《Words of wisdom from Warren Buffett》

[Guest]

Words of wisdom from Warren Buffett

Warm and fuzzy aren’t words normally used to describe captains of
industry. That is unless you’re talking about Warren Buffett. He's the second-richest man on the planet, the best investor ever, one of the most
significant philanthropists in world history--and yet he seems as
down-to-earth and grandfatherly as say, Wilford Brimley. Buffett helps
perpetuate this homespun mystique with his annual investor newsletters,
which are chock full of folksy words of wisdom.

Mary Buffett, who was married to Warren's son Peter for 12 years, has
captured the essence of the Omaha native in several books, which she's
written with co-author David Clark. Their latest, The Tao of Buffett,
includes 125 Buffettesque quotes along with brief explanations. Alas, these
quotes offer no sure route to billionaire-dom. Warren advises wannabes
to understand their investments and find great deals. But if his words of
wisdom often sound suspiciously like common sense, at least they are
delivered in his trademark style.

Mary Buffett spoke to Forbes.com about patience, discipline and Warren
Buffett's pleasure dome.

Forbes.com: What's the most important lesson you've learned from
Warren Buffett?

Mary Buffett: Patience and discipline. And doing something you love. So
many people--and Warren has said this--are doing it for the money. That's
really not the right reason. If you're doing something you love, you're
more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making
money. He always says when he gets up in the morning he goes to his
pleasure dome, which is his office.

A lot of people read books like this because they want to learn from gurus.
But they ignore the fact that smart investing really requires a lot of hard
work and research. Just absorbing The Tao Of Buffett won't make you a
good investor.

Yes and no. I think if you follow the principles of the Tao of Buffet you can
be a good investor. But investors don't necessarily have the patience to
wait for the great company with the great underlying economics at the
right price. When Warren bought Dairy Queen, I joked, "He probably
wanted to buy it when he was eight years old, but it wasn't the right price."
So he waited 50 years or so.

Can you recommend any investing-related New Year's resolutions?

I wouldn't recommend anything. Of course, I'd always recommend
Berkshire Hathaway as a great investment because it's an unbelievably
diversified company. I guess I would just say if you're investing in
something, invest in it as if you were buying the whole company. Look at
historically what its earnings have been. And have a fair amount of ability
to predict what that company will do in the future.

Let's talk about the words of wisdom in your book. I like No. 44: The
smarter the journalists are, the better off society is.

‧ Booming realty! : View Special

It's true. I mean, all of our information that we get now, whether it's for
investment ideas or just the morality of life comes from the media. So
we're really dependent on journalists for accuracy, and for the analysis of
what's going on. You want intelligent people doing the job.

You say that investors shouldn't take risks when they're young. That
seems counterintuitive. When should you take risks?

Never. I would say people that are young generally take more risks than
people who are experienced. But that's something that even Warren as a
child really started to evaluate. Predictable products equal predictable
earnings. So you know, for instance, that if the stock market dropped
tomorrow people would still be drinking Coca-Cola, people would still be
shaving, people would still be chewing gum. Warren says, "I don't think
the Internet is going to change how people chew gum." He looks for
businesses that he can predict where they'll be in 10 or 15 years.

You also quote Warren saying he never gets good ideas talking to people.
So where do they come from? Thin air?

‧ In Pictures: Warren Buffett’s Word of Wisdom

He says, "My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror." He has a
history of standing alone that dates back to the early days of his
investments. Living in Omaha instead of New York, I think he has less
influence from Wall Street than other people. Most of the stocks of the
companies he's bought, he bought when no one wanted them. If he had
taken advice from Wall Street, he would have missed some of the greatest
investments.

He also says, "If we can't find things within our circle of competence, we
don't expand the circle. We wait."

Warren believes that if he doesn't understand a business, it's not worth
looking at it, even if the business is popular at the time. If he can't find an
investment that's selling at an attractive price, he'll wait and wait and wait.
In the late 1960s he wrote to his investing partners that he couldn't find
any investments that he understood at attractive prices. He waited until
1973 when the stock market collapsed and some of the best companies
were selling at bargain prices. Pick the wrong company at the right price
and you lose. Pick the right company at the wrong price and you lose. You
have to pick the right company at the right price and to do that you have
to wait and wait--patiently.

