Chapter 6 4 Entrepreneurship

A series of market decisions, whether you believe it or not, are superimposed into a characterization of a person's character. —Adam.Smith's The Money Game With the partnership up and running, Buffett was plagued by a seemingly quaint apprehension.As he writes to the "big boy" (Jerry Orlans), he fears that eventually his business will grow too large and that money will corrupt his children.He couldn't even figure out "a logical way to do with the money". This hasn't been a problem yet, but optimistically, it will happen, and I've been thinking about it for a long time with no results.I'm pretty sure I don't want to leave my kids big piles of money, unless I'm a bit older and I have time to see if the kids have grown up.However, how much money to leave to them, what to do with the rest of the money, etc., made me very troubled.

At this time, Buffett was 26 years old. He had moderate savings and unstable income.If other people were so worried about their unearned millions, he would have been greeted with sneers. But for Buffett, this is no bluff.He knew that he must be rich as others were--and not just rich to show success, but so rich that one didn't know what to do with it.All he worries about is spending his "money."Indeed, he'd had such worries before—not how to earn them. Buffett's awe-inspiring self-confidence was what motivated him when his performance was middling.In 1957, Buffett was only in charge of a mere 300,000 for a few relatives and friends.If he wasn't content to be just an ordinary stockbroker in Omaha, he needed capital, a lot of capital.And if Buffett were to raise capital, what would attract investors to trust him other than his astounding self-confidence?

Buffett has no brilliant performance as an independent operator, and he has nothing expressly expressed to prove that he is worthy of everyone's trust.And he didn't just want free access to his client's money, he wanted absolute control over it.He didn't want anyone to interfere with his stock decisions—no wary clients like Buffett-Falkery, no skeptical bosses like Graham-Newman. So far, Buffett knows all the stocks and bonds in existence like the back of his hand.Line by line, he memorized every financial report and Moody's book; day by day, he built up in his mind the entire detailed outline of "Wall Street," as if he could discern every feature on the horizon. a rock.He believed that no one else's analysis could be better than his own.

In his letters to Olans, he would evaluate the extraordinary performance of mutual funds, make some recommendations on Treasury bills, and attack the traditional maxim about investing for capital or income in one breathless sentence. .When Orlans wrote to ask him about mutual funds when he had focused all his talents on a single, consistent goal, Buffett answered him with a genial face: None of the goals you mentioned in your letter In any sense, this is a bunch of nonsense from the people in charge.Everyone has the same goal—to take minimal risk to get a monetary output far greater than the investment.

If even Buffett's inner self-confidence and sober planning cannot be trusted by the public, what else can be trusted?If not for those distinct aspects of his character, why would he Or try to carry on his business? In the summer of 1957, Buffett received a job named Edwin.A call from a renowned urologist in Omaha, Davis.They never met, but one of Davis' patients, one named Arthur.Weissenberg's New York investment adviser met Buffett in New York.Weissenberg heard that Buffett was trying to raise money, so he suggested that Davis call him.Despite his misgivings about investing in such a greenhorn, Davis agreed to take Buffett's side.On the appointed Sunday, he called the whole family together to evaluate the young man.On his first impression, Buffett was indeed a surprise.

The doorbell rang and a young man walked in.God!He looked only 18 years old.He wore his hair very short and looked too boyish.His collar was open, his coat was very baggy, everyone noticed his coat, and he spoke very fast. This is a very important moment for Buffett.Dr. Davis was able to give him money, but more importantly, an affirmation.If he can sign with Davis, then he will not only invest for his father and Aunt Alice, he will enter the ranks of professional investors from then on. But Buffett hasn't created the kind of atmosphere others hoped for.Indeed, some of his statements were intended to get Davis' attention.He told them he would not disclose where their money was invested.

He'd give them an annual performance summary and nothing else. At the same time, Buffett only has one day of "outside office" every year.On Dec. 31, Davis can add or withdraw funds.In other cases, the funds will be handled by Buffett alone (Buffett assured them that he will follow Graham's principles).He stated it calmly, without any embellishment, but the content was very clear.Although Buffett's need for Davis' funds is so urgent, he only wants to get the other party's funds on his terms. Then he put forward the condition that Davis, as a limited partner, can get all of Buffett's profits not higher than 4%.The rest of the profits are split between the two -- 75 percent to Davis and 25 percent to Buffett.In this way, Buffett did not let Davis gamble alone, and Buffett's funds were among them.If he's mediocre or worse, Buffett gets nothing -- no salary, no agency fees, nothing.According to the doctor's son-in-law Li."It was settled very quickly, which we like. You know where you are with him," said Erman.

