有的人死了，他还活着。
2023 year Charlie Munger – The Architect of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger died on November 28, just 33 days before his 100th birthday.
2023年
查理·芒格——伯克希尔-哈撒韦的建筑师
查理·芒格于11月28日辞世，距其百岁诞辰仅差33天。
注释：
- 芒格从无到有，和巴菲特一起打造出了伯克希尔这个商业帝国。
- 也是主要设计者和塑造者。
Though born and raised in Omaha, he spent 80% of his life domiciled elsewhere. Consequently, it was not until 1959 when he was 35 that I first met him. In 1962, he decided that he should take up money management. Three years later he told me – correctly! – that I had made a dumb decision in buying control of Berkshire. But, he assured me, since I had already made the move, he would tell me how to correct my mistake.
尽管查理生于并长于奥马哈，他却有近八成岁月居于他乡。因此直到1959年、也就是他35岁那年，我才首次与他相识。1962年，他决定涉足资金管理。三年后，他郑重其事地告诉我——而且的确正确——我收购伯克希尔控股权是个愚蠢的决定。不过他随即安慰我，既然木已成舟，他会教我如何补救。
注释：
- 1962 芒格才开始自己“专业管理”外部资金。此前他是律师与地产开发投资者，主要管自己的钱
- 当时芒格教了什么呢？ 1）不再把现金继续砸进纺织厂的“无底洞”，而是把伯克希尔当作控股母公司，去收购/增持优秀企业和证券。 2）收购保险公司（如 1967 年收购 National Indemnity），以稳健承保换取大额浮存金。 3）1972 收购 See’s Candies，巴菲特由此真正重视品牌、定价权、轻资本高回报。 4）搭建“长期持有、少做动作、税务高效”的结构，尽量不分红，把现金留在公司做更高回报配置。 在芒格的帮助下，他两把一次糟糕的纺织并购，改造成“高质量资产+保险浮存金+长期持有”的资本配置机器
In what I next relate, bear in mind that Charlie and his family did not have a dime invested in the small investing partnership that I was then managing and whose money I had used for the Berkshire purchase. Moreover, neither of us expected that Charlie would ever own a share of Berkshire stock. Nevertheless, Charlie, in 1965, promptly advised me: “Warren, forget about ever buying another company like Berkshire. But now that you control Berkshire, add to it wonderful businesses purchased at fair prices and give up buying fair businesses at wonderful prices.
接下来我要讲述的一切，请务必记住：当时查理及其家人并未在我所管理、并用来收购伯克希尔的那家小型投资合伙基金中投入哪怕一分钱；而且我们俩谁都没预料到他日后会持有伯克希尔任何股份。尽管如此，1965年查理仍毫不迟疑地劝我：“沃伦，别再去买第二家像伯克希尔这样的公司了。既然你已经掌控伯克希尔，就要以合理的价格收购卓越企业，而不要再以极低的价格买入平庸企业。”
- 1965 年的伯克希尔，是一家资本密集、护城河弱、长期衰退的纺织厂
- 两人当时的理念差异：芒格是“以合理价买优秀公司”的费雪式理念；巴菲特仍带有“烟蒂股”（极低价买平庸生意）的班杰明·格雷厄姆传统。
- 升级投资理念：用优秀企业的长期经济学做复利。
- 不依靠“低买高卖”，即便买的时候估值不算“捡漏”，但是只要企业年复一年把资本用好，总回报会被“经营质量”主导。
In other words, abandon everything you learned from your hero, Ben Graham. It works but only when practiced at small scale.” With much back-sliding I subsequently followed his instructions. Many years later, Charlie became my partner in running Berkshire and, repeatedly, jerked me back to sanity when my old habits surfaced. Until his death, he continued in this role and together we, along with those who early on invested with us, ended up far better off than Charlie and I had ever dreamed possible. “换言之，把你从偶像本·格雷厄姆那里学到的一切都丢掉。那些方法虽有效，却只适用于小规模操作。”我屡屡倒回老路，却终究顺从了他的教诲。多年以后，查理成了我共同执掌伯克希尔的伙伴。每当旧习复萌，他总能猛地把我拉回理智。直至他离世，他始终肩负这一角色。最终，我们与那些最早与我们同行的投资者，都比查理和我曾经做梦也想不到的境遇要富足得多。