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14369745

[Guest]

Words of wisdom from Warren Buffett

Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.

The secret to getting rich: Compound returns. And the more money you
have to begin with, the more it will compound. So taking risks with your
money when you're young might not be the best strategy.

I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things
I completely understand.

If you don't understand what you are doing, then why are you doing it?
The proper investment approach is not intuitive--it is rational.

If they need my help to manage the enterprise, we are probably both in
trouble.

Just because you're a great investor, that doesn't mean you're a skilled
business manager. Recognizing talent is different from having talent. Know
your own abilities, and exploit them, but don't overreach.

If we can't find things within our circle of competence, we don't expand the
circle. We wait.

If a company is within Buffett's circle of competence, he might buy it--but
only if it is selling at the right price. If it isn't within his circle, he won't
even look at it. And if he can't find an investment he understands that is
selling at the right price, he will wait. And wait.

If at first you do succeed, quit trying.

Buffett has always searched for excellent businesses to buy, and then
once he bought them, he has held on to them, watching the stock prices
grow along with the earnings. Once you make a good investment, it's
better to keep it instead of selling for a modest profit and moving on

The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop
digging.

If you find you're in a bad investment, stop throwing money at it. Though
it's painful to pull out, in the end it is far more profitable.

Invest in a business that even a fool can run, because someday a fool will.
There are businesses with great underlying economics, and businesses
with poor underlying economics. You want to invest in the former, because
they are hard to damage.

My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror.

Buffett doesn't seek affirmation from others; he prefers to go against the
herd. He has often bought into companies when no one else wanted them:
General Foods, RJR Tobacco, GEICO, American Express.

I don't try to jump over 7-foot bars; I look around for 1-foot bars that I
can step over.

Buffett isn't shooting for the stars. He isn't trying to hit home runs on
every pitch. He is waiting for the perfect pitch, the sure thing: Companies
with business plans he understands, that sell products that won't go out of
style.

You should invest like a Catholic marries--for life.

If you view an investment as a lifelong commitment, you'll be more likely
to do your homework before taking the plunge. The rewards can be huge;
Buffett invested $11 million in the Washington Post Co. in 1973, and today
his stake has grown to be worth $1.5 billion.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/10/leadership-managing-money-lead-manage-cx_hc_0110buffett_slide_2.html?partner=sify

[Guest]

The group consisted of 16 MBA students and 5 business undergraduates.
They visited Mr Buffett's hometown of Omaha.

DOWN-TO-EARTH

MBA student Rajesh Khanna, 25, said Mr Buffet came across as a simple, down-to-earth man.

'We went to his favourite restaurant, a steak house called Piccolo Pete's. It wasn't even a fancy place,' Mr Khanna said.

'We expected him to be surrounded by bodyguards, but he casually walked in alone, sat down, and opened a can of Coke.'

Another student, Miss Gagan Deep Kaur, 25, said the question-and-answer session came after lunch. 'He told us we could ask him anything, even questions about his personal life.'

MBA student Tushar Kheterpal, 28, said Mr Buffett's most memorable reply was in response to a question about his investment decisions.

'He said that if a company has a share of the mind, then market share will follow - if a company can occupy a place in your mind, it will likely be one that lasts.

'That's why he likes Coca-Cola so much as a company.'

Mr Buffett, who has auctioned himself for lunch for charity every year since 2000, also spoke about his staunch belief in long-term investment.

'He's a very patient investor,' Mr Kheterpal said.

The students recalled Mr Buffett's simple yet powerful answer on why he steered clear of technology stocks during the Internet boom in the late 1990s: 'Will these companies change the way I chew gum?'

Said Mr Khanna: 'He's not a speculative investor - he won't invest in businesses he knows little about.'

The students said Mr Buffett's sense of humour kept them riveted throughout the session.

