摘要：这次采访让我们得以近距离了解他永恒的投资哲学，巴菲特详细阐述了他建立长期财富的策略、对股票市场的洞见，以及价值投资的原则——正是这些原则巩固了他作为史上最富有的人之一的传奇地位。
在1985年的采访中，巴菲特与知名财经记者亚当·斯密分享了他取得非凡成功的秘诀。
这次采访让我们得以近距离了解他永恒的投资哲学，巴菲特详细阐述了他建立长期财富的策略、对股票市场的洞见，以及价值投资的原则——正是这些原则巩固了他作为史上最富有的人之一的传奇地位。
禅兄反复观看此视频，与1998年巴菲特在佛罗里达大学的演讲有异曲同工之妙，依然值得我们反复观看与思考。
tips：关于亚当.斯密
此亚当.斯密（美国）非彼亚当.斯密（英国，国富论），美国作家兼评论员亚当.斯密，其真实姓名是George Goodman ，他的著作在国内也是很出名的，禅兄有幸于2022年阅读过其三本著作：《金钱游戏》《超级金钱》《咆哮的80年代》，其中《金钱游戏》（The Money Game）是巴菲特最高公开推荐的。该书是透析投资市场本质的永恒经典。
这三本书连起来读，确实精彩（一个月读完的），会让我们对整个美国资本市场有个清晰的认识，禅兄以后会再次阅读，写读后感！
以下是亚当.斯密采访巴菲特的原视频，之后依次是中文翻译、禅兄解读、英文原文。附英文原文也是帮助自己提高英文听力与阅读水平，也希望对他人有帮助。
精彩集锦
从1万美元到1500万美元。
从今天开始，任何人都能做到你所做到的事吗？
您说您喜欢收购企业，那您是如何知道一家公司值多少钱的？
您做这些是为了钱吗？金钱对您意味着什么？
从1万美元到1500万美元
亚当·斯密（旁白）： 在本期节目中，您将见到一位非凡的人物，他或许是他那一代人中最伟大的投资者。当您说“最伟大的投资者”时，人们会用数字来衡量。而这个人没有继承任何财产，却在股票市场上赚取了超过十亿美元。是的，十亿（Billion），B开头的那个词。
亚当·斯密：沃伦，如果我第一次见到你时给了你1万美元，我由衷地希望我当时那么做了，那么我今天就拥有数百万美元了。
沃伦·巴菲特：如果你在1956年我们刚开始时加入合伙公司，然后在69年我们解散时，把收益再投资到伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司——这在某种程度上是一种延续——我想你现在用那1万美元已经赚到了超过1500万美元了。
亚当·斯密：从1万美元到1500万美元？
沃伦·巴菲特：差不多是这样，是的。
亚当·斯密：这真是个相当不错的纪录。
沃伦·巴菲特：还行吧，但这并不能告诉你关于未来的任何事。
亚当·斯密：好吧，那我们来谈谈未来。从今天开始，任何人都能做到你所做到的事吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：如果他们不在第一个星期就试图做得太多的话，是的，没错。
本·格雷厄姆的原则与巴菲特之道
亚当·斯密（旁白）：沃伦·巴菲特是如何将1万美元变成1500万美元的？用的是老派的方法。他没有电脑，没有报价机屏幕，只有常识和一套严格的原则。稍后，我们将探讨巴菲特的投资准则，并聆听他从股票市场到继承财富之弊病的种种智慧。
亚当·斯密：你知道学术界是怎么说的吗？他们说市场是有效的，没有人能战胜它。但你做到了，
沃伦·巴菲特：还有其他一些遵循本·格雷厄姆原则的人也做到了。是的。事实上，我个人认识的每一个真正坚持本·格雷厄姆原则超过20年的人，都取得了比市场好得多的表现。
亚当·斯密： 那些博学的商学院说你无法战胜市场，又怎么说呢？
沃伦·巴菲特：那说明他们还不够博学。
亚当·斯密：但你看过他们的一些论文？
沃伦·巴菲特：我看过那些论文，但我也看过其他一些人的纳税申报单。
亚当·斯密（旁白）：巴菲特认为拥有耐心、理性的股东至关重要，因为他的信条之一就是，华尔街对短期利益的痴迷和疯狂交易是适得其反的。这是你在美国任何地方都能够见到的最快乐的一群股东。
评论员：沃伦·巴菲特无疑是二战后最伟大的投资者，甚至可能是历史上最伟大的投资者。我认为他拥有极高的诚信和一种非常、非常清晰的世界观。对他的赞美之词可以滔滔不绝，而我跟他可没有任何亲戚关系。
亚当·斯密（旁白）：巴菲特通过坚持那些基本原则和保持简单，取得了这一切成就。
亚当·斯密：沃伦，您说您喜欢收购企业。您是如何知道一家公司值多少钱的？
沃伦·巴菲特：我寻找那种我大概知道未来会发生什么的企业。如果你买一张债券，你就确切地知道会发生什么，前提是这是一张好债券，比如美国政府债券。如果它写着9%的票息，你就知道在未来的30年里，这9%的票息会是什么样，如果这是一张30年期债券的话。现在，当你收购一家企业时，你买的也是一种带“票息”的东西，唯一的问题是，票息的金额没有印在上面，而我的工作就是把金额印在这张“券”上。对于一些公司，我觉得自己有能力做到这一点，而对于另一些公司，我则毫无头绪。
