshire’s businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects, led by a few non-correlated and sizable gems. However, a decade or two from now, there will be manycompanies that have done better than Berkshire; our size takes its toll.Berkshire has less chance of a devastating disaster than any business I know. And, Berkshire has a more shareholder-conscious management and board than almost any company with which I am familiar (and I’ve seen a lot). Finally, Berkshire will always be managed in a manner that will make its existence an asset to the United States and eschew activities that would lead it to become asupplicant. Over time, our managers should grow quite wealthy – they have important responsibilities – but do not have the desire for dynastic or look-at-me wealth.Our stock price will move capriciously, occasionally falling 50% or so as has happened three times in 60 years under present management. Don’t despair; America will come back and so willBerkshire shares.A Few Final ThoughtsOne perhaps self-serving observation. I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first. My advice: Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a littlefrom them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them. You can start with Tom Murphy; he was the best.Remember Alfred Nobel, later of Nobel Prize fame, who – reportedly – read his own obituary that was mistakenly printed when his brother died and a newspaper got mixed up. He was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior.Don’t count on a newsroom mix-up: Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior.I write this as one who has been thoughtless countless times and made many mistakes but also became very lucky in learning from some wonderful friends how to behave better (still a long way from perfect, however). Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.* * * * * * * * * * * *I wish all who read this a very happy Thanksgiving. Yes, even the jerks; it’s never too late to change. Remember to thank America for maximizing your opportunities. But it is – inevitably –capricious and sometimes venal in distributing its rewards.Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.
