Chapter 12 10 Back to Washington

When Warren.Buffett appeared in Catherine from the sky.Graham's company, she entered the most important transition period of her life.Her father bought the nearly bankrupt Washington Post in 1933, the last of a city with five newspapers.Catherine took over control in 1963 after her brilliant but eventually deranged husband pulled the trigger on his temple.Graham was not as overwhelmed by such surprises as others, and at best she expressed little sympathy for the incident.As Eugene.Meyer's daughter, Graham, lived in the solitude typical of a wealthy family.My mother was a financier, a politician, and the head of the Federal Reserve Board. She was also a sophisticated and indifferent mother.Growing up in a world of governesses and private schools, she was used to receiving letters back from her mother's private secretary.At a very young age, Graham worked as a journalist, but it never occurred to her that she would run the family newspaper.After getting married, she devoted all her energy to building her own family.

When pushed into positions of power, she appeared shy, coy and deeply inferior, was revered by her male colleagues, and Graham himself said in an interview that, in the way society is run, " A man is better suited for the job than a woman." She only wanted to be a middle manager.In fact, responsibility can be a tonic.At the time, the Post was an intellectual but somewhat narrow-minded newspaper.Graham hired Ben Japon.Hilardley, Newsweek's Washington bureau chief, came to run the paper, and Benjamin, with her help, propelled the Post into the top ranks of American news.In 1971, when the Post company's stock was first listed, Graham put aside that vacillating adviser and risked prosecution from the Nixon administration to publish "The Secret History of the Pentagon," an account of the Vietnam War. (The U.S. government has passed an embargo restricting publication in The New York Times).Later, she brought the Post's investigation back to Watergate.Although the Post's Florida television license was threatened, perhaps at Nixon's instigation, Nixon's attorney general, John N. Mitchell, censoring the forthcoming story, said: If so, then Katie will not be able to press herself into the leveling machine to die." Graham knew that he had achieved his goal.

But the second step in her repositioning has yet to take place.Despite its demeaning status in political circles, The Post is not at all attractive as a business.Its leading paper dominates the Washington market, but its profit margins are a mediocre 10 percent.Its television business is in the same boat. After The Post went public in 1971, Graham began to turn his attention to profit and loss.But she has left financial matters to the chairman and her adviser, Fritz.Attorney Beebe handled it, and in Graham's words: "I think charts and numbers should still be done by men." "The first female chairman of the weekly top 500 companies.She had bravely declared to security analysts that she wanted a Pulitzer Prize for Management, but the Wall Street world terrified her.That's exactly what happened when Buffett started buying her shares.

Graham via Charlie of the Washington Monthly.Peters befriended Buffett, but had no idea who Buffett was or what he was up to. Alarms were rife at The Post Limited; Kay's son Donald, who was trying to improve his status at the time, warned that he feared the company would be taken over by some "extreme leftist from Nebraska," Kay said. I was also terrified, so I desperately asked my friends in the publishing industry to find out about Buffett-"following his tracks, Like a dog circling a snake. "There's really no need to do that because, according to Bradley, The Post has two classes of stock. Only the Class B shares, which have very limited voting rights, are publicly traded. Control of the company lies with the Class A shares, which It is only in the hands of the Graham family. But Kay is a novice after all, Peter Drew, the senior vice president of the newsweek department of the Post, has been comforting her and said: "Don't worry if you have A shares in your hands. ! "But Graham was still panicking, she kept saying: 'What is he going to do?Someone wants to compete with us for a board seat? "

Buffett suspects that as a shareholder holding 10% of the shares, his influence on the company may be as light as a feather.So he wrote her a letter—"Dear Ms. Graham..."—in which he recounted his audacity as a newspaper boy for the Post and denied any hostility.She showed this letter to many friends who knew the art, Andre among them.Mayer and Chicago banker Robert.Abd and so on.Everyone warned her that Buffett's gesture of kindness might be a conspiracy, and advised her to stay away from him. Graham had relied too much on her advisors before, and if anything, she followed her instincts this time around.She wrote back to Buffett, suggesting that the two meet and talk.