Miss Kaur said: 'Somebody asked him what question he would like to be asked, one that no one had ever asked him before.

'He thought for a while and said: 'Do you think you look like George Clooney?'

'He also said he had yet to be asked out by a Hollywood actress.'

Mr Khanna said Mr Buffett was asked if he had ever made investment decisions that failed.

'He said his mistakes did not result in losses - he simply did not make as much as he could have.'

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,160474,00.html

[Guest]

Buffet is now the wealthiest US citizen having overtaken Bill Gates in the money stakes.

Warren says a person should never be embarrassed to ask too much or offer
too little when selling or buying an asset.

http://www.news24.com/Regional_Papers/Components/Category_Article_Text_Template/0,2430,303-307-310_2295102~E,00.html

[Guest]

The Story of Berkshire Hathaway's Billionaire Chairman

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 to his father Howard,
a stockbroker-turned-Congressman. The only boy, he was the second of
three children, and displayed an amazing aptitude for both money and
business at a very early age. Acquaintances recount his uncanny ability to
calculate columns of numbers off the top of his head - a feat Warren still
amazes business colleagues with today.

At only six years old, Buffett purchased 6-packs of Coca Cola from his
grandfather's grocery store for twenty five cents and resold each of the
bottles for a nickel, pocketing a five cent profit. While other children his
age were playing hopscotch and jacks, Warren was making money. Five
years later, Buffett took his step into the world of high finance. At eleven
years old, he purchased three shares of Cities Service Preferred at $38
per share for both himself and his older sister, Doris. Shortly after buying
the stock, it fell to just over $27 per share. A frightened but resilient
Warren held his shares until they rebounded to $40. He promptly sold
them - a mistake he would soon come to regret. Cities Service shot up to
$200. The experience taught him one of the basic lessons of investing:
patience is a virtue.

Warren Buffett's Education
In 1947, a seventeen year old Warren Buffett graduated from High School.
It was never his intention to go to college; he had already made $5,000
delivering newspapers (this is equal to $42,610.81 in 2000). His father had
other plans, and urged his son to attend the Wharton Business School at
the University of Pennsylvania. Buffett stayed two years, complaining that
he knew more than his professors. When Howard was defeated in the
1948 Congressional race, Warren returned home to Omaha and
transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Working full-time, he
managed to graduate in only three years.

Warren Buffett approached graduate studies with the same resistance he
displayed a few years earlier. He was finally persuaded to apply to
Harvard Business School, which, in the worst admission decision in history,
rejected him as "too young". Slighted, Warren applied to Columbia where
famed investors Ben Graham and David Dodd taught - an experience that
would forever change his life.

Ben Graham - Buffett's Mentor
Ben Graham had become well known during the 1920's. At a time when
the rest of the world was approaching the investment arena as a giant
game of roulette, he searched for stocks that were so inexpensive they
were almost completely devoid of risk. One of his best known calls was
the Northern Pipe Line, an oil transportation company managed by the
Rockefellers. The stock was trading at $65 a share, but after studying the
balance sheet, Graham realized that the company had bond holdings
worth $95 for every share. The value investor tried to convince
management to sell the portfolio, but they refused. Shortly thereafter, he
waged a proxy war and secured a spot on the Board of Directors. The
company sold its bonds and paid a dividend in the amount of $70 per
share.

When he was 40 years old, Ben Graham published Security Analysis, one
of the greatest works ever penned on the stock market. At the time, it was
risky; investing in equities had become a joke (the Dow Jones had fallen
from 381.17 to 41.22 over the course of three to four short years following
the crash of 1929). It was around this time that Graham came up with the
principle of "intrinsic" business value - a measure of a business's true
worth that was completely and totally independent of the stock price.
Using intrinsic value, investors could decide what a company was worth
and make investment decisions accordingly. His subsequent book, The
Intelligent Investor, which Warren celebrates as "the greatest book on
investing ever written", introduced the world to Mr. Market - the best
investment analogy in history.

