95세 워렌버핏의 마지막 주주서한

✅ 버크셔 해서웨이 Inc.

주주 여러분께

올해부터 저는 더 이상 버크셔 연차보고서를 작성하거나, 연례 주총에서 끝없이 말하지 않을 예정입니다.
영국식 표현으로 하자면, 저는 이제 “조용히” 지내려 합니다.

물론, 완전히는 아닙니다.

연말부터는 그렉 에이블(Greg Abel) 이 CEO가 됩니다. 그는 훌륭한 경영자이자, 끊임없이 일하는 사람이며, 정직한 의사소통을 합니다. 그에게 긴 재임 기간이 있기를 바랍니다.

앞으로도 저는 매년 추수감사절 메시지를 통해 여러분과 제 자녀들에게 버크셔에 대해 이야기할 것입니다. 버크셔 개인 주주들은 다른 이들에게 자신의 이익을 나누는 매우 특별한 그룹입니다. 저는 여러분과 계속 소통할 수 있어 기쁩니다.

올해는 먼저 잠시 회상을 공유하겠습니다. 그 후 제 버크셔 주식 배분 계획, 그리고 몇 가지 사업적 및 개인적 의견을 말씀드리겠습니다.

95세를 맞이하며

추수감사절이 다가오면서, 제가 95세까지 살아있다는 사실이 정말 놀랍고 감사하게 느껴집니다. 어릴 때만 해도 이런 결과는 장담하기 어려웠습니다. 저는 일찍 죽을 뻔한 적이 있습니다.

1938년 당시 오마하 병원은 가톨릭계, 프로테스탄트계로 나뉘어져 보였습니다. 우리 집 주치의인 할리 햇츠(Harley Hotz) 는 집에 늘 검은 가방을 들고 오던 친절한 가톨릭 신자로, 저를 “스키퍼(Skipper)”라고 불렀습니다. 어느 날 제가 복통을 호소했을 때 그는 제가 아침이면 괜찮아질 것이라 말했고, 집으로 돌아가 식사를 하고 브리지 카드를 즐겼습니다.

하지만 제 증상이 마음에 걸렸던 박사는 늦은 밤 결국 저를 성 캐서린 병원으로 보내 응급 충수 절제술을 받게 했습니다. 3주 동안 저는 마치 수녀원에 들어온 기분이었고, 말하는 것을 좋아했던 저는 수녀들과 빠르게 친해졌습니다.

3학년 담임 매드슨 선생님 은 반 친구 30명 모두 제게 편지를 쓰게 했습니다. 아마도 저는 남자아이들의 편지는 버렸겠지만, 여자아이들의 편지는 계속 읽었습니다. 입원 생활에도 보람이 있는 법입니다.

제 회복의 하이라이트는 이모 에디(Aunt Edie) 가 준 전문 지문 채취 세트였습니다. 저는 곧바로 모든 수녀들의 지문을 채취했습니다. 저는 훗날 어느 수녀가 범죄자가 될 경우, FBI가 수녀들을 지문 등록하지 않았다는 사실에 놀라게 되고, J. 에드거 후버가 직접 제 지문 컬렉션을 보기 위해 오마하에 오며,
저와 후버가 손잡고 범죄 수녀를 잡을 것이라는 기상천외한 상상을 했습니다. 물론 현실이 되지는 않았습니다.

아이러니하게도, 시간이 지나 보니 지문을 채취했어야 할 사람은 수녀가 아니라 후버 자신 이었다는 사실이 드러났습니다. 1930년대 오마하에서 저와 친구들이 가장 탐내던 것은 썰매, 자전거, 야구 글러브, 전기 기차였습니다.

내가 몰랐던, 내 삶에 큰 영향을 준 어린 시절 이웃들 : 찰리 멍거

저의 64년 지기 찰리 멍거 는 1930년대에 제가 1958년부터 살고 있는 집에서 한 블록 떨어진 곳에 살았습니다. 1940년, 찰리는 제 할아버지 식료품점에서 하루 10시간 일하고 2달러를 받았습니다. 1년 뒤 제가 같은 일을 했지만, 당시 찰리를 만나지는 못했습니다. 1959년, 제가 28세, 찰리가 35세가 되었을 때 처음 만났습니다. 우리는 의견이 달라도 언쟁을 하지 않았습니다. 찰리는 제게 최고의 스승이자 형 같은 존재였습니다.