While Graham was visiting the Los Angeles Times, Buffett drove up from his Laguna Beach home, and the two had what Buffett called a great time together.Sensing her anxiety, Buffett agreed to stop buying stocks.Although Graham was still uncertain about him, she invited him to see her company when he came East. Warren and Susie checked into the Madison Hotel in Washington, just a block from the Post, during this intense time.Printers were grinding foreign labor, and police and unionists faced off in the street.Buffett snagged a black tie and drove his wife to lunch with Graham.At that time, he was sitting with Barbara.Bush and Jane.In the middle of Muskie, waiting for Graham to arrive.

But no one came.Finally Tom.Murphy, the chairman of the Metropolitan Corporation and a close friend of Buffett, had lunch with Graham and suggested that she invite Buffett to the board.When Graham visited Buffett in Laguna, he also tried to please her.He bought an umbrella and beach chairs—which caused an uproar in Buffett's family, because no one had ever seen Buffett in the water.Graham leaned over and said, "I hope you join the board one day." Buffett said, "So what are you waiting for?" As Buffett drove her back to Los Angeles, she said, "If you Say anything you want to me, but do it softly. If someone yells at me, I'd rather hang myself." Buffett didn't really need her to tell him that.

In the fall of 1974, Buffett became a director, and the rest of the directors—a handful that included Graham's relatives, the Post executive, and Kay's friends—were worried about him, quoting In the words of Newsweek executive Drew: Warren, an outsider from Omaha, owns 10 percent of the company.Our reaction to this was "why have we never heard of him?" It was scary, he was the first person to come to the table with a chair himself. Buffett is well aware of this.He told executives why he liked The Post Company as an investment and how, from personal experience, the paper gave him a sense of home.Like the other newcomers to the club, all he could say was to be here, how excited he was, and so on.

He signed against Don.Graham's power of attorney (which entitles Kay's sons and heirs to vote for Berkshire) -- an unusual gesture of loyalty to management.At the same time, he also declared in writing that he wanted Berkshire to hold its "Post" stock "forever"-others were just is the rhetoric used to confuse the modern portfolio manager.Buffett used various methods to imply that he was not only an investor, but also a partner, just as he once did to Betty.Peters did the same. Buffett began to come to Washington frequently.The night before a board meeting, he was staying at Graham's palatial home in Georgetown.Bradley, no longer a redneck, said: "We're looking forward to being on stage one day. We've never met someone so rich."

He seemed mesmerized by us, and we were intimidated by him.He's been wearing a blue leather jacket for years, and everyone seems to want to find something wrong with it.I think that's why he always wears it.He would join in the fun when editors stopped by at a board meeting to chat about a few stories.He loves getting involved and the casual, relaxed relationship between Kay and me.Once we were playing tennis and I cornered her against the railing.“I really have to respect someone who dares to drive his boss over the railing,” says Warren, who always had an uncanny, highly contagious enthusiasm.