Through his simple yet profound investment principles, Ben Graham
became an idyllic figure to the twenty-one year old Warren Buffett.
Reading an old edition of Who's Who, Warren discovered his mentor was
the Chairman of a small, unknown insurance company named GEICO. He
hopped a train to Washington D.C. one Saturday morning to find the
headquarters. When he got there, the doors were locked. Not to be
stopped, Buffett relentlessly pounded on the door until a janitor came to
open it for him. He asked if there was anyone in the building. As luck (or
fate) would have it, there was. It turns out that there was a man still
working on the sixth floor. Warren was escorted up to meet him and
immediately began asking him questions about the company and its
business practices; a conversation that stretched on for four hours. The
man was none other than Lorimer Davidson, the Financial Vice President.
The experience would be something that stayed with Buffett for the rest
of his life. He eventually acquired the entire GEICO company through his
corporation, Berkshire Hathaway.

----to be continued at following web site:

http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/warrenbuffett/a/aawarrenbio.htm

[Guest]

巴菲特演自己 救援創投家
【聯合晚報╱編譯彭淮棟/綜合報導】
2008.04.04

「股神」、新科「全球首富」巴菲特有個秘密：他最哈的電視節目是「美國廣播公司」
(ABC)的老牌連續劇All My Children。他不但愛看，還即將粉墨登場在5月客串一集，
而且是第二次在戲裡軋一角，行不改名，坐不改姓，就演真名實姓的巴菲特。

All My Children是美國最長命的電視劇，每集一小時，每周五天，今年1月剛慶祝38周
年。巴菲特平常不太理會鎂光燈，對小銀幕卻情有獨鍾。他和製作人安妮絲‧尼克森是老
朋友，1992年心癢，到All My Children裡客串了一集，可能留下戲癮，不時技癢，聽
說這些年來雖然不好意思啟齒，其實都在等老朋友開金口。安妮絲最近終於如了他的意，
事隔16 年，他得以再圓戲夢。

All My Children製作單位發揮巧思，使故事節外生枝，讓世界第一富豪以他的本尊身分
過戲癮。戲中女主角伊莉卡‧凱恩是創投家，以媒體大亨自居，編劇讓她流年不利，不小
心吃上內線交易罪名，而且不得已認罪，和一個同犯銬在一起入獄，結果禍不單行，解往
監獄途中，這個同犯趁機逃逸，連累凱恩成為通緝犯。但她後來落網歸案。這時，巴菲特
進場。

依照劇情，凱恩和巴菲特有個共同的朋友，這位朋友出面說動巴菲特，請他運用他的本事
和影響力幫幫凱恩。巴菲特應允，並且前往探監，展開救人行動。巴菲特在現實世界裡出
入股海，洞觀情勢，巧施槓桿，無往不利，現在換個世界，他救出凱恩沒有? 製作單位賣
關子說，到時自見分曉。

巴菲特軋這場戲，拿法定「日間演員」底薪七百美元 (台幣2萬1000元)。根據富比世資
料，他現在身價620億美元。

他向安妮絲透露，1992年領的支票，他從來沒軋，而是把支票裝裱，配上當年他在攝影
棚裡的一張照片，擺在辦公室當紀念。

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR4/4286668.shtml

Warren Buffett to Make Cameo on All My Children
March 19, 2008

Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, will be making a cameo on the
long running ABC soap All My Children. The 77 year old billionaire Buffett
will be stepping on to the All My Children stage in the role of himself, as
he comes to the aid of popular regular character Erica Kane (Susan Lucci)
whose been convicted of insider trading. Warren Buffett previously
appeared on All My Children back in 1992 and will be featured in a scene
with actresses Susan Lucci and Jill Larson who plays Erica's cohort Opal
Cortlandt.

According to Bloomberg, Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc,
will be playing on real life in his scene as "Buffett excuses himself to take
a phone call from Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates." Reports indicate
the successful investment mogul Buffett is a long standing friend of All My
Children creator Agnes Nixon and has been a fan of the show for several
years. For his role, which will see Buffett use his power and status to try
and strike a deal on Erica's behalf, Buffett will be paid scale for his time,
which is now somewhere in the amount of $600 to $700.