- 芒格会在做决定前或刚做完时给出最尖锐、最冷静的反对意见；
- 但是如果已经拍板或既成事实，芒格转而帮忙“纠错与优化”，很少在事后用“我早说过”等方式去羞辱或消耗彼此。
哪些费雪式操作更适合小资本、不适合当年的伯克希尔呢？
- 小而美的成长股：对小资本适合，大资本退出太难。
- 可以高度集中： 但大资本不适合，有舆论、或潜在控制的风险。
- 小资本适合用时间换空间，慢慢建仓。 总的说来，费雪原则是质量为先、长期持有、合理价格，而伯克希尔调整后采纳了“质量与长期”原则，形成可容纳巨资的头部标的、可长期持有资产、能力圈内的可规模化高质量资产
In reality, Charlie was the “architect” of the present Berkshire, and I acted as the “general contractor” to carry out the day-by-day construction of his vision. Charlie never sought to take credit for his role as creator but instead let me take the bows and receive the accolades. In a way his relationship with me was part older brother, part loving father. Even when he knew he was right, he gave me the reins, and when I blundered he never – never –reminded me of my mistake.
事实上，今日伯克希尔的“建筑师”是查理，而我只是将他蓝图日复一日付诸实践的“总承包商”。查理从未为自己的开创之功邀功请赏，反而让掌声与荣誉尽数落在我身上。他对我既似兄长，又似慈父。即便深知自己正确，他也会把缰绳交到我手中；而当我犯错时，他从不——真的从不——翻旧账。
查了下相关巴菲特所说的旧账：
- 1993 年伯克希尔 4.33 亿美元收购美国缅因州 Dexter Shoe，后巨亏。当时支付的股票现在几乎价值几百亿美金。/ Berkshire Hathaway 1993 Annual Letter
- 1989 年伯克希尔以 3.58 亿美元购买 USAir Group（全美航空）优先股。亏损约 -75%。 / Alice Schroeder, The Snowball (2008)
- 2011 年起分批买 IBM 股票约 107 亿美元持股，2017 年出售时亏损约 3.25 亿美元，长期跑输标普。 / Berkshire Hathaway 2017 Annual Letter
- 2012 年的苹果，符合标准，但直到 2016 年才大量买入。少赚了 200% 的收益。 / 2017、2018 年股东大会问答记录
巴菲特对于芒格这种兄长、慈父之情随处可见：
- 2015 发布的《2014 年致股东信·伯克希尔 50 周年回顾》 明确写道伯克希尔的“蓝图/范式”来自查理，将自己从“烟蒂股”转向“以合理价买优秀企业”。
- 2021 年股东大会上巴菲特公开致谢“查理改变了我的投资方式——少做动作，长期持有好公司”，并重申两人“从未吵过架”。
- 2017 HBO 纪录片《Becoming Warren Buffett》巴菲特谈查理是“改变我思维与人生轨迹的导师与伙伴”，给他的“最大礼物是始终说真话”。
In the physical world, great buildings are linked to their architect while those who had poured the concrete or installed the windows are soon forgotten. Berkshire has become a great company. Though I have long been in charge of the construction crew; Charlie should forever be credited with being the architect. 在现实世界中，伟大的建筑总与它的设计师联系在一起，而那些曾经浇筑混凝土或安装窗户的人，却很快被人淡忘。伯克希尔如今已是一座宏伟的“建筑”。这些年，我一直负责带领施工队日复一日地干活；但真正绘制蓝图、谋划全局的建筑师，理应永远记在查理名下。
注释：
- 巴菲特这是目送挚友、兄长、慈父芒格的离去，是对合伙半世纪的定性“他定了蓝图，我负责打造一座城池”。
- 这是巴菲特伟大之处，亲手搭建了一个伟大的商业帝国，还能把一切功劳转化为感恩，这种降格反增其名！
Original Title: 伯克希尔股东来信 2024
Author: Warren E. Buffett
Original Source: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2023ltr.pdf
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