The executives at The Post are used to thinking of themselves as journalists—thinking of themselves as news moguls.Buffett began to instill them with bits and pieces of financial knowledge.At one point, he popped into Droe's office to ask about Newsweek.Later, he begins to explain what he thinks about the Newsweek franchise — in which he uses an analogy to a hamburger chain that is easy to understand. "When I finished listening to it, I understood it better," DeLo said. "He was like a laser beam that brought you together. But never made you feel stupid." In particular, Buffett became Graham's personal tutor.Whenever he came to Washington, he brought a stack of annual reports and asked her to read them line by line.One day, Buffett gave her a Walter.The back cover of the Disney report shows a child sleeping in a stroller.Buffett noted on it: "This is you after reading your 20th annual report." Some of Graham's colleagues felt that Buffett was manipulating her, but Graham found it meaningful to be with him. He didn't tell her what to do, but only gave advice and advice. His charm was that he was rich. Patience, it seemed to be a strong magnet for her.The more Graham got to know Buffett, the more she liked his views. Not long ago, Buffett made an important suggestion that the Post should buy back a large portion of its own stock, which Graham thought was insane.How can a company grow if it repays its capital?Buffett doesn't think the overall growth rate is important - the important thing is the per share growth rate, it is like reducing the number of slices of pizza, if the stock can be bought back at a low price - the Post stock is very cheap at this time —then there would be more cheese on each pie. Buffett also helped her tackle the problem mathematically, writing and drawing in her book-strewn Georgetown study. Graham embraced these sentiments, talked about the matter with other Post executives, and they found her using a lot of financial jargon.She publicly quoted Buffett, and some people took offense to it, responding to suggestions from staffers with an exasperated way: "Interesting — let's ask Warren!" A year after Buffett joined the board, Graham decided to call a strike.She had longed to reduce the severe overcrowding of the Post's pressroom and wrest control back from the militant printing unions.Strikes intensify as printers smash factories, (notorious placard announcing that Kay's late husband, Fell, shot the wrong Graham.) The Post Only the second-ranked "Washington Star" took the opportunity to start poaching its advertisers. Graham worried that the Post would win the strike and fall behind the competition. "All I need," She said, "It was to find someone I could totally rely on." That person was Buffett.He promised he would run the business himself, and he would warn her if he thought the strike would pose a long-term threat to the Post franchise—the very existence of which was his reason for investing.He didn't have to, because four months later the unions were breaking up and the Post was still on top. Later, Time Inc. bought the defeated "Washington Star" and negotiated a joint venture with the "Post".It argues that pooling agreements can reduce costs and also serve as a civic virtue to keep Washington in possession of two newspapers. In the proposal proposed by the Times, each company would take an agreed-upon share of the proceeds from the newspaper union. share. Buffett firmly opposes this suggestion.In his view, the Post had 66 percent of the circulation in Washington and was on the verge of dominating the market, so there was no need to compromise with the No. 2 company.Mainly due to Buffett's influence, Graham's counter proposal was even more violent, which was rejected by the "Washington Star".Not long after, the Washington Star went bankrupt—a stroke of luck for the Post. Graham talks to Buffett almost every other day or so, several times a week. Once Graham had to give a lecture and she was so intimidated that she called Omaha and Buffett would give her a thoughtful answer right away—she had taped their conversation. He got to the end.I said "What?—can you say that again?" He wouldn't do it.The words come out of his mouth so quickly that it takes your breath away, and he can't even recall them himself. Once, when Graham called, Don.Danley, Buffett's high school pinball buddy, was visiting Buffett in Omaha, and Buffett tried to reassure Graham that she was worried that USA Today would take action against the Post.To Danley's amazement, she talked to him on the phone for half an hour. Since Buffett was on the board for a while, he began to push her to become more independent. At one point, she sent Warren to Washington to participate in a negotiation to add a post to the Post's Washington TV station. A sum of cash, exchanged for a Detroit TV station. "No," Buffett told her. "You negotiate." "Okay then! How much will we pay?" Graham asked. "I don't know. If you think about it yourself, you can figure it out." But in essence, every major decision is