When you're the world's richest man, it's clear you can have fun with both
your money and time.

-- Larson Hill

[Guest]

【轉貼】林公孚〔筆名岳林〕
投資理財家--華倫巴菲特
分類：我見我思
2008/05/05 23:13

投資理財家--華倫巴菲特


華倫巴菲特（Warren Buffett）小檔案

出生：1930年8月30（78歲）

籍貫：美國內布拉斯加州的奧瑪哈市

學歷：1951年哥倫比亞大學商學院經濟碩士.

經歷：60年代晚期買下National Indemnity Company

和National Fire and Marine Insurance Company兩家保險公司。

現任：市值1420億美元的波克夏Berkshire Hathaway保險投資集團總裁

兼執行長

財產： US $620億美元 (2008)

配偶：蘇珊巴菲特（Susan Buffett，1952–2004),

慈善捐款：總數達437億美金以上



一、 他的 一些關鍵歷程、思維及警語＊

（一）關鍵歷程

1. 少年時即立志要成為美國最有錢的人，8歲開始閱讀父親的股票書籍，他在11
歲的時候第一次買下股票，他現在後悔開始得太晚。

＊當時股價都很便宜，鼓勵你的孩子投資。

2. 他14歲時，用送報紙和股票存下的錢買下一個小農場。.

＊一個人是可以用自己的小積蓄買下許多東西的，鼓勵你的孩子自己開始某做一些生意。

3. 他現在還是住在1958年以31,500美元結婚後買的三房的屋子，今天市值約為
700,000美元。他說，這房子已經滿足他所有的需求了，它沒有圍牆或是圍籬。

＊ 不要買超過你 “真正需要” 的，並鼓勵你的孩子這樣想，這樣做。

（二 ）思維

4. 他不做上流社交圈活動，他自己開車到處跑，沒有司機也沒有保鏢。 他回家的休閒
活動是弄一點爆米花，看電視。華倫巴菲特不帶大哥大，桌上也沒有電腦。

＊ 做自己，保持本性，不要炫耀，保持真實的自我，並且享受你所做的事情。

5. 他從不搭私人噴射機，儘管他擁有全世界最大的私人噴射機公司。

＊ 總是思考怎樣可以經濟的把事情完成。

6. 他的公司,波克夏·哈薩威(Berkshire Hathaway), 擁有63家公司。他每年只給各
執行長寫一封信。, 給他們這年的公司目標。 他從不舉行例行的會議或是打例行電話。

＊找對的人做對的事。

7 他只給自己的執行長們兩個規則：

＊規則1: 不要虧損股東的錢。

＊規則2: 不要忘記規則1

＊設定目標，並確保大家不要忘了這些目標。



二、他給年輕人的建議

“離信用卡遠遠的 (銀行借貸) ，對自己投資並且記住以下幾點：

1. 財富不會造就人，人才會創造財富。

2. 過自己最簡單的生活。

3. 不要別人說什麼就做什麼，只要傾聽，但是做自己認為是好的事情。畢竟，這是你自
己的人生。那為什麼要讓別人來左右它？

4. 不要追求名牌，穿自己舒適自在的就好。

5. 不要把錢浪費在不必要的東西上，卻要把錢花在真正需要錢的人身上。

6. 最快樂的人不一定擁有一卻最好的東西，他們只是珍惜人生道路上遇到的每一樣東
西，讓我們選擇這樣的生活道路。


三、投資心法與師承者

（一）心法

巴菲特選擇的投資標的係以傳統民生、基本商品的傑出企業為主，包括：食（如可口可
樂）、衣（如Borsheim's 珠寶）、住（如NFM傢俱）、行（如GEICO汽車保險）、育
（如華盛頓郵報）、樂（如迪士尼）及石油、飛機租賃等無所不包。