亚当·斯密：您似乎对高科技公司敬而远之。
沃伦·巴菲特：你要是给我列出10家高科技公司，问我它们在10年或10个月后会是什么样，我一点概念都没有。所以投资它们就跟买可可豆之类的东西完全一样，我根本不知道未来会发生什么。
亚当·斯密：仅仅购买这些可预测的股票，您真的能获得巨大的成功吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：是的，可以，但并不经常。但偶尔，极好的企业会被人以极低的价格抛售。在70年代中期，整个《华盛顿邮报》公司的售价只有8000万美元，而当时其资产价值不低于4亿美元，并且没人会跟你争论这些资产值4亿美元这件事。价格就摆在那里，人人都能看到，但当时人们对世界的前景并不那么乐观。
亚当·斯密：您宣扬这套哲学已经很多年了，这并不是什么秘密。
沃伦·巴菲特：这不是秘密。
亚当·斯密：那为什么不是每个人都这么做呢？
沃伦·巴菲特：嗯，这需要耐心，而很多人没有耐心。相比于慢慢致富，人们更愿意相信下周就能中彩票的承诺。格斯·利维过去常说，他是“长期贪婪”，而非“短期贪婪”。如果你是短期贪婪，你可能不会得到很好的长期结果。
亚当·斯密：您说过，就算纽约证券交易所关闭两年，您也毫不在意。能解释一下吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：当我们持有股票时，我们拥有的是企业的一部分。纽约证券交易所是否开门，与《华盛顿邮报》在未来五到十年内是否会变得更有价值毫无关系。我们想做的，是在商业判断上正确。如果我们对企业的判断是正确的，市场自然会给出回报。证券交易所在周六和周日休市，你知道，我也不会因此急得长荨麻疹。所以，如果它关闭几年，只要企业经营得好，我们就会做得很好。
投资心态
亚当·斯密：我注意到您在年报里说，如果你在一个牌局里玩了30分钟还不知道谁是傻瓜，那么你就是那个傻瓜。
沃伦·巴菲特：正是如此。
亚当·斯密： 您如何把这个道理应用到市场，或者说市场投资中呢？
沃伦·巴菲特：嗯，如果你认为市场比你更了解你的企业……换句话说，如果你的股票下跌了10%，而这让你感到不安，那显然意味着你认为市场比你更了解这家公司。在这种情况下，你就是那个傻瓜。如果股价下跌了10%，而你想买入更多，因为你知道这家企业的价值和你之前买入时一样高，甚至可能随着时间的推移还增加了一点，于是你买入更多，那么，他们才是傻瓜。
亚当·斯密：您这些让您闻名遐迩的格言是从哪儿来的？
沃伦·巴菲特：嗯，我知道这差不多就是我智力的极限了，所以我只能用一句话来表达。
亚当·斯密：10月19日的股灾是一次反常现象，还是可能再次发生？
沃伦·巴菲特：哦，当然可能。股市里任何事情都可能发生。如果你读几百年的金融史，看看南海泡沫、郁金香狂热以及我们国家经历过的一些恐慌，我们在1914年左右曾关闭了证券交易所好几个月。任何事情都可能发生，你应该这样安排你的事务：即使最极端的事情发生了，你第二天依然能留在场上继续玩。
亚当·斯密：小投资者应该如何看待股指期货、指数套利以及进入股市的各种波动性？
沃伦·巴菲特：嗯，他应该希望这些东西能导致其他人做出非常愚蠢的行为，然后他应该偶尔介入。他自己应该忽略这些工具本身，但如果这些愚蠢的工具偶尔导致了愚蠢的价格，他就可以利用它们。而在其他时间，他应该完全忽略它们。
亚当·斯密：年老的篮球运动员会失去腿脚的爆发力。年老的投资者会失去他们的“腿脚”吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：我不这么认为。我想他们可能会失去腿脚的力量，但他们不太需要那个。说真的，成为一名稳健的投资者，真正需要的只是对自身性情的一定控制，以及知道自己懂什么、不懂什么的能力，并偶尔采取行动。我看不出这和年龄有什么关系。当你想……我们可能……再过几年我或许能给你提供一个例证，但到目前为止，年龄还没什么影响。我的意思是，从某种意义上说，随着时间的推移，你会不断积累更多的商业知识，这是一个优势。
伯克希尔·哈撒韦与护城河
亚当·斯密：关于硅谷文化有很多讨论。伯克希尔·哈撒韦有自己的文化吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：我想伯克希尔·哈撒韦是有文化的，但它和硅谷文化相去甚远。
亚当·斯密：伯克希尔·哈撒韦的文化是什么？