致各位股东：
我将不再撰写伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的年度报告，也不再在年度股东大会上长篇致辞。用英国人的话说，我要 “归于沉寂” 了。
算是吧。
格雷格・阿贝尔（Greg Abel）将在年底接任公司掌舵人。他是一位卓越的管理者、勤勉不懈的工作者，也是一位坦诚的沟通者。祝愿他任期长久。
我会继续通过每年的感恩节致辞与各位股东及我的子女交流伯克希尔的相关事宜。伯克希尔的个人股东群体十分特殊，他们总会慷慨地与不幸之人分享自己的收益。我很珍视与大家保持联系的机会。今年请允许我先稍作追忆，随后我将阐述伯克希尔股票的分配计划，最后分享一些关于商业与人生的感悟。
感恩节将至，年届 95 岁的我依然健在，对此我心怀感恩，也倍感意外。
年少时，我从未想过自己能活到这个年纪。早年，我曾险些丧命。
那是 1938 年，当时奥马哈的市民将本地医院分为天主教医院和新教医院两类，在那个年代，这种划分似乎理所当然。
我们家的家庭医生哈雷・霍茨（Harley Hotz）是一位友善的天主教徒，他出诊时总会提着一个黑色医疗包。霍茨医生管我叫 “小船长”（Skipper），而且诊疗费用向来不高。1938 年，我突发剧烈腹痛，霍茨医生上门问诊，简单检查后告诉我，第二天早上就会好转。
随后他便回家吃晚饭，还打了会儿桥牌。然而，我那些颇为特殊的症状始终萦绕在他心头。当天深夜，他紧急安排我前往圣凯瑟琳医院（St. Catherine’s Hospital）接受阑尾切除手术。在接下来的三周里，我感觉自己仿佛住进了修女院，并且渐渐喜欢上了这个新的 “舞台”。我从小就爱说话 —— 没错，即便在那时也是如此 —— 修女们都很照顾我。
更令人开心的是，我三年级的老师马德森小姐（Miss Madsen）让班上 30 名同学每人给我写一封信。我大概把男生写的信都扔了，但女生写的信却读了一遍又一遍；住院也并非全无收获。
康复期间最难忘的时刻 —— 事实上，术后第一周的情况一直很危急 —— 是我亲爱的伊迪阿姨（Aunt Edie）送我的一份礼物。她给我带来了一套看起来非常专业的指纹采集工具，我立刻给所有照料我的修女都采集了指纹。（我或许是她们在圣凯瑟琳医院遇到的第一个新教小孩，她们大概也不知道该如何应对。）
当然，我的想法完全是异想天开：我认为有一天可能会有修女走上歧途，而联邦调查局（FBI）届时会发现他们居然忘了给修女采集指纹。20 世纪 30 年代，FBI 及其局长 J・埃德加・胡佛（J. Edgar Hoover）深受美国人崇敬，我幻想胡佛先生会亲自来到奥马哈，查看我这份 “无价之宝” 的指纹收藏。我还进一步设想，我和埃德加会迅速锁定并逮捕那名行为不端的修女，届时我必将声名鹊起。
显然，我的幻想从未成真。但颇具讽刺意味的是，多年后人们发现，我当初本该给埃德加・胡佛本人采集指纹 —— 他因滥用职权而声名扫地。
那就是 20 世纪 30 年代的奥马哈，雪橇、自行车、棒球手套和电动火车是我和朋友们梦寐以求的东西。让我们再看看那个年代其他几位在我身边长大、对我人生影响深远，却长期未被我知晓的人。
首先是查理・芒格（Charlie Munger），我 64 年的挚友。20 世纪 30 年代，查理住在我 1958 年起便拥有并居住至今的房子隔壁街区。
早年，我与查理擦肩而过，险些错失这份友谊。查理比我大 6 岁零 8 个月，1940 年夏天，他曾在我祖父的杂货店里打工，每天工作 10 小时，薪水仅 2 美元。（节俭是巴菲特家族深入骨髓的品质。）第二年，我也在那家店里做类似的工作，但直到 1959 年才与查理相识 —— 彼时他 35 岁，我 28 岁。
二战服役结束后，查理从哈佛法学院毕业，随后定居加利福尼亚。然而，查理始终认为奥马哈的早年生活塑造了他的人生。60 多年来，查理对我产生了巨大的影响，他是我最好的导师，也是一位充满保护欲的 “大哥”。我们虽有分歧，却从未争执过。“我早告诉过你” 这句话从未出现在他的词典里。