傳統經濟注重企業的價值，包括土地、廠房、機器、設備、存貨等有形資產，或是現金、
轉投資、應收帳款、負債與股東權益等財務資產及商譽等。他看重的是經營者的心態、人
品及能力，他喜歡開創型經營者，不喜歡無論何時都在設法降低公司營運成本的經營者。

巴菲特形容：「投資有點像打棒球，最難纏的打者就是第四棒，第四棒的打者如果又是很
會選球的選手，則對投手而言真是不知要投好球還是壞球是好，有雄厚的資金就像強棒的
臂力很強，如果能慎選好球選擇好的投資時機與好的公司，就有較佳的成功機率擊出安
打，不要去追打壞球，就算沒有揮棒，投資有點比打棒球好的是你永遠不會被三振，務必
要等好球再打。」

（二）師承者

富邦集團蔡家兄弟—蔡明忠與蔡明興認為巴菲特的投資哲學是「用保險公司的資金去投資
吉列刮鬍刀、可口可樂、喜思糖果等，結果相當成功」，因而向他學習，以KTV做為壽
險資金的長期考量。富邦認為歡唱不只是台灣人，也是全中國人生活的一部分是可長
可久的事業。

凱瑪及西爾斯百貨執行長蘭伯特細研讀巴菲特所有投資報告，每讀完一個章節，蘭伯特便
會思考，「換成是我，會怎麼做？」


四、巴菲特日常生活

波克夏公司總部的外觀不甚起眼，巴菲特家居陳設也十分普通。每天早晨他通常在麥當勞
的得來速窗口取餐，晚間上網打橋牌，數十年如一日。雖是全球第二大富豪，生活卻和一
般人無異。

他熱愛橋牌，每週要花上12小時，玩此遊戲，比爾蓋茲和保羅艾倫是他的牌友。


五、生命中的貴人

*
父親和他的股票書籍。
*
哥倫比亞大學商學研究所，追隨《智慧的投資人》一書作者班傑明‧葛雷漢
（Benjamin Graham）教授，對葛雷漢的投資理論奉行不渝。
*
研究生時期，因好奇心驅使，他前往華盛頓特區的GEICO汽車保險公司
（General Insurance Company），向該公司副總裁大衛森（Lorimer Davidson），
大衛森花了四個小時的時間，為他解說保險業的運作，二人自此建立了長期朋友關係，巴
菲特不但與保險業結下不解之緣，GEICO公司日後更成為波克夏旗下的附屬事業之一。



六、華倫巴菲特的基本選股方式：

1. 該公司應有10年以上的財務資料可供分析。

2. 不投資剛成立的公司，剛成立的公司經營模式尚未確立，經營者也還沒經歷
足夠的風浪與競爭。

3. 過去10年的資料中，平均股東權益報酬率應穩定的大於15%，表示公司利用
股東資本獲利的能力很穩定也夠高。

4. 公司的盈餘應該每年穩定成長，十年的平均每年每股盈餘成長率應該穩定的
大於10%，表示公司能善用保留盈餘投資來提高每年的每股盈餘。

5. 公司的行業應該是簡單易懂的，競爭障礙很高，經營者誠實儉樸，公司最好有
壟斷性的市場佔有率，忠誠的消費者。

6. 要隨時注意這些我們看上的好公司，是否出現大降價的買進時機，遇到了就
千萬不要放棄機會。



七、能力與社會貢獻

1. 公司年報酬率超過百分之二十五。

2. 2006年6月25日，巴菲特宣佈將自己的市值370億美元資產，捐給蓋茲慈善
基金。據統計，這將是有史以來金額最大的慈善捐獻。,

3. 同年宣布捐獻的額外波克夏約為67億美元的股票價值，給蘇珊湯普森巴菲特
基金會（Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation）及其他由他的三名子女為首的基金會。

4. 2007年，他名列《時代週刊》世界100 名最具影響力人物之一。



八、可資注意與學習之處

1. 巴菲特從小求知慾強，喜讀股票有關書籍，並立志成為美國最有錢的人。印證
了《祕密》一書所言：「你當下的思想正在創造你的未來，你最常想的、或最常把焦點放
在上頭的，將會出現在你的生命中，成為你的人生，你的思想會變成實物」。