沃伦·巴菲特：我们喜欢那些热爱自己事业的管理者。我们喜欢那些和我有同样感受的人。我每天都想跳着踢踏舞去上班。我们拥有的就是这类管理者。我们运气非常好，我们收购的企业，其管理者在过去很长一段时间里都取得了巨大的成功。在我们收购后，他们通常已经很富有了，但之后他们仍然继续工作。我们和商学院毕业生的合作就没那么幸运了。我们发现“老狗学不来新把戏”的反面也成立（教新狗老把戏也很难）。我们喜欢那些经验丰富的人。
亚当·斯密：如果展望未来五到十年，您认为哪些会是好生意？
沃伦·巴菲特：那些拥有某种“特许经营权”的生意。一个好生意的特点在于，比如我走进一家药店想买一块好时（Hershey）巧克力，他们不能卖给我一块没有牌子的巧克力。你知道，如果我要花35美分买好时巧克力，而他们说：“你不想试试这块很棒的无品牌巧克力吗？只要30美分。”我还是会买好时。如果这个地方没有，我会到街对面去买。这就是好生意。但我对我买的盒装牛奶就没有这种感觉。我会在杂货店的冰柜或冷藏柜里随便拿一盒牛奶。所以，这就是特许经营权的力量。
亚当·斯密：特许经营权的力量。
价值投资
亚当·斯密：当本·格雷厄姆谈论这些时，他谈论的是有形资产：地上的钢铁、砖块和砂浆。但您把本·格雷厄姆的思想扩展到了“特许经营权”这个概念上，是吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：这是我在本之后学到的。购买价值、安全边际以及与市场保持距离的原则，这些都是我从本那里学到的。你可以说，我从本那里学到了正确的气质。我今天买的股票，和本如果还活着会买的股票完全不同。
亚当·斯密：您现在还自己报税吗？
沃伦·巴菲特：是的，是的。其实报税单很简单。是的，非常简单的报税单。
亚当·斯密：沃伦，您多年来一直公开反对企业奢侈福利，但您最终还是买了一架公务机。
沃伦·巴菲特：我没法解释。这在我脑子里完全是……一片空白，但我确实多年来一直发表演讲反对它，但我得告诉你，我爱死它了。
亚当·斯密：但您拥有全美国最便宜的公务机。
沃伦·巴菲特：嗯，我不知道它是不是最便宜的公务机。它对我来说用着非常完美，而且我得告诉你，我显然对那种生活有一种尚未开发的潜力，因为它在过去几年里让我的生活轻松了很多。
人生建议
亚当·斯密：沃伦，您关于金钱和子女的言论引起了轰动。您有三个孩子和孙辈，您爱您的孩子，他们也爱您，但您曾说过不打算给他们任何钱，因为那会是一件坏事。
沃伦·巴菲特：我听富人的孩子，或者富人自己，谈论食品券对领取福利的母亲们的负面影响。他们说这太可怕了，你给她们所有这些食品券，导致这个循环不断持续下去。但当然，当一个非常富有的孩子，或者一个将要继承大笔财富的孩子出生时，当他们离开子宫的那一刻，他们就被给予了这种终生供应的“食品券”。只不过他们有一个“福利官”，被称为信托部门官员，而那些“食品券”就是一些小额股票和债券。似乎没有人注意到这种特殊形式的终生食品券所带来的负面影响。我认为，总的来说，如果我想成为一名短跑运动员，如果我和其他人同时离开起跑线，我会成为生活中更好的短跑运动员，而不是因为我是某某人的孩子，就可以在50码线起跑。
亚当·斯密：那您的孩子们对此有何感受？
沃伦·巴菲特：我想他们感觉挺好的。是的，是的。你有过很多……我并不像听起来那么严苛，但我已经非常接近了。
亚当·斯密：您做这些是为了钱吗？金钱对您意味着什么？
沃伦·巴菲特： 嗯，金钱是我做一件我喜欢并且做得非常好的事情的副产品。我想，如果你找到一个表现出色的运动员，我猜……我不是在和自己比较，但比如像泰德·威廉姆斯或阿诺德·帕尔默这样的人，在他们有足够的钱吃饭之后，他们就不是为了钱而比赛了。我猜，如果泰德·威廉姆斯拿着棒球界最高的薪水，但他的击球率只有0.220，他会不开心。而如果他拿着棒球界最低的薪水，但击球率达到0.400，他会非常开心。这就是我对这份工作的感受。
亚当·斯密：当您看到那张写着您净资产的纸，上面说您身价超过十亿美元时，您是什么感觉？
沃伦·巴菲特：这是我把我喜欢的事情做好的副产品。如果我在这行里能长期保持0.400的“击球率”，你就会得到一笔非常大的钱。
亚当·斯密：那是一笔巨款。您打算怎么处理它？
沃伦·巴菲特：最终，它都会回馈给社会。其中超过……99%以上都会回馈给社会。理应如此。
结语
亚当·斯密（旁白）： 你会感觉，他想像B夫人（Mrs. B）一样，在94岁高龄时还每周工作7天，仅仅因为这太有趣了。我是亚当·斯密，我们下次再见。
【禅兄解读】
这份1985年的访谈对每个投资者来说绝对是宝藏。巴菲特的思想穿越周期，至今仍然闪闪发光。
核心观点一：投资的本质是“买生意”，而不是“炒股票”
巴菲特原文精髓：“我们拥有股票时，我们拥有的是企业的一部分。我寻找那种我大概知道未来会发生什么的企业。”他把自己比作给企业的未来“票息”填上金额的人。纽交所关门两年他都不在乎，因为只要企业本身在持续增值，他就安心。