1958 年，我买下了人生中第一套也是唯一一套房子。当然，房子在奥马哈，距离我长大的地方（宽泛意义上的）约 2 英里，离岳父母家不到两个街区，距离巴菲特杂货店约 6 个街区，开车到我工作了 64 年的办公楼只需 6-7 分钟。
再说说另一位奥马哈人斯坦・利普西（Stan Lipsey）。1968 年，斯坦将《奥马哈太阳报》（周报）卖给了伯克希尔；十年后，应我的请求，他搬到了布法罗。当时，伯克希尔旗下的《布法罗晚报》正与当地唯一一家发行周日版报纸的早报竞争对手展开生死较量，而我们处于下风。
最终，斯坦打造了我们全新的周日版报纸。在随后的几年里，这份曾经持续亏损的报纸，以 3300 万美元的投资实现了每年超过 100% 的税前回报率。在 20 世纪 80 年代初，这笔收入对伯克希尔而言至关重要。
斯坦的成长地距离我家约 5 个街区。他的邻居之一是沃尔特・斯科特 Jr.（Walter Scott, Jr.）。大家应该还记得，1999 年，沃尔特将中美能源（MidAmerican Energy）带入了伯克希尔。直到 2021 年去世前，他一直是伯克希尔备受敬重的董事，也是我的挚友。数十年来，沃尔特一直是内布拉斯加州慈善事业的领军人物，奥马哈市乃至整个州都留下了他的印记。
沃尔特曾就读于本森高中（Benson High School），我原本也该进入这所学校 —— 直到 1942 年，我父亲出人意料地击败了一位四届连任的在任议员，成功当选国会议员。人生充满了意外。
等等，还有更多故事。
1959 年，唐・基奥（Don Keough）和他的年轻家庭住在我家街对面，距离芒格一家曾经的住所约 100 码远。当时唐还是一名咖啡推销员，但后来他成为了可口可乐公司的总裁，同时也是伯克希尔尽职尽责的董事。
我认识唐时，他年薪仅 1.2 万美元，却要和妻子米基（Mickie）抚养五个孩子，所有孩子都要就读天主教学校（需要支付学费）。
我们两家很快成为了挚友。唐来自爱荷华州西北部的一个农场，毕业于奥马哈的克瑞顿大学（Creighton University）。早年，他与奥马哈本地女孩米基结婚。加入可口可乐公司后，唐逐渐成为了全球范围内的传奇人物。
1985 年，唐担任可口可乐总裁期间，公司推出了命运多舛的 “新可乐”（New Coke）。唐发表了一场著名的道歉演讲，宣布恢复 “经典可乐”（Old Coke）的销售。此前，唐发现，所有寄给 “头号白痴” 的邮件都会直接送到他的办公桌上，这促使他做出了改变主意的决定。他的这场 “撤回” 演讲堪称经典，在 YouTube 上可以看到。他坦然承认，事实上，可口可乐产品属于公众，而非公司。随后，产品销量大幅飙升。
你可以在CharlieRose.com网站上观看对唐的精彩采访（汤姆・墨菲（Tom Murphy）和凯・格雷厄姆（Kay Graham）的采访也同样精彩）。和查理・芒格一样，唐始终保持着中西部人的本色，热情、友善，骨子里透着美国人的精神。
最后，出生并成长于印度的阿吉特・贾恩（Ajit Jain），以及我们即将接任 CEO 的加拿大人格雷格・阿贝尔，都曾在 20 世纪末在奥马哈居住过数年。事实上，20 世纪 90 年代，格雷格住在法纳姆街（Farnam Street），距离我家仅几个街区，但当时我们从未谋面。
难道奥马哈的水真的有某种神奇的成分吗？
我十几岁时曾在华盛顿特区生活过一段时间（当时我父亲在国会任职），1954 年，我在曼哈顿找到了一份自以为会从事终身的工作。在那里，本・格雷厄姆（Ben Graham）和杰瑞・纽曼（Jerry Newman）对我关怀备至，我也结交了许多终身挚友。纽约有着独特的优势 —— 至今依然如此。然而，1956 年，仅仅工作了一年半后，我便回到了奥马哈，从此再也没有离开过。
后来，我的三个孩子以及几个孙辈都在奥马哈长大。我的孩子们都就读于公立学校（与我父亲（1921 届）、我的第一任妻子苏西（1950 届）、查理、斯坦・利普西、欧文和罗恩・布鲁姆金（Irv and Ron Blumkin，内布拉斯加家具城（Nebraska Furniture Mart）发展的关键人物）以及杰克・林沃尔特（Jack Ringwalt，1923 届，国民赔偿公司（National Indemnity）创始人，1967 年将公司出售给伯克希尔，成为我们庞大财产意外险业务的基石）毕业于同一所高中）。