permeated with Buffett's influence. In particular, he prevented Graham from participating in the nearly white-hot bidding war for media assets.A relative novice, Graham was the subject of high-profile media outlets such as Tom, chairman of the fast-growing Metropolitan Corporation.Murphy, and Timms, who seemed to be buying everything.Miller and others are terrified. She was tempted to follow their bids, but Buffett kept reminding her that it was better not to spend the money. When Kentucky publisher Barry.When Bingham offered to sell the Louisville Country Journal and the Time to the Post if Graham could beat Ganritt's bid, Graham ① The Newspaper Protection Act of 1970 allowed competing newspapers to merge their operating business divisions, but to retain their respective editorial staff—but It has to be that they can show Fair Play that if they don't, one of the papers will go out of business. Called Buffett last night, and while he realized the price was outrageously high, he was careful not to be explicit, which in a subtler sense was more effective.Just as the principal fully trusts a student, a sincere student will never let him down. "Know how much Kay wants to do that business," Don.Graham meant the Country Journal, but Kay finally let it go. Another time, David, an investor who wanted to buy the Dempster sand control plant from Buffett.Schedrasl wanted to sell a cable company to the Post.He dined with Buffett and Graham in New York.Davide was impressed by the lightheartedness with which the two of them worked together, but at the same time he anticipated that his purpose would be thwarted. "Kay was very interested in cables," he recalls. "She was very sophisticated and thought about it strategically. But I said to myself, 'Buffett is not going to let her spend that much money.'" Unsurprisingly, Graham's dependence on Buffett became more than just a business consultant. As a wealthy widow, she was very distrustful of other suitors and lived a near-reclusive life.She has a fragile personality, always keeps people out of her arms, and appears very arrogant. Charlie of the Washington Monthly."Kay desperately needed a friend," Peters said. She didn't feel Buffett felt threatening, and the two became close, with Graham inviting Buffett to her Virginia farm and home on Martha's Vineyard.Buffett also invited her to play in Laguna Beach.Graham also started attending Buffett's Ben.Meeting of the Graham group. Both of them have humorous personalities, partly due to their different backgrounds and qualities.When Buffett invited Graham to visit Omaha, he knew she had no idea where Omaha was, so he decided to make fun of her.Once on the plane, he asked her to draw a map of the United States, showing Omaha.The map was so bad that he wanted to grab it as a souvenir, but Graham was quick and tore it to pieces. Another time, after they arrived in LaGuardia, Graham, eager to call, asked if he had a dime, and Buffett fumbled in his pocket for a quarter.Like other millionaires in Nebraska, he couldn't bear to waste a quarter, so he ran out to change it.Graham yelled, "Give me that quarter, Warren!" Buffett rarely takes his wife with him when he goes to Washington, but always walks around the city with Graham. "Kay's social circle expanded a lot." Writer Jeffrey.Cowan said.Says another friend, “The Washington Post literally changed his life and the people he was dealing with.” All of a sudden, Warren of Omaha.Buffett and Henry.People like Kissinger dealt with each other.lis.Smith, an essay columnist, reports that since Buffett became Catherine.Graham's regular client and advisor later, he became all the rage.Smith added: "The whole Washington society is very excited, because no matter how elegant and dignified the people present at the dinner, Mr. Buffett always only drinks Pepsi." In a controlled environment and to bring people together. At Graham's birthday party, when the greats dined together, Malcolm, the publisher and connoisseur of literature, brought a bottle of fine wine.The bottle was bottled the year Graham was born, and Malchim used it to imply that he had paid for it.When the waiter walked up to Buffett, the loyal Pepsi drinker stopped him: "No, thank you." He said, covering the cup with his hand, "I think I should save some money." When Buffett was in town, Graham had chefs make him hamburgers and filled his Manhattan apartment with Buffett's favorite treats, peanut oil and strawberry ice cream. "When he came," she recalls, almost flatteringly, "there was just cheeseburgers and fried—what do you call it?