这可能是巴菲特思想最核心的一点。他让我们把眼光从电脑屏幕上红绿跳动的K线移开，去深入思考：这家公司到底是干什么的？它的产品/服务牛不牛？未来5年、10年还能不能继续赚钱？买股票，就像您亲自花钱盘下了一家火锅店。您不会因为今天隔壁老王说生意不好就马上想关门转让，也不会因为今天客人多就觉得明天能开遍全国。您会关心的是：我的火锅味道好不好？食材新鲜吗？服务员态度怎么样？周围的小区居民消费能力如何？这些才是决定这家店生死和发展的根本。
股市案例：贵州茅台 (600519.SH) 就是一个极致的例子。长期持有茅台的投资者，很少有人是天天盯着股价看技术图形的。他们看重的是：
独一无二的品牌和“护城河”：在中国，高端白酒的社交属性和品牌认知是任何对手都难以复制的。这就是巴菲特说的“特许经营权”。
可预测的未来现金流：只要中国的白酒文化不变，茅台凭借其定价权和稳定的需求，未来的盈利几乎是可以预见的。投资者就像买了一张未来几十年票息（分红）会不断增长的“债券”。
对短期波动的漠视：无论是经济周期波动，还是所谓的“塑化剂”风波，真正理解茅台“生意本质”的投资者都不会轻易卖出，甚至会在恐慌时加仓。因为他们知道，这些短期因素动摇不了这家“店”的根基。
核心观点二：利用市场先生的“情绪病”，而不是被他传染
巴菲特原文精髓：“如果股价下跌10%让你不安，说明你认为市场比你更了解这家公司，那你就是那个傻瓜（Patsy）。如果股价下跌10%，而你想买入更多，因为你知道企业价值没变，那市场才是傻瓜。”
巴菲特把市场想象成一个情绪极不稳定的合伙人，叫“市场先生”（本杰明.格雷厄姆原创）。他今天可能极度乐观，愿意出高价买你的股份；明天又可能极度悲观，哭着喊着要把股份便宜卖给你。作为投资者，您的工作不是去预测他明天是哭是笑，而是利用他犯病的时候。当他极度悲观，把黄金当白菜卖时（比如2018年底、2022年底的A股），就是您出手的好时机。当他极度狂热，把白菜炒成黄金价时（比如2015年、2021年初），您就该冷静地把股份卖给他。
股市案例：2018年底的腾讯控股 (00700.HK)。当时受游戏版号暂停、宏观经济担忧等多重因素影响，腾讯股价从高点大幅回撤。市场一片悲观，认为腾讯的增长引擎熄火了。当然还有2021年后高层对游戏行业的限制打击以及对……，导致腾讯股价被严重低估。但如果用“生意”的眼光看，腾讯的核心护城河——微信的社交网络、强大的游戏研发和分发能力、以及在支付和云服务领域的布局——并没有被动摇。这时的市场先生就是个过度焦虑的病人。敢于在那个时候买入的投资者，正是利用了市场的非理性，后续也获得了丰厚的回报。
核心观点三：寻找拥有强大“特许经营权”（护城河）的企业
巴菲特原文精髓：用“好时巧克力”举例。顾客宁愿多走一条街也要买好时，而不会随便换个没牌子的。但对于牛奶，大家买哪个牌子都无所谓。这种让顾客产生依赖、无法替代的特性，就是“护城河”。
一个公司的护城河，就是它能持续把竞争对手挡在外面的独门绝技。作为投资者，我们要像古代的将军一样，评估一座城池（公司）的防御能力。护城河可以是：
品牌：像茅台、可口可乐，已经成为一种文化符号。
专利/技术：像医药行业的创新药企，或者高端制造业的核心技术。
网络效应：像腾讯的微信，用的人越多，就越离不开。
成本优势：像紫金矿业的挖矿成本、比亚迪在新能源车领域的垂直整合能力，能把成本控制到极致。
转换成本：比如公司用的财务软件，一旦用熟了，要换一个品牌的成本（时间、学习、风险）非常高。
股市案例：
宁德时代 (300750.SZ)。它的护城河是多方面的：深厚的技术积累和专利布局、与全球主流车企的深度绑定（高转换成本）、以及巨大的规模效应带来的成本优势。虽然近年来竞争加剧，但这条“护城河”依然是它能在激烈竞争中保持领先地位的关键。投资它，就是赌这条河足够宽、足够深。
核心观点四：保持耐心和理性，慢就是快
巴菲特原文精髓：“投资需要耐心，很多人没有。人们更愿意相信下周能中彩票，而不是慢慢变富。” 他推崇“长期贪婪”，而非“短期贪婪”。
做投资，最难的不是分析财报，而是管住自己的手和心。市场每天都有无数的热点和诱惑：元宇宙、ChatGPT、脑机接口、人形机器人……追逐这些热点就像玩“打地鼠”游戏，很容易被耗尽精力，最终一无所获。禅兄认为，真正的财富增长，来自于找到好的生意，然后给它足够的时间去成长，就像种下一棵果树，需要耐心等待它开花结果。频繁交易是业绩的大敌，它只会增加交易成本，并让你在市场的噪音中迷失方向。
股市案例：片仔癀 (600436.SH)。这家公司的核心逻辑几十年来几乎没变过，就是依靠其保密配方和强大的品牌认知。在漫长的岁月里，它经历了无数次市场风格切换和热点炒作，但其股价却在波动中不断创出新高。那些从很早以前就持有并一直耐心持有的投资者，获得的回报远超那些追涨杀跌的投机者。这就是“慢慢变富”的力量。