我们的国家有许多优秀的公司、顶尖的学校和一流的医疗设施，每一项都有着独特的优势，也人才济济。但我深感幸运的是，我在这里结交了许多终身挚友，遇到了我的两任妻子，在公立学校接受了良好的启蒙教育，年少时认识了许多有趣友善的奥马哈成年人，并在内布拉斯加州国民警卫队中交到了各种各样的朋友。简而言之，内布拉斯加州就是我的家。
回首往事，我认为无论是伯克希尔还是我个人，正因将总部设在奥马哈，才取得了比定居其他任何地方都更好的成就。美国中部是一个非常适合出生、成家立业的地方。凭借纯粹的运气，我在出生时抽到了一支无比幸运的签。
现在谈谈我的高龄。我的基因并非特别优越 —— 家族历史上的最长寿纪录（诚然，追溯久远的家族纪录难免模糊）是 92 岁，直到我打破了这个纪录。但我有幸得到了奥马哈多位睿智、友善且尽职尽责的医生的照料，从哈雷・霍茨医生开始，一直到今天。至少有三次，都是居住在我家附近几英里范围内的医生救了我的命。（不过，我已经不再给护士采集指纹了。95 岁的人可以随心所欲地做些古怪的事…… 但也要有个限度。）
能够长寿的人需要极大的运气，每天都要避开各种意外 —— 香蕉皮滑倒、自然灾害、酒驾或分心驾驶的司机、雷击等等，不胜枚举。
但幸运女神变幻莫测，而且 —— 没有其他词能形容 —— 极其不公。在很多情况下，我们的领导人与富人得到的运气远超他们应得的份额，而这些受益者往往不愿承认这一点。世袭继承者一出生便拥有了终身的经济独立，而另一些人一来到这个世界，就要面对悲惨的童年，甚至更糟的是，身体或精神上的残疾剥夺了我视为理所当然的一切。在世界上许多人口稠密的地区，我很可能会过着悲惨的生活，而我的姐妹们的境遇会更加糟糕。
我 1930 年出生，身体健康，智力尚可，身为白人男性，且出生地是美国。哇！感谢幸运女神。我的姐妹们和我智力相当，性格甚至更好，却面临着截然不同的人生前景。幸运女神在我人生的大部分时间里都眷顾着我，但她不会一直陪伴着 90 多岁的老人。运气是有上限的。
相反，时光老人（Father Time）随着我年岁渐长，似乎对我愈发 “感兴趣”。他从未失手，对他而言，每个人最终都会成为他 “胜利名单” 上的一员。当平衡感、视力、听力和记忆力都在持续衰退时，你就知道时光老人已经近在咫尺了。
我步入老年的时间较晚 —— 衰老的到来因人而异 —— 但一旦到来，便无法抗拒。
令我意外的是，我总体感觉还不错。虽然行动迟缓，阅读也越来越困难，但我每周依然会有五天在办公室工作，身边的同事都非常出色。偶尔，我会产生一些有用的想法，或者有人会向我们提出一些原本无法获得的合作邀约。由于伯克希尔的规模和当前的市场水平，这样的想法虽然不多，但并非没有。
然而，我意外的长寿，对我的家庭以及我的慈善目标的实现，不可避免地带来了一些至关重要的影响。
让我们来探讨一下。
未来规划
我的孩子们都已超过正常退休年龄，分别为 72 岁、70 岁和 67 岁。若指望三人 —— 如今在许多方面都处于巅峰状态 —— 都能像我一样幸运地延缓衰老，显然不切实际。为了提高他们能在替代受托人接任之前，妥善处理我几乎全部遗产的可能性，我需要加快向他们各自管理的三家基金会进行终身捐赠的步伐。我的孩子们目前在经验和智慧方面都处于黄金时期，尚未步入老年。这段 “黄金期” 不会永远持续。
幸运的是，调整捐赠节奏并非难事。不过，还有一个额外因素需要考虑：我希望保留相当数量的 A 股，直到伯克希尔的股东们对格雷格建立起我和查理长期以来所拥有的信任。这种信任的建立应该不会太久。我的孩子们以及伯克希尔的董事们已经完全支持格雷格。
我的三个孩子如今都具备了管理和分配巨额财富的成熟度、智慧、精力和直觉。他们还有一个优势：当我早已离世时，他们依然健在，若有必要，他们可以根据联邦税收政策或其他影响慈善事业的发展变化，制定前瞻性和应对性的策略。他们很可能需要适应周围这个发生巨大变化的世界。“死后掌权” 向来鲜有成功案例，我也从未有过这样的想法。
幸运的是，我的三个孩子都继承了他们母亲的优良基因。几十年来，我也逐渐成为了他们思考和行为的更好榜样。不过，我永远无法企及他们母亲的高度。
我为每个孩子都指定了三位替代受托人，以应对任何过早离世或丧失行为能力的情况。这些替代受托人没有排名，也不隶属于特定的孩子。他们三人都是杰出的人才，深谙世事，且毫无利益冲突。
我已经向孩子们保证，他们无需创造奇迹，也不必害怕失败或失望。这些都是不可避免的，我自己也经历过很多。他们只需在政府行为和 / 或私人慈善事业通常所取得的成果基础上有所改进即可，同时要认识到这些财富再分配方式也存在不足之处。
早年，我曾构思过各种宏大的慈善计划。尽管我很固执，但这些计划最终都未能实施。多年来，我也目睹了许多由政治投机者、世袭继承者，以及一些无能或古怪的慈善家所进行的糟糕的财富转移。