After Buffett left, Davis considered it from various angles.From an objective point of view, they have no basis for judgment.But the doctor's wife, Duo Mengxi said, "I like every aspect of this young man."Edwin put in $100,000. By the end of the year, Buffett was running five small partnerships with a total capital of $500,000.In this year, Buffett's first year, his investment portfolio made a profit of 10%, easily surpassing the Dow.The Jones Industrial Average, which experienced an 8 percent drop. With Susie expecting her third child and Warren's career looking to be on the right track, the Buffetts bought a spacious five-bedroom on Farham Avenue house.Warren assists his daughter, puts out bids, and bids farewell to the old house.Once upon a time, 4-year-old "Little Susie" suffered from a terrible paranoia.She believed there was an intruder in the house wearing glasses and dubbed him "the glasses man".Every night, while she was sleeping, little Susie insisted that his father check from the balcony to her room, in case the "glass man" was hiding there, and now that they were driving away, Warren let him daughter entered the house last look

① Buffett reports to his partners.Jones Index values ​​are adjusted to include dividends. glance.He leaned down and said, "'Glass Man' is here to stay, say goodbye to him!" Buffett's new home, a stucco building with brown trim built in the 1920s, is an upper-middle-class suburban landscape.It faces a bustling street, but is hidden among trees.It's for Jerry.Buffett found the house unimportant, Olans wrote. "There's nothing new here. I mentioned I bought a house." It was the cost that really caught his attention. "Buffett's stupid architecture," he said, "has lots of room, both in the house and in the yard." But he didn't "spend money"—a consolation to Orlans, whose house cost $31,500 Dollar.

Buffett in the living room studio of his bedroom, which his wife has decorated with green wallpaper.Their third child, Peter, was born that year, but Warren didn't stop working, his energies surrounded by stocks and bonds.He said that before he was born, he was thinking about how to make money. Not long after the Buffett family moved here, Buffett's Graham-Newman colleague, Tom.Knapp flew to Omaha.He and Buffett drove to Beugett, Wisconsin, to hear Graham speak.On the way, Knapp happened to mention that the USPS was withdrawing its 4-cent stamp from circulation.Buffett had an idea-this is a good opportunity to make money!He and Knapp stopped at every post office on the drive home to "invest" in the soon-to-be-rare blue eagle print.In the end, they bought 12,000 worth of prints—all my prints, alas!All destined to be in Knapp's post office.

Buffett has done a great job with stocks.His partnership's profits rose 41% in 1958, beating the Dow's 39%.The Jones index is slightly higher.By the end of Buffett's third year, the partnership's original capital had been doubled. He is also courting new investors.He signed up with friends, like Fred from Columbia.Steinbeck, Don.Danley, and Jerry.Orlans.He finds neighbors and former students, and he and Leland.Olson, the obstetrician who had taken Buffett's class, signed up.When Olsen hoped to sign a contract with his mother, Buffett drove his little blue Volkswagen Beetle through a blinding snowstorm and arrived dressed as if he had just come from a Volkswagen promotion. Walked down the same as advertised.But Buffett is unwilling to condescend or change his creed to accept new investors. Just when Buffett was in the stage of accumulating energy, Jerry.Ringwalt, who owned an insurance company in Omaha and was a friend of Buffett's Aunt Alice, called Buffett, whom he had never met, and offered him $10,000 to "play with him." Buffett replied that he was counting on a big name like Lintwall to offer him $50,000.This answer made Lintwall feel very uncomfortable, but he reiterated the $10,000. Buffett declined. People all over the city were amazed by