核心观点五：独立思考，不要人云亦云
巴菲特原文精髓：他嘲笑那些说“市场无法战胜”的商学院，说自己宁愿看别人的税单（实际业绩）。他对高科技公司保持距离，因为他“看不懂”，这是一种对自己能力圈的清醒认知。
作为投资者，我们每天会接触到海量的研究报告、专家观点和市场传闻。巴菲特提醒我们，最可靠的研究，永远是自己独立完成的。你需要建立自己的“能力圈”，只在你真正理解的行业和公司里下注。看不懂就不投，这不丢人，反而是最高级的风控。当市场上所有人都为某个概念疯狂时，你更要冷静下来问自己：这个生意的本质是什么？它的护城河在哪里？现在的价格合理吗？
股市案例：2015年的“互联网+”泡沫。当时几乎任何一家上市公司，只要宣布跟互联网沾边，股价就能连续涨停，比如一家放烟花的公司改名叫“匹凸匹”去做P2P。市场上充斥着各种“颠覆”、“生态化反”的故事。当然最新的泡沫故事还在继续，AI+正在上演……而少数能够保持独立思考、坚持价值投资的基金经理，选择远离这场狂欢。虽然短期内他们的业绩可能跑输市场，但最终，当泡沫破灭时，他们保护了投资人的本金，并等到了用合理价格买入优质资产的机会。
其实，巴菲特的智慧，总结起来就是一套内功心法(四大原则)：
以实业家的眼光选公司
以长期的视角看生意
以理性的态度对市场
以谦逊的心态守住能力圈
在禅兄做基金管理的日常工作中，时常回味这几点，也能称之为禅兄的“清单革命”：
1、今天关注的这家公司，是只想“炒一把”的股票，还是愿意长期持有的“生意”？
2、面对市场的下跌，是感到恐慌，还是看到了“市场先生”送来的礼物？
3、投资组合里的公司，它们的“护城河”是否依然坚固？
4、是否因为急于求成而进行了不必要的操作？
【英文原文】
Highlights
From $10,000 to 15 million.
Could anyone do the same thing you did starting today?
And you say you like to buy businesses, how do you know what a company is worth?
Do you do this for the money? What does money mean to you?
$10,000 to $15,000,000
Adam Smith (Narrator): On this show, you will meet a remarkable man, probably the greatest investor of his generation. When you say "greatest investor," they measure these things with numbers. And this man didn't inherit any money but has made in the stock market more than a billion dollars. That's billion with a B.
Adam Smith: Warren, if I had given you $10,000 when I first met you, and I devoutly wish I had, I would have millions today.
Warren Buffett: If you joined the partnership when we started in 1956 and when we disbanded it in '69, reinvested the proceeds in Berkshire, which was somewhat of a continuation, I think you'd have a little over 15 million now from $10,000.
Adam Smith: From $10,000 to 15 million?
Warren Buffett: Something like that, yeah.
Adam Smith: That's a pretty good record.
Warren Buffett: It's okay, but that doesn't tell you anything about tomorrow.
Adam Smith: Well, let's talk about tomorrow. Could anyone do the same thing you did starting today?