如果我的孩子们能把这件事做好，他们可以肯定，我和他们的母亲一定会感到欣慰。他们的直觉很好，而且起初他们只管理少量资金，经过多年的实践，资金规模已不定期增加到每年超过 5 亿美元。
三人都愿意长时间工作，以各自的方式帮助他人。
加快向孩子们基金会的终身捐赠，绝不意味着我对伯克希尔的前景有任何改变。格雷格・阿贝尔的表现完全超出了我最初认为他应接任伯克希尔下一任 CEO 时的高期望。他对我们许多业务和人员的了解，如今已远超我本人，而且对于许多 CEO 甚至不会考虑的事情，他也学得非常快。无论是 CEO、管理顾问、学者、政府官员 —— 无论是什么身份 —— 我都想不出有谁比格雷格更适合管理你我的资产。
例如，格雷格对我们财产意外险业务的潜在收益和风险的理解，远超许多长期从事该行业的高管。我希望他能保持良好的健康状况，任职数十年。若运气好的话，伯克希尔在下一个世纪可能只需要五到六位 CEO。尤其要避免那些计划 65 岁退休、追求 “炫富” 或试图建立世袭王朝的人。
一个令人不快的现实是：偶尔，母公司或子公司一位优秀且忠诚的 CEO 会患上痴呆症、阿尔茨海默病或其他严重且长期的疾病。
查理和我曾多次遇到这种情况，却未能及时采取行动。这种失误可能会造成巨大的损失。董事会必须警惕 CEO 层面出现这种情况的可能性，CEO 也必须警惕子公司管理层出现这种情况的可能性。说起来容易做起来难；我可以举出过去几家大公司的例子。我能给出的建议就是，董事们应该保持警惕，并勇于发声。
我一生中，改革者们曾试图通过要求披露 CEO 与普通员工的薪酬差距来让 CEO 们难堪。此后，委托代理声明的篇幅迅速膨胀到 100 多页，而此前仅为 20 页或更少。
但良好的初衷并未带来预期的效果，反而适得其反。根据我的大部分观察 ——A 公司的 CEO 看到竞争对手 B 公司 CEO 的薪酬后，会含蓄地向董事会表示自己应该得到更高的薪酬。当然，他还会提高董事们的薪酬，并精心挑选薪酬委员会的成员。新规定催生了嫉妒，而非克制。
这种薪酬螺旋式上升愈演愈烈。事实上，富有的 CEO 们也是普通人，他们常常在意的是其他 CEO 比自己更富有。嫉妒与贪婪如影随形。而且，有哪个顾问会建议大幅削减 CEO 或董事的薪酬呢？
总体而言，伯克希尔旗下业务的前景略优于行业平均水平，核心驱动力来自少数非相关性强、规模庞大的优质资产。不过，一二十年后，必然会有许多公司的表现超越伯克希尔 —— 我们的规模成为了发展的掣肘。
伯克希尔遭遇毁灭性危机的概率，是我所知所有企业中最低的。而且，与我熟悉的几乎所有公司（我见识过的公司不计其数）相比，伯克希尔拥有更注重股东利益的管理层和董事会。最终，伯克希尔的经营始终会以 “成为美国的资产” 为准则，坚决规避可能导致自身依附他人的行为。假以时日，我们的管理者理应积累可观财富 —— 他们肩负着重大责任 —— 但他们并无建立财富王朝或追求 “炫富” 的欲望。
我们的股价会波动无常，正如现任管理层任职的 60 年间曾三次发生的那样，股价偶尔会暴跌约 50%。无需绝望：美国终将复苏，伯克希尔的股价也会随之回升。
最后的几点感悟
或许这是个有些自私的发现：我可以欣慰地说，人生的后半段比前半段更让我满意。我的建议是：不要为过去的错误苛责自己 —— 至少从中吸取一点教训，然后继续前行。自我提升永远为时不晚。找到真正值得追随的榜样，然后向他们学习。你可以从汤姆・墨菲（Tom Murphy）开始，他是最优秀的榜样。
还记得后来以诺贝尔奖闻名于世的阿尔弗雷德・诺贝尔（Alfred Nobel）吗？据报道，他弟弟去世时，一家报纸因混淆信息误登了他的讣告，他读到了自己的 “死亡报道”。讣告内容让他深感震惊，也让他意识到必须改变自己的人生轨迹。
别指望靠报社的失误来警醒自己：先明确你希望讣告上写些什么，然后用一生的行动去配得上这份描述。
伟大并非源于积累巨额财富、博取海量曝光或掌握至高政治权力。当你以成千上万种方式中的任何一种帮助他人时，你就是在为这个世界创造价值。善意无需成本，却价值连城。无论你是否信仰宗教，“黄金法则”（己所不欲，勿施于人）都是无可替代的行为准则。
写下这些话时，我深知自己曾无数次轻率行事、犯下诸多错误，但也有幸从许多挚友身上学到了更好的处世之道（尽管距离完美仍有很长的路要走）。请记住，清洁工与董事长一样，都是平等的人。
祝愿所有读到这封信的人感恩节快乐。是的，哪怕是那些品行不端的人 —— 改变永远为时不晚。记得感谢美国为你创造了最大化的机遇，但也要明白，这个国家在分配回报时，必然会带有随机性，有时甚至存在不公。
慎重选择你的榜样，然后努力效仿他们。你永远无法做到完美，但永远可以变得更好。