Buffett's quick start and his unusual aggressiveness.As one of Buffett's investors recalled, there was a luncheon at a big hotel in Omaha, the Blackstone Hotel.Everyone is talking about Warren.Buffett, Bob was there, he was one of the big names in Omaha."It's a new idea that this young man is going to go bankrupt and you lose all your money in less than a year," he said. But anyone who has met Buffett has the exact opposite impression, not so much because of his achievements, but because of his poised self-confidence.At one point he was at a meeting of neighbors, where discussions were raging about what to do in response to a city proposal to reroute traffic on Farnham Street.Buffett stood up and suggested in a calm tone that everyone should forget about it. ①In this way, people realized that he was right, and they went home. Buffett got the same reaction from his investors, who thought he could see through the simple truth, but they often ignored it. Buffett insists on not disclosing his stocks because he is worried that others will imitate him, and if he wants to buy more, he will have to pay more.He didn't mention it to anyone, and he was afraid to talk in his sleep because his wife and children might hear it. But behind his heavy guard, he was living a Graham-Newman fantasy, picking out cheap small stocks one after another.His intelligence is not reflected in the scope of his business, which is limited to the investment industry, but in his spirit, and his whole spirit is condensed in a wonderful outlet.Just like he handed out newspapers as a kid.He analyzed it company by company and kept it in his head.Once a company became cheap, he swooped in. National Fire Insurance Company is the most inconspicuous company that people have ever seen. It is an insurance company based in Omaha, owned by banking magnate Howard. F. Ahmanson and his brother Hayden took control. Its stock was distributed to Nebraska farmers in the late 1920s and has since been forgotten by the public.Now the Armandson brothers are offering to buy back the stock at $50 a share.Their bids were low, but since there was no open market for the shares, holders gradually began to sell them. After digging through the state insurance files, Buffett realized it was cheap, but he couldn't find a stock to buy.He and his lawyer buddy Don.Monyn ran to the annual meeting of shareholders, but Hayden.Armanson rudely refused to let them see the list of shareholders.So just like asking a friend to spend an afternoon looking for golf balls, Buffett suggested that Monyn drive around the state to look for stocks.Unable to withstand Buffett's instigation, Monyn drove a red and white Chevrolet to the farthest corner of Nebraska.Every time he saw a guy, whether it was in a country courthouse, a bank, or something like that, he offered him $100 a share.Afterwards, Monyn said: "It sounds like a cliché, reflecting that he will run for his own ideas. Warren. Buffett is the closest person I have ever seen to 'Mr. Perfect' (perfect transliteration)." "Mr. Perfect" and his partners got 10 percent of the stock and made more than $100,000 -- Buffett's first big punch. Sanborn Maps is another example that Buffett learned from this.Graham learned a lot from there.Sanborn's once-lucrative map business is on the wane, but the company also has an investment organization built up when business was booming, worth about $65 a share, and the stock is trading at just $45, reflecting The gradual decline of the corporate map business.Like a mirror image of Northern Pipeline stock—Northern Pipeline's railroad bonds were picked by Graham.Like his mentor, Buffett bought Sanborn shares throughout 1958 and 1959, convinced by Graham's statement that "sooner or later the stock will rise back to its value." But it didn't pick up.The company's presidents owned only 400 shares (with an additional 105,000 shares outstanding), and were content to allow the stock to decline.In fact, they were sitting