Warren Buffett: If they didn't try and do too much the first week, yeah, right.
Ben Graham's Principles & The Buffet Way
Adam Smith (Narrator): How did Warren Buffett turn $10,000 into $15 million? The old-fashioned way. He has no computer, no Quotron screen, only common sense and a set of strict principles. We'll look at the Buffett formula for investing, and we will hear his wisdom on everything from the stock market to the evils of inherited wealth in a moment.
Adam Smith: You know what the academics say? They say the market is efficient and no one can beat it. But you have
Warren Buffett: and a number of other people that followed Ben Graham's principles have. Right. In fact, every one that I personally know that has really stuck with the Ben Graham principles over 20 years or more has done appreciably better than the market.
Adam Smith: Well, what about all the learned business schools that say you can't beat the market?
Warren Buffett: Well then they aren't so learned.
Adam Smith: But you've seen some of these papers?
Warren Buffett: I've seen the papers, but I've seen some other people's tax returns.
Adam Smith (Narrator): Buffett believes it's very important to have patient, rational shareholders, since it's one of his tenets that Wall Street's obsession with the short term and with frantic trading are counterproductive. This is the happiest tribe of shareholders you'll meet anywhere in America.
Commentator: Warren Buffett is certainly the greatest investor in the post-World War II period and maybe the greatest investor in history.
Commentator: I think he has tremendous integrity and a very, very clear way of looking at the world.
Commentator: The superlatives could go on and on and on, and I'm not related.
Adam Smith (Narrator): Buffett has achieved all this by sticking to those fundamental principles and by keeping things simple.
Adam Smith: Warren, you say you like to buy businesses. How do you know what a company is worth?