2. 30年代的美國，知識尚不普及，他出生在貧脊的中西部內布拉斯加州，少年的
他在14歲時就用送報紙和股票存下的錢買下一個小農場，為人所不知為，這是知識致勝
之例。

3. 他排除困難，向素昧平生的GEICO汽車保險公司副總裁大衛森（Lorimer Davidson）
請益，獲得回報，證明熱情可以感人。

4. 他自己開車到處跑，回家的休閒活動是弄一點爆米花，看電視，盡力「做自己，
保持本性」擁有一顆清明的心，過自己最簡單的生活，不受外境影響，是常保福壽之道。

5. 他懂得賺錢，也懂得把錢花在真正需要錢的人身上，由於能捨，所以能受到
上蒼的眷顧。

6. 他擁有63家公司，每年只給各執行長寫一封信，給他們這年的公司目標，如此
而已，他充分授權，遵守「找對的人做對的事。」原則。


資料來源

1. funp.com＜華倫巴菲特的基本選股方式＞

2. ＜每日一理財 ：巴菲特的訪問＞，Warren_Buffet(CH).pps，website

3. www.berkshirehathaway.com

4. CNBC對華倫巴菲特（Warren Buffett），電視專訪.

5. 970426慈善企業家華倫巴菲特的故事，website

6. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/lingf01/article?mid=768&prev=-1&next=756

[Guest]

11/30/08 07:12 AM
Up close and personal with Warren Buffett
By Lee Coppola
NEWS BOOK REVIEWER

“The Snowball”? Kind of a strange title, don’t you think? But in its
simplicity it captures the business philosophy of the man who perennially
ranks as one of the richest in the world.

His personal life, on the other, is far more complicated.

Alice Schroeder provides a splendid and richly detailed examination of
both sides of Buffett in “The Snowball.” And well she should, having been
granted unlimited access for five years to the main subject, his friends,
his family and his files.

Thankfully, for readers interested in finding out what makes a billionaire
tick, Schroeder didn’t waste the opportunity. How else could she have
known that at an elegant dinner in his honor in the Manhattan apartment
of the head of Sony, Buffett didn’t eat a thing.

“The waiter brought out another unidentifiable course of something that
looked rubbery and raw to him. Time crawled more slowly with each
course. He had been counting and the number of courses now exceeded
ten. He tried to make up for his culinary lapses with witty,
self-deprecating conversation about business . . . but he knew he was
disgracing himself. Even in the middle of the bonfire of embarrassment
he could not help but think longingly of hamburgers.”

That’s typical of the inside views Schroeder gives her readers. Buffett, it
turns out, is a man who likes simple things. Despite his vast fortune, he
lives in the same $31,000 Omaha, Neb., house he’s lived in most of his
adult life. He eschews stylish wardrobes, drinks Coca-Cola and for years
traveled commercial air while lesser lights in the business world flew in
their corporate jets. When he finally bought a used Falcon, he was
embarrassed.

The simple tastes reflect his investment philosophy, summed up in the
title: find some wet snow, make a ball and roll it down a long hill. It’s the
same with investments: “estimate an investment’s intrinsic value,
handicap its risk, buy using margin of safety, concentrate, stay in the
circle of competence, let it roll as compounding did the work.”

Buffett started his road to riches by forming investment partnerships
with others willing to risk their money on his savvy.

Berkshire Hathaway, the investment conglomerate that’s given him world
renown and respect, was a faltering textile mill in New England that
Buffett thought had a chance to rebound. It never did, but as an
investment vehicle it has reached astronomical heights on the New York
Stock Exchange, where its shares now sell for six figures. In fact, a
$1,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway in 1957 was worth $12 million
39 years later.

Buffet was born nine months after the 1929 stock market crash into a
poor family, so poor that as an infant his toy was an old toothbrush. But
the poverty didn’t last long. His father eventually became a successful
stockbroker and, as a conservative Republican, won election to the House
of Representatives.