on nothing, cutting their dividend five times in 8 years.However, Buffett noticed that the members of the committee never had to reduce their salaries because of this. Following Graham's method, Buffett became a director step by step.He lobbied the management to discover the secret value hidden in the investment portfolio, but was rejected by the management. At the same time, Buffett did not mention Sanborn to his investors, despite disclosing that they have 35 percent of their assets in a single stock, but he and others who disagree ① George, the organizer of the meeting.Payne immediately called Buffett and signed up for the partnership. Shareholders started fanning the flames.In 1960, Sanborn compromised, and he agreed to use his portfolio to buy back all the stock held by shareholders.Buffett makes about 50% of the profits from it."This really speaks to the need for secrecy about operations and the sheer futility of measuring our performance over a short period of time," he said in a leaked letter to partners. Not everyone is convinced.In the middle of Sanborn's episode, a New York financier named John came to meet with Buffett with the idea of ​​joining. When John knew that Buffett would not disclose his holdings, he decided not to invest. Buffett also found a man named Donald.Keogh's children often play with Buffett's children. "Don, you have a bunch of lovely kids," Buffett said. "Have you ever thought about how to get them to go to college?" Keogh is a rising assistant manager at a coffee wholesale store.He liked Buffett, but he found it odd that his neighbor was always stuck at home, working in sweatpants and a T-shirt, so Keogh turned him down. Those who intuitively signed with Buffett saw his Garbo-like withdrawn disposition as a draw.When Buffett insists on secrecy, he not only wants to prevent leakage, but also to prevent infringement, so as to maintain complete independence.He didn't want leakers or wild guesses.For a stock with investment value, Buffett has to convince himself, and once he does, what is the point of other people's opinions?He is inherently skeptical of advisers and financial seers.What if stocks are based on public opinion, and when that opinion changes?His conviction that his analysis varied far less. Buffett only needs one thing from the outside world - "funds". In 1960, Buffett, who had just turned 30, met a more enthusiastic partner named William.Angle's friendly cardiologist. "Doug Angell" built Buffett a model train to keep in the attic and would do anything for him. “Warren asked me if I would be interested in getting ten doctors together and putting in $10,000 each,” Angle recalls, “and I got a group of Clarkson doctors in a restaurant at 49 Dodge Avenue. " In public, Buffett had to show himself as a money manager, and at the restaurant—the mountain cabin—he put Dell.Carnegie showed off the speaking skills he learned and improved in evening classes.His black silhouette against the darkening summer sky, he babbled on about Benjamin.Graham and Shakespeare, interspersed with a few good-natured self-deprecations, spoke for nearly an hour. The conversation in Clarkson's coffee shop the next day was all about the same topic.An obstetrician said: "We shouldn't have given the money to that young man, he will go to a foreign country." Arthur.Green, who once took Buffett's class, announced that he was not going to invest, because Buffett once called AT&T "an old lady's stock" and he was "foolish" to hold AT&T. Green said later, but Eleven doctors decided to take their chances, and in Omaha at least Buffett was doing great. The following year, Buffett bet $1 million on a company, the largest investment he has ever made, and the doctors would be stunned if they found out.Dempster Machine Works is an 80-year-old windmill and farm implement manufacturer in Beatrice, Nebraska, 90 miles south of Omaha. The windmill business cannot emulate Xerox. , so Dempster is struggling with stagnant