오마하의 또 다른 인물: 스탠 립시 & 월터 스콧

스탠 립시(Stan Lipsey) 는 1968년 오마하 선 신문을 버크셔에 매각했고, 10년 후 제 요청으로 버펄로로 이주했습니다. 당시 버펄로 이브닝 뉴스는 경쟁사와 치열한 전쟁을 벌이며 고전하고 있었습니다.

스탠은 새로운 일요판을 성장시켰고, 이 사업은 연간 100% 이상 수익을 냈습니다. 이 자금은 1980년대 초 버크셔에게 매우 중요했습니다.

스탠의 이웃 중에는 월터 스콧 Jr. 도 있었습니다. 월터는 1999년 MidAmerican Energy를 버크셔에 데려왔고, 2021년 사망 전까지 오랜 기간 버크셔의 존경받는 이사였습니다. 네브래스카에서 그는 대규모 philanthropic leader였습니다.

도저히 우연만으로 보기 힘든 동네 인연

1959년, 제 집 바로 맞은편에는 아주 젊은 돈 키오(Don Keough) 가족이 살았습니다.
당시 그는 커피 세일즈맨이었지만, 훗날 코카콜라 회장 이 되었고, 버크셔의 훌륭한 이사로도 활동했습니다.

그는 훗날 뉴 코크(New Coke) 가 실패했을 때 대중 앞에서 사과하고 오리지널 코크를 다시 출시하는 유명한 연설을 했습니다. “최고의 바보(Supreme Idiot)” 앞으로 온 편지가 모두 그의 책상으로 배달됐다고 스스로 농담하기도 했습니다.

오마하, 그리고 귀향

아버지가 의회에 있을 동안 몇 년을 워싱턴에서 보냈고, 1954년 맨해튼에서 일하며 벤저민 그레이엄 과 제리 뉴먼 의 친절한 대접을 받았습니다. 그러나 1년 반 만에 오마하로 돌아왔고, 다시 떠나지 않았습니다.

제 아이들과 손주 대부분은 오마하에서 자랐고, 공립학교를 다녔습니다. 버크셔가 인수한 Nebraska Furniture Mart를 만든 블럼킨(Blumkin) 형제 등 많은 인물이 같은 학교 출신입니다.

네브래스카는 내 고향

좋은 기업, 좋은 학교, 좋은 병원이 전국에 존재합니다. 하지만 저는 평생 좋은 친구들을 만나고, 두 번의 결혼을 하고, 적절한 교육을 받고, 훌륭한 지역민들과 어울리고, 비즈니스를 성장시킬 수 있었던 것이 행운이라 생각합니다.

저는 “미국 중앙” 에서 태어나고 가족을 키우고 회사를 키운 것이 저와 버크셔에 더 좋은 결과를 가져왔다고 믿습니다.

고령, 그리고 감사

저희 집안은 장수 유전자가 없지만 저는 훌륭한 의사들을 만났습니다. 세 번이나 제 생명이 구해졌습니다.

물론, 제가 더 이상 간호사들의 지문 채취는 하지 않습니다. 95에도 할 수 있는 괴짜짓과 못하는 괴짜짓이 있기 때문입니다.

운과 불평등

장수는 엄청난 운 이 필요합니다. 운은 불공평하게 배분됩니다. 부자들과 권력자는 종종 과도한 운을 받습니다. 반면, 어떤 이는 태어나는 순간부터 불행과 병을 짊어집니다.

저는 1930년, 미국, 백인, 건강, 남성, 평균 이상 지능 으로 태어났습니다. 그 자체로 이미 엄청난 특혜였습니다. 감사할 뿐입니다.

다음 단계 – 자산 배분

제 자녀들은 모두 은퇴 나이를 넘었습니다 — 72, 70, 67세입니다. 이들이 늙기 전에 제가 남긴 재산을 적절히 처리할 수 있도록 생전 기부 속도를 높일 필요가 있습니다.

저는 가능한 한 A주를 보유 하여 주주들이 그렉 에이블에 대해 찰리와 제가 느꼈던 신뢰를 확고히 갖게 되길 바랍니다. 시간이 오래 걸리지 않을 것입니다.