Warren Buffett: I look for a business where I think I know, in a general way, what is going to happen. If you buy a bond, you know exactly what's going to happen, assuming it's a good bond, a U.S. Government Bond. If it says 9% coupons, you know what the 9% coupons are going to be for maybe 30 years if it's a 30-year bond. Now, when you buy a business, you're buying something with coupons on it too, except the only problem is they don't print in the amount, and it's my job to print in the amount on the coupon. And some companies I feel capable of doing that with, and others I don't have the faintest idea.
Adam Smith: You seem to stay away from high-tech companies.
Warren Buffett: You named 10 high-tech companies to me and asked me where they're going to be in 10 years or 10 months, and I don't have the faintest idea. So that would be exactly like buying cocoa beans or something. I just don't know what's going to happen.
Adam Smith: Do you ever really get a big, big hit just buying these predictable stocks?
Warren Buffett: Yeah, you do, but not very often. But occasionally, sensational businesses are given away. In the mid-70s, the whole Washington Post company was selling for $80 million at a time when the properties were worth not less than $400 million, and no one would have argued with you about the properties being worth $400 million. And the price was there for all to see, but people just didn't feel very enthusiastic about the world then.
Adam Smith: You have been talking this philosophy for years. It's no secret.
Warren Buffett: It's no secret.
Adam Smith: Why doesn't everybody do it?
Warren Buffett: Well, it requires patience, which a lot of people don't have. And people would much rather be promised that they're going to win a lottery ticket next week than that they're going to get rich slowly. Gus Levy used to say that he was long-term greedy, not short-term greedy. And if you're short-term greedy, you probably won't get a very good long-term result.
Adam Smith: You've said they could close the New York Stock Exchange for two years and you wouldn't care. Can you explain that?
Warren Buffett: We own parts of businesses when we own stocks. And the New York Stock Exchange being open has nothing to do with whether the Washington Post is getting more valuable over a five or 10 year period. And what we want to do is be right on the business. If we're right on the business, the market will take care of itself. And if the stock exchange closes on Saturday and Sunday, you know, I don't break out in hives. So if it closes for a couple of years and the business does well, we'll do very well.
The Investing Mindset
Adam Smith: I've noticed in your annual report you say that if you're in a poker game for 30 minutes and you don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.
Warren Buffett: You've got it.
Adam Smith: How do you apply that to the market? Or to investing in the market?
Warren Buffett: Well, if you think the market knows more about what your business... in other words, if your stock goes down 10% and that upsets you, it obviously means that you think the market knows more about the company than you do. And in that case, you're the patsy. If it goes down 10% and you want to buy more because you know the business is worth just as much as when you bought it before, or perhaps a little bit more with the passage of time, so you buy more, they're the patsy.
Adam Smith: Where do you get these aphorisms that you've gotten so well known for?
Warren Buffett: Well, I know it's just they're about the limit of my intellectual capacity, so I have to work with one sentence.
Adam Smith: Was October 19th an aberration, or could it happen again?
Warren Buffett: Oh, always. Anything can happen in stock markets. If you read financial history for a couple of hundred years and take the South Sea Bubble and the Tulip boom and some of the panics we've had in this country, we closed the stock exchange for a few months back around 1914. Anything can happen, and you ought to conduct your affairs so that if the most extraordinary events happen, that you're still around to play the next day.
Adam Smith: How should the small investor look at stock index futures and index arbitrage and all the volatility that has come into the stock market?
Warren Buffett: Well, he should hope that they cause other people to behave very silly, and then he should step in occasionally. He should ignore them as an end in himself, but to the extent that silly instruments occasionally cause silly prices, he can take advantage of them. And the other, the rest of the time, he ignores them.
Adam Smith: Old basketball players lose their legs. Do old investors lose their legs?
Warren Buffett: I don't think so. I think that they probably lose their legs, but they don't need legs that much. And really, being a sound investor really just requires a certain control of your temperament and the ability to know what you know and know what you don't know, and occasionally act. And I don't see any reason why that goes with age. I may give you an illustration another few years, but so far it has no effect. I mean, in a sense, you keep accumulating a little more business knowledge as you go along, and that's a plus.
Berkshire Hathaway & Financial Moat
Adam Smith: There's been a lot of talk about the Silicon Valley culture. Is there a Berkshire Hathaway culture?
Warren Buffett: I guess there's a Berkshire Hathaway culture, but it would be a long way from the Silicon Valley culture.
Adam Smith: What is the Berkshire Hathaway culture?