sales and worrisome profits.Buffett had researched this stock years ago—it was a cheap classic Graham stock. In 1961, he couldn't wait to buy the shares of Dazhi Holdings, and invested 1/15 of his partner's assets in it. Buffett named himself chairman (unusually for an investor), a move that shows he will never Willing to be just an investor. According to his character, Buffett puts Don.Monyn was forced into the board.Every month, Buffett and the faithful Monyn drive to Beatrice, a seedy little town on the plains like Don.Quixote and his Sancho.panza.But Buffett didn't have complete control over the Dempster plant. It needed a radical overhaul, and dealing with such trivial details was not his forte.Like wiping fruit bins at Buffett's grocery store, Buffett prefers the business itself abstracted in digital form.Every month, Buffett asks his managers to check the inventory at a reduced cost, and they always verbally agree, and then wait for him to return to Omaha.Buffett quickly put the company up for sale. But he didn't question the Graham-esque premise that led to his purchase, and indeed Graham's influence permeated the entire partnership.With the exception of Dempster, the funds were spread across forty stocks—cigar butts, arbitrage, post-corporate work (such as liquidation) all from the Graham-Newman operating manual.Buffett unashamedly imitated his mentor in his letters to partners, and he even copied Graham's shortcomings.Like his teacher, Buffett dismissed all high-tech companies as speculators.Graham once rejected Xerox, and Buffett once rejected Data Control at a price of $1 per share, even though he and William, the creator of the computer giant.Norris was related (through an uncle's marriage), and he was well aware of his chances. Buffett visited the Grahams a number of times during the summer when the family vacationed in California (the Buffetts lived in a very cheap motel).Buffett would hang around for hours, and he struck up a friendship with Graham's wife, Estelle. Back then, Graham spent most of his time with his olive-skinned French lover, Marie.Louise.Enter an ordinary company run by Amilos.Estelle.Graham was overwhelmed by the incident.A poor girl from Brooklyn, Estelle is self-taught and enamored of the luxurious life of Los Angeles.In Los Angeles, she and Graham shared a box in Hollywood and hosted lavish soirees.One of Graham's cousins, Rhoda, lived across the street.Says Sannett: "Ben doesn't always live on tea and pancakes, and just because you're a genius doesn't make you the most thoughtful person in the world." Buffett was friendly with Estelle, even enjoying Graham's presence when he wasn't around. Ironically, Graham's wife has become Buffett's most ardent believer.While Graham introduced others to invest in Buffett, Estelle invested directly with him.She sighed to Sannett: "This man has indeed matured, he is completely trustworthy, and you should join him." Buffett himself is remarkably reticent.One year he realized that the market would have a vicious change.He warned his partners: "We are destined to be surpassed by the Dow Jones Index for several years." To surpass the Dow every year.Jones is indeed very difficult, but in Buffett's short record (including the Dempster plant that has not yet been dealt with), the record is impressive.Know that for many years, the vast majority of money managers don't even reach Tao.The level of the Jones Industrial Average.In the first 5 years, the Buffett partnership took the road.The Jones Index is far behind. Partner Enterprise Road.jones 1957: +10.4%-8.4% 1958: +40.9% +38.5% 1959: +25.9% +19.9% 1960: +22.8%-6.3% 1961: +45.9% +22.2% And the five-year cumulative income +251.0% +74.3% That last pair of numbers deserves a second look, Dow.Jones has grown by three-quarters, while Buffett's portfolio has tripled and a half. In Omaha, word of Buffett's success spread like wildfire.Acquaintances would wander over to Ross' Steakhouse to ask him with