His son was fixated by numbers. As a child, he and a friend wrote down
license plate numbers on passing cars so they could calculate their
frequency. Buffett also was obsessed with making money. At 6, he sold
packs of chewing gum. At 10 he boasted he wanted to be a millionaire by
age 35 (he made it five years younger); at 11 he bought his first stock;
and in junior high he took stock charts to school, where math was the
only subject that interested him.

When he moved to Washington with his congressman father, he
delivered newspapers, saved his money and by 16 had pocketed $5,000,
a tidy sum that today translates to $56,000. He also owned a 40- acre
tenant farm back in Nebraska, which he bought for $1,200 and split the
profits with others who did the work.

That was the precursor to his method of making money: buy solid
businesses, let others do the work and use the profits to invest in other
businesses. Schroeder traces Buffett’s business career through the
companies he’s bought and the decisions he’s made. She examines them
all, recording with intimate details the highs and lows of his career.

One notable moment was Buffett’s purchase of the newspaper publishing
this review, where his name remains on the masthead as chairman. It
was his fascination with newspapers and his desire to own one that led
him in 1977 to purchase the then Buffalo Evening News. Schroeder
details the agonizing events Buffett weathered as the paper fought a
subscription and advertising battle with the then Courier Express. At the
time, the $35.5 million the paper cost Buffett was his single largest
investment, and the struggle with the competing Courier turned News’
profits into a $1.4 million loss.

Writes Schroeder: “Buffett was chilled by the news. No business he had
ever owned had lost so much money so fast.”

However, Buffett’s purchasing decision eventually proved wise once The
News became the only newspaper in Buffalo, and a very successful one at
that.

Buffett’s fascination with newspapers started in Omaha, where Buffett’s
weekly newspaper, at his prodding and with his help, exposed excesses
by the venerable Boys Town that earned the paper a Pulitzer Prize. The
fascination also led him to the Washington Post and to Katherine Graham,
the Post’s late editor. She, as Schroeder reports, was one of several
women in Buffett’s life.

There was his wife, Susan. She left Omaha for San Franciscoto pursue a
singing career but never left her marriage to Buffett despite the different
lives they led.

There was Astrid Menks, who, with his wife’s blessing, moved into
Buffett’s Omaha house after Susan moved out. He married her in 2006,
two years after his wife died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

And there was Graham, who introduced him to society, traveled with him
and provided him a place to stay when he was in Washington or New
York.

Schroeder traces in intimate detail his relationship with each of them and
their influence on him but, even as she details parties, vacations,
discussions and feelings, she discreetly stops at the bedroom door. “More
women to take care of him was something that he had always
rationalized,” writes Schroeder. “His desire to be taken care of by women
was so overwhelming that he mostly left it up to the women to settle
any differences in their hellbent desire to do what, in each of their
opinions, was in his best interest.”

It’s obvious also that Buffett cared deeply for the women in his life.
When Graham died he grieved for weeks, his eyes tearing at the mention
of her name. He was ashamed that his grief stopped him from eulogizing
her at the funeral.

It was worse when his wife died. Although they had lived an
unconventional married life, their love for each other persisted, Schroeder
writes. “He could not escape the grief, even in sleep,” Schroeder writes,
then recounts his recurring nightmare of riding helplessly in the front
seat of the ambulance with his dying wife in the back.

Schroeder, a former CPA, was a Wall Street analyst when she met
Buffett. He liked the way she wrote about finances, so when she
proposed a book about Warren Buffett, the person, not about Warren
Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, he agreed.

Top-notch biographies demand thorough research (attested in this one
by 89 pages of end notes) and crisp, finely honed writing. Schroeder
exhibits both. “The Snowball” took her five years to write, and her work is
enriched by the italicized direct quotes of the subject interspersed
throughout the book. Given the unlimited access accorded her and the
intimacies the book reveals, it’s hard to imagine a more complete
account of Buffett’s life had he written it himself.

http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/509062.html