Warren Buffett: We like managers who are in love with their business. We like them that feel like I do. I want to tap dance when I get to the office. And that's the sort of managers we have. And we have terrific luck where we buy businesses with managers that have been enormously successful over a period of time. They're usually rich after we buy the business, and they keep on working afterwards. We don't have so much luck with business school grads. We find it's difficult to teach a new dog old tricks. And we like the people who have been around a while.
Adam Smith: If you had to look over the next five or 10 years, what do you think will be good businesses?
Warren Buffett: The businesses that have some sort of a franchise to them. What makes a business a good business is when, if I go into a drugstore and I want a Hershey bar, they can't sell me an unmarked bar. You know, if I'm going to pay 35 cents for the Hershey bar and they say, "But wouldn't you like this wonderful unmarked chocolate bar for 30 cents?" I buy the Hershey bar. And if they don't have it someplace, I'll go across the street to buy it. That's what makes a good business. I don't feel that way about the carton of milk I buy. I'll take whatever carton of milk is in the grocery store's freezer or the cooler. So it's the power of the franchise.
Adam Smith: The power of the franchise.
Value Investing
Adam Smith: When Ben Graham talked about these things, he talked about tangible assets: iron and steel above the ground, bricks and mortar. But you've expanded Ben Graham's idea to this idea of the franchise, haven't you?
Warren Buffett: I learned that subsequent to Ben. The principles of buying value and the margin of safety and the detachment from the market, I learned from Ben. You might say that I learned the proper temperamental set from Ben. The stocks I buy are entirely different from what Ben would buy if he were alive today.
Adam Smith: You still do your own tax returns?
Warren Buffett: Yeah, yeah. Pretty simple return, really. Yeah, it's a very simple return.
Adam Smith: Warren, you have spoken for years against corporate perks, but you finally bought a corporate jet.
Warren Buffett: I can't explain it. It's a total, it's a total blank in my mind, but I've given speeches against them for years and I got to tell you, I love it.
Adam Smith: But you have the cheapest corporate jet of anybody in America.
Warren Buffett: Well, I don't know if it's the cheapest corporate jet. It works perfectly for me, and I got to tell you that I have an untapped potential for that type of life, apparently, because it's made life a lot easier the last couple of years.
Life Advice
Adam Smith: Warren, you created a stir with your remarks about money and children. You have three children and grandchildren, you love your children, they love you, but you've said you're not going to give them any money because that would be a bad thing to do.
Warren Buffett: I hear children of the rich, or the rich themselves, talk about the debilitating effect of food stamps on welfare mothers. And they say it's terrible, you know, you hand them all these food stamps and it causes the cycle to perpetuate itself. But of course, when a very rich child, or one who's going to inherit a lot of money, is born, when they leave the womb, they're handed this lifetime supply of food stamps. Only they have a welfare officer, he's called a trust department officer, and the food stamps are little stocks and bonds. And nobody seems to notice the debilitating effects of that particular form of lifetime supply of food stamps. I think that by and large, that if I'm going to be a sprinter, I will become a better sprinter in life if I sprint against everybody else leaving the starting box at the same time, than if they say because I'm just [some]one's child or something, I get to start on the 50-yard line.
Adam Smith: Well, how have your children felt about that?
Warren Buffett: I think they feel pretty good. Yeah, yeah. I'm not quite as draconian as I sound, but I'm quite close to it.
Adam Smith: Do you do this for the money? What does money mean to you?
Warren Buffett: Well, money is a byproduct of doing something I like to do extremely well. I think if you found an athlete that was doing well, and my guess is that... and I'm not comparing myself, but a Ted Williams or an Arnold Palmer or something, after they have enough to eat, they're not doing it for the money. And my guess is that if Ted Williams was getting the highest salary in baseball and he was batting 220, he would be unhappy. And if he was getting the lowest salary in baseball and batting 400, he'd be very happy. That's the way I feel about this job.
Adam Smith: What do you feel like when you look at this piece of paper that gives you your net worth and it says you're worth over a billion dollars?
Warren Buffett: It's a byproduct of doing things I like to do well. If I bat 400 long enough in this business, you get a very big sum.
Adam Smith: That is a big sum. What are you going to do with it?
Warren Buffett: Eventually, it's all going to go back to society. With very... 99% plus of it's going to go to society. It should.
Outro
Adam Smith (Narrator): You get the feeling he would like to be like Mrs. B and go to work 7 days a week at age 94, just because it's so much fun. I'm Adam Smith. See you next time.
来源：燕青策论价值