feigned indifference if he had any inside tips.Buffett would very kindly suggest that they go get a pencil, close their eyes, and click a few on a stock chart.He'd go to the Omaha Country Club, in yellow khaki pants and haspas, golf shoes and a sweatshirt, and the older folks would flock to him like bees, but they couldn't get any. nectar. Practically every other stock guy in the country was spitting out some second-hand idea.At lunch, at golf lessons, on the phone—ten thousand times a day—investors inhale and exhale the names of favorite stocks, and most of their intelligence is forgotten within days. In the back of the mind, if it is not forgotten in a while, it will be replaced by some new hot stock in a short time.Buffett, on the other hand, has a sense of ownership over stocks that an artist has over an unfinished painting.He relished the stories of his brilliant moves in the stock market, but only after they were all done, and only in the stocks he had planned. People love to listen to him because he can make business sound easy and he has a good sense of humor. In 1960, he made an investment in "Data File Company", which was run by a man named Wayne.A friend of Evans and John.Cleary (a former assistant of Buffett's father) established an Omaha ledger card factory.Evans and Cleary quickly made Buffett chairman.So Buffett put the same in this.Bill, a classmate in Graham's class.Ryan and Fred.Steinbeck, and a Chicago friend, Robert.Marott was recruited to the board.They flew into Omaha the night before the board meeting, mostly looking for an excuse, as one said, to "get some steak at Ross's and chat with Buffett for three or four hours." He has an astonishingly large circle of friends, many of whom are also his investors, and his attitude towards people is never different from one person to another.He is always charming, humble, and casual, and he looks like a respected teacher who teaches and solves problems wherever he goes.He never draws a line between work and other affairs, and he will immediately plunge into any environment he enters.Robert.Billig, one of his golfing mates, said Buffett "can handle advice better than anyone."While Billig told him how to aim, Buffett shut down everything else and focused his superhuman attention on the golf ball."It's just amazing how often he can do that," Billig marvels. Buffett's hobby outside of work is bridge.He always played cards regularly, and the members of the poker board were a sample of Americans--advertising executives, Buick dealers, judges, life insurance officers, mortgage loan officers, railroad lawyers, AAA chapter presidents, and so on. .Buffett would show up with a six-pack of Pepsi and tell jokes and stories to keep everyone entertained. He never mentioned that he made money, the point is that he didn't mention it at all, and he played so hard that it was as if he was working not with stocks and bonds but with trumps. Buffett doesn't like to lose, he doesn't bet too high, that is to say, only 1 cent a point, unless he thinks their side has an advantage, he plays it as seriously as a 25-cent point card. What sets Buffett apart is the way he plays, staring at a deck of cards and counting the cards like a machine. "He has no emotion," James said.Koller, a lawyer and occasional poker buddy, said, "It was math to him." Before playing the first card, Buffett will plan the entire game to screen out possible bad opportunities.Kay.Kettle, a life insurer, recalls: "Warren would just sit there and think about it until he figured out who was with every card in the deck. I took my dad to play once— — he's almost going crazy." Buffett has been so analytically rigorous -- unusually so.On the surface it appears that his emotional pendulum swings less far than others, with little power to prompt him to express an emotion; such as anger, frustration, recklessness, or anything else beyond his usual Pepsi-drenched spirit. emotion.He's always logical and