—French fries, all covered in grains of salt." make him behave more gracefully Some, she took him to try on leathers, and spruced him up in pretty costumes. Buffett, in turn, took Graham to cultural monuments like the Hathaway Textile Mill in New Bedford. "He wanted me to see it," Graham said.She considers him her "best friend" and relies on him for both personal advice and business inquiries.Buffett also suddenly became the uncle of Graham's children.He goes to Washington at least once a month and changes all the clothes in the Graham parlor that even Buffett's kids don't know what to do with. In an interview, Graham said that "I'm young" -- she happened to be 57 when Buffett joined the board -- "which was a real surprise," but the remark did not stir up questions about her affair. rumor.Tom.Murphy, who also visited Buffett, said warily: "If I use him, it's kind of a scowl." Buffett has a lot of female friends - "Happiness" magazine writer Carol.Loomis, Ruth.Michelmore, Barbara.Moreau and so on.Morrow considered him a "feminist" because he was kind to women. "He has an eye for women," she said, referring to Buffett's now-out-of-fashion chivalrous demeanor.He had an abhorrence of crude and dirty jokes, though he did tell some humorous jokes about the bed-curtains. Susie was not at all nervous that Warren had so many female friends.When she was reminded that Warren was wasting too much time in Washington, Susie replied that she was not interested in the form of things per se, but in the purity of the heart—without embarrassment or embarrassment in saying this . (They both lived at Graham's when Buffett was in Washington.) However, by the mid-1970s, Buffett's life lost its coherence.Susie had given up and given up so much for him, and now, she told a friend, she wanted to organize her life. She's heavily involved in a campaign to save a local high school that's been losing students because of race, and she's starting to travel alone.It was clear that she had no interest in Warren's work.Peter, the last child left in the family, found that the family was becoming more and more loose, with Dad often staying in Washington, and Mom always seemed to be out, so Peter had to cook for himself.Buffett realized that, like himself, his wife needed "a Washington Post" in her life.In this issue, they talked about children who are about to grow up.He said: "Susie, you're like someone who's been working for 23 years and then lost their job. What are you going to do now?" Susie's dream was to be a singer, and no one in the family was surprised, because she was used to walking up and down singing while Warren was working.Now that she has some free time, she's with a local band, Bob.Edson.Trio worked together to make appearances at certain private parties.Whenever she thought about performing in public, she was always on edge, but Warren was supportive, telling her that if she held back out of cowardice, she would regret it in the future. In 1975, in a woman named Eunie.With the help of Deneberg's friends, Susie overcame her fear and appeared on the stage of a nightclub called "Let's Let Out" in suburban Omaha. Suzy has since started her acting career at Café French on Omaha's cobbled Market Street neighborhood.The owners of this coffee shop are a couple of Omaha guys who have traveled a lot.They are dancer Michael.Harrison and the culturally avant-garde Anthony.Albert. Suzy once hosted a Planned Parenthood benefit at the restaurant. (Charlton Heston was also there, eating nothing but $175 a pound of caviar.) Another time, she ① Once in California, the Buffett family with Roy and Massa.While taking a walk, Toris passed a tourist shop and saw a There is a distress sign next to some extremely economical bikinis, and Buffett can't help cursing: "Do they need a fat woman?" She performed a show for disaster relief in Africa—like the guests, she wore a wavy chintz top, a bright silk scarf and was barefoot.In Omaha, a housewife in her 40s is an odd sight on stage, but people in the city knew Warren's wife was a free-spirited figure long before word got around . In the Café de France, Susie performs in a blackened stone cellar.She has a slender figure and looks very sexy, and the metal pieces all over her body are shining with charming light.She was even more beautiful than when she was married—high cheekbones, short brown hair, and large, terrifying eyes. Her voice is slightly thinner when she speaks, but when she sings it takes on a husky quality, and she performs deeply stylized jazz and pop tunes, such as Melancholic Stephen.Sondheim's "Let the Clowns In".The first round of performances lasted 6 weeks, attracted a large audience, and the response was quite good. Kent, an artist in Omaha.Says Bellows: "Susie is a diner singer — passionate, unique. I remember Warren being there one night and the look on his face like that." When Susie performed on stage, Buffett looked at her with joy, as if fascinated, and said to a friend: "When Susie sings, her voice is so sweet, it almost takes my breath away." Regarding their private life, Buffett always seems very sweet when talking about it.He often said that before meeting Susie, he had been depressed; without Susie, he would not have achieved what he is now.As a couple, they set aside a traditional pattern.Despite their separate interests, and their arrangements, Buffett has always depended on her, and even now she cuddles up to him in public, holding his hand as if they were teenagers. year old child.She understood that she