제 자녀들은 충분한 지혜·경험·에너지를 갖고 있으며 변화하는 세상 속에서 현명하게 대처할 수 있을 것입니다.

이들은 5억 달러 규모의 자산을 다루기 전 수십 년간 작은 규모로 경험을 쌓아왔습니다.

잘하기만 하면 됩니다. 기적일 필요 없습니다.

버크셔의 미래

그렉 에이블은 제가 기대한 것 이상을 보여주었습니다. 그는 우리가 가진 사업과 사람들을 저보다 더 잘 이해합니다.

향후 100년 동안 버크셔는 5~6명 정도의 CEO만 있으면 충분합니다. 우리는 스스로를 치장하거나 왕조를 만들려는 CEO를 원하지 않습니다.

우리 규모상 앞으로 10~20년 동안 우리를 능가하는 기업들이 나타날 것입니다. 하지만 재해 위험은 매우 낮습니다.

버크셔는 항상 미국 경제에 도움이 되는 방식으로 운영될 것입니다.

주가가 50% 떨어지는 일은 앞으로도 있을 겁니다. 그러나 미국은 돌아오고, 버크셔도 돌아옵니다.

마지막 조언

저는 인생의 후반부가 더 좋았습니다. 과거의 실수로 자신을 탓하지 마십시오. 조금이라도 배우면 됩니다.

영웅을 잘 고르고 따라 하십시오. 톰 머피로 시작할 수도 있습니다.

노벨상으로 유명한 알프레드 노벨 은 잘못 실린 자신의 부고기사를 보고 삶을 바꿨다고 합니다.

자신의 부고가 어떻게 쓰이길 바라는지 생각하고 그에 걸맞게 사십시오.

돈과 명예, 권력은 위대함의 핵심이 아닙니다. 누군가를 돕는 것, 친절은 공짜이지만 가장 값집니다.

나는 여전히 완벽과는 거리가 멀지만 좋은 친구들을 통해 조금 더 나아지는 법을 배웠습니다.

청소부도 회장만큼 존중받아야 합니다. 모두에게 행복한 추수감사절을.

네, 못난 사람들(jerks) 에게도요. 변할 기회는 언제나 있습니다.

미국이 준 기회를 감사하십시오. 보상이 공정하지 않더라도 말입니다.

영웅을 신중히 고르고, 본받으십시오. 완벽할 수는 없지만, 더 나아질 수는 있습니다.


아래는 원문
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 10, 2025 Omaha, NE (BRK.A; BRK.B) – Today, Warren E. Buffett converted 1,800 A shares into 2,700,000 B shares in order to give these B shares to four family foundations: 1,500,000 shares to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 400,000 shares to each of The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation. These donations have been delivered today. Mr. Buffett’s comments to his fellow shareholders follow: * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 my Berkshire 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 bad bellyache 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 FBI would 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 identify and 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 Charlie until 1959 when he was 35 and I was 28. After serving in World War II, Charlie graduated from Harvard Law and then moved permanently 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 teacher and 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 two miles 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 – formerly hemorrhaging 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’s philanthropic 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 of surprises. 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 graduated from 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. This change of heart took place after Don explained that Coke incoming mail addressed to “Supreme Idiot” 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 Ron Blumkin, 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 each definitely has its own special advantages along with talented people. But I feel very lucky to have had 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, to raise 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 – the family’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 with doctors 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 of what I have taken for granted. In many 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 increasing difficulty, 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 Next My 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 my entire 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 shareholders develop 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 large fortune. They will also have the advantage of being above ground when I am long gone and, if necessary, can adopt policies both anticipatory and reactive to federal tax policies or other developments 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 by political 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 sums initially 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 any change 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 many CEOs 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 lookat-me rich or to initiate a dynasty. One unpleasant reality: Occasionally, a wonderful and loyal CEO of the parent or a subsidiary 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. Proxy statements 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 my observations – the CEO of company “A” looked at his competitor at company “B” and subtly conveyed 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 are human, 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 many companies 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 a supplicant. 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 will Berkshire shares. A Few Final Thoughts One 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 little from 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. About Berkshire Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, manufacturing, services and retailing. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.