soft-tempered, always within the boundaries of the same arc. Buffett is very dependent on Susie, she pays the bills, takes care of the children, and runs the house.Anything outside his scope was handled by Susie, and Susie, in particular, kept Warren away from his mother. Even in adulthood, whenever he saw the old woman, he would shudder or become silent, sinking into a pain that he could not do anything about.He avoided her as much as possible, and at family gatherings he would excuse himself after dinner that he was going to "take a nap" and back away. Once, when Lila was leaving, she and her son walked through a hallway.When she tried to kiss the baby goodbye, Warren turned and walked away, leaving his mother in tears.But apart from such rare encounters, Susie always protected him and stood in his way.Susie would go and talk to Lila so Warren wouldn't have to. Warren's need for Susie is palpable.Once, when they were visiting his sister Doris in Washington, Susie woke up at six o'clock in the morning with a bout of choking fever.On the way to the hospital, even though Susie was very ill, she tried to comfort Warren.Warren had a great fear of hospitals, which made him seem a little more listless than she was. Even on a normal day, when Susie walked into the room, Warren's face lit up—his emotion.She ran his fingers through his hair, tied his tie, sat on his lap, and hugged him tightly.She is his pillar, possibly referring to Susie's soothing exploration of his childhood experiences. Warren once declared that "Susie cleared the thorns one by one."And Susie spoke of Warren as if he were a vulnerable child who needed her protection.She would hint to the children that there was something about him that they didn't know--and that only Susie knew. The two complemented each other very well, with Warren being the one to focus on his career, and Susie being willing to meet an endless supply of close friends and reassurances, be it friends in the midst of a divorce, neighbors who were at odds with their relatives, and so on.It was as if anyone in trouble in Omaha had sat on Suzy's "bench."More than once she got so involved with a waiter or maid that she left his and her phone numbers when she left the restaurant. Suzy is determined not to let Buffett live a monotonous life.As a small example, they joined a "gourmet cooking club".Here, couples eat Swedish meatballs one month and French crepes the next.But each time Warren would happily ask his host to make him a hamburger.He likes to cling to the familiar: the same city, the same food, the same pursuit of a single idea, and he clings to that arc. At the banquet, the Buffetts behaved very differently.Susie would go tidy the room, leaning against someone, opening her wide eyes and asking, "Is everything ready?" Warren would huddle in the In the corner, "You look so young, with a bunch of hair up, so cute." Susan's friend Eunice.Dennenberg said.But people would flock to him, and without much effort, he would start telling a story, choose the words precisely, use them just right. "You look around and all of a sudden people go to him", where he is, the school is there. Buffett is more than just a chatter, he talks with purpose.richard.Horan, an advertising executive in Omaha, observed that even in social situations, Buffett has a certain purpose.Horan met Buffett when he was nearly 60 years old, when Holland was working as a credit committee member for a real estate client.Buffett, who was recommended to manage a liquidation, was wearing tennis shoes and a T-shirt. "I think he's probably ready to go broke," Horan said.They became good friends, and Horan also invested in Buffett.He found that Buffett is not a very idle person. "He wants to talk about something," but he's not good at small talks, spouting nervous chuckles here and there. Jerry's wife Jane.Olans, who believed that Buffett's mind "worked" differently, would find a theme in the evening papers and ask everyone what they thought of it, as if he were leading a seminar.One year, around 1961, when Warren and Susie visited Orlans in New York, Buffett spent the evening talking about population, saying that overpopulation was the biggest problem in the world. This is typical Buffett style: logical and digital.At the same time, the question touched on his great fear of human existence.But Buffett isn't hostile to it, making the problem much less of a problem.Quote Jane.Orlans' words: He talks about it in a humorous way.他显得非常有说服力，非常有逻辑性，但并不是在做讲座。他使你觉得会和他提出相同的结论，尽管很明显地是他早已做过更深邃的思考。当他让你觉得他控制了一个晚上的同时，你却并不觉得过得不开心。 巴菲特也在纽约筹集了大量资金。巴菲特家春天来到这里，既是为了看朋友也是为了沃伦做生意。他会在旅馆——通常是广场饭店——打电话给奥兰斯，问道：“大男孩，你能带一个6听装的百事可乐来吗？你简直想象不到这儿的服务收费有多高！”这个时候，巴菲特却正在接受6位数的支票。 一定程度上他受益于格雷厄姆的关系网。他在纽校（NewSchool）的一次讲座上遇到了马歇尔。温伯格（一位经纪商，同时也是格雷厄姆的校友）。 巴菲特和温伯格交上了朋友，温伯格和他的兄弟们投入了10万资金。另一个经纪商朋友亨利。勃兰特，也作了投资，并且还向自己的客户推荐了巴菲特。 劳伦斯。蒂施，曾是被霍华德。纽曼（格雷厄姆—纽曼的前身）开除出来的一个人，也投入了10万资金。 然后便是一个叫戴维。施特拉斯尔的纽约人，他的家族所做的生意主要是挽救陷入困境的企业。施特拉斯尔飞到奥马哈想买下登普斯特那个风车公司，巴菲特到机场来接他。施特拉斯尔说道： 对下人我有一种典型的纽约人的态度。我曾去过哈佛，而且在MIT念过书。我刚做完一些生意，自我感觉好极了。我们开了一会儿车以后，他开始询问一些主要由我们家族持有的公司的问题。有哈特佛的比林斯和斯宾塞公司，它做模具和金属剪切机。它只有约2%被公众持有。我至今仍不敢肯定他是怎么知道这些的。然后他又开始问我有关资产负债表的一些问题。他对此比我在行得多，这叫我整个地发凉。 施特拉斯尔，这个“典型”的纽约人，当即决定投资。 以105000美元起家的巴菲特合伙人公司，到1962年达到了720万的资本，比格雷厄姆—纽曼在鼎盛时期还高。总共有100万是属于巴菲特个人的。 他尽管还是小人物，但已经受了检验。尽管他还尚未在整个公众中名声大噪，但他已不是无名小卒。最初的由7个核心组成的投资团发展成为拥有90人的投资组合，其成员从加州到佛蒙特，共济一堂。 由于新的账目迅速膨胀，巴菲特觉得他的起居室已经不够用了。他把几个合伙人企业合并成了一个：巴菲特合伙人有限公司。他把最小投资额扩大四倍达到10万美元。而且他把办公室移到了凯威特广场，这是座位于法内姆大街14层楼的白绿相间的高楼。 凯威特广场座落在奥马哈商业区边缘的一座小山尖上，周围混杂分布着简陋的路边商店，公寓和一座年久的铸钢厂。巴菲特的房子只求实用，显得单调但是单调得让人高兴。正如巴菲特向他的合伙人保证的那样，他说他不会太挥霍。从巴菲特的观点来看，它确实像一座宫殿。他有一个秘书和一个助手可以使他从管理的琐碎小事中解脱出来。于是，就有更多的时间花在穆迪上。他还有地方可以租给体病的父亲。而且办公室和他家就在同一条街道上——就好像一条两英里的过道连接着他的卧室和书房。 巴菲特终日忙于阅读年度报表和商业刊物以及在电话上交谈。尽管有越来越多的报告要看，越来越多的股票要分析，他的心情十分乐观，但是生活相当单调，他常常一个人吃午饭，订一份奶酪堡和法国炸鸡。他的小职员们对他选择股票的情况知道得并不比他妻子更多。 巴菲特确实有一个办公室外的顾问——他在几里以外的地方。他在给合伙人的信中常提到一位“西海岸的哲学家”朋友，这个笔名足可以暗示出此人的影响力。查理。芒格，他比巴菲特高六级，也是在奥马哈长大的。他的父亲是律师，而祖父是一名法官。他是埃德温和多萝茜。戴维斯家的好朋友，同时也曾每周六在巴菲特杂货店工作（受奴役）过。 在大学里学了3年以后，加上战时缩短学制，芒格在没有学士学位的情况下进了哈佛的法学院，他的同学们都觉得他是个才华横溢，同时又顽固地坚持着自己错误的人。当他毫无准备地被一个教授召见时，芒格顶了回去：“我还没念过案例呢，但是如果你陈述给我事实，我就给你说出法律。” 从哈佛毕业以后，芒格在洛杉矶投入实际工作，但在1959年时他回到奥马哈来关掉了父亲的企业。埃德温。戴维斯的儿子，巴菲特的投资者之一，对两个人表现出来的想象大吃一惊，于是邀请他们俩人一同在一个颇有特色的奥马哈俱乐部共进午餐。他们立即一见如故。 “沃伦，你都在忙着什么呢？”芒格问道。 “噢，我们有个合伙公司。” “也许我能在洛杉矶处理它。” 巴菲特凝视着他，然后说：“是的，我认为你能。” 第二天晚上他们又在两人一个共同的朋友迪克。霍兰家碰头，大谈特谈。 芒格整个晚上都抱着同一种饮料不放。他极度热衷于闲谈。当他举起杯子，仰着头要下咽时，他会举起另一只手作一个停止的手势，这样别人就不会打断他。 芒格的长相并不吸引人，他长着一张小妖精似的脸，皮肤苍白，戴着一副镜片厚厚的眼镜。尽管他有点势利，而且有高度的判断力，但他对伦理学 很有见地。他的精明与一种丘吉尔式的自信和无忧无虑的心境配合得极好。 有一次当有人问他会不会弹奏钢琴，芒格回答说：“我怎么知道，我从来没试过。”巴菲特觉得他拥有一种相似的智慧和彻底的独立性。 当夏天巴菲特到加州去时，两个人的友谊逐渐加深了。巴菲特在家时，他四肢伸展地躺在地板上握着电话和芒格不停地交谈。据苏茜说：“在巴菲特的吃饭时间常常听到的一句话是'噢，爸爸还在和查理谈话呢'。”她回忆道，“他们一谈就是好几个小时，他们互相都明白对方要说什么。因此似乎他们无须说什么总是'是的——噢呣——我明白你的意思——完全正确'。” 巴菲特说他和芒格的想法如此相似真是“见鬼了”，但是与巴菲特的许多朋友不同——而且这一点正是他吸引人之处——芒格对他从来没敬畏感。 巴菲特对芒格如此着迷，于是他力劝芒格选择他这一行业，他总对芒格说从事法律简直是浪费他的天赋，而芒格也从不否认： 和沃伦一样，我也有强烈的变得富有的欲望，并不是因为我想拥有法拉利——我想拥有的是独立。我无比渴望得到它。我觉得不得不给别人发送货单确实是一件很不体面的事。 我不知道自己这种概念都是从哪儿得来的，但是我就是这样认为的，我已经节衣缩食地活了多年了，我为的是要攒些钱。 他开了一家法律公司：芒格，托尔斯＆希尔斯，但他很少去那儿工作。 到了1962年，当巴菲特搬进凯威特广场时，芒格正在经营着自己投资的合伙企业。 那年春天，巴菲特带着一个问题找到了芒格：对登普斯特尔该怎么办？ 芒格不是本的信徒，在他看来，陷入困境的公司，就易倾向于以格雷厄姆式折价出售的那种，要治理好并不容易。 但是芒格认识一个名叫哈里。博特的年轻人，他也许是能解决登普斯特尔问题的人。巴菲特在洛杉矶与博特进行了一次会面，六天以后博特就在比阿特丽斯任职工作了。他采取了一系列压缩成本，关闭工厂，大幅削减存货①的措施。巴菲特在给他的合伙人写信谈到博特时宣布： 毫无疑问，哈里正是所需要的人……他完成了一件又一件看似不可能的事情…… 博特做着——非常出色地做着——巴菲特所不能做的辛苦的工作。他从登普斯特尔那些业绩不佳的工厂里榨出现金来让巴菲特投入到股票和债券中去。用哈里。博特提供的资源，巴菲特塑造了一个完全不同的企业——它有着多元化而且稳步升值的证券组合。这就是那种巴菲特的炼金术。他对合伙人说： 在某种程度上，我们把一度衰落的制造行业的资产，转化到了我们认为成功的企业——证券工业中。 劳工的重新调配成本巨大，100名工人被解雇了。而且巴菲特在比阿特 ① 巴菲特毫不掩饰地谈到了一个曾经被他控制了大多数股份的公司。 丽斯遭到了严厉的抨击。bill.奥蒂斯，他的一位桥牌牌友，以一种玩笑的口吻问他：“你在解雇了这么多人之后，怎么还能安然入睡呢？” 对巴菲特这个对自身名誉看得极为重要的人而言，这句话可不只是一句玩笑话。 “如果我们把他们留下的话，公司就会倒闭的。”他说道，“我一直在关闭工厂，而大多数人却过得比以前还好。” 尽管这听起来很有道理，巴菲特还是对自己被称为破产清算管理人感到深恶痛绝。于是他发誓他“再也不会”解雇人员了。 但是事情的结果并不糟糕。一年以后，登普斯特尔精简了许多，但它也有了更丰厚的利润，而且它还有了价值200万美元的证券。1963年巴菲特将它卖了，为合伙企业净挣了230万美元的利润，而且将它的投资翻了近三番。 三件事情促成了这样的业绩：较低的交易价格，巴菲特坚持下来的耐性和博特采取的一系列新政策。对于巴菲特而言——就如同以前在本。格雷厄姆的阵营里一样热情——第一点是最关键的。 这是我们投资哲学的一个里程碑：永远不要只想卖一笔好价钱。有如此诱人的买入价，即便是中等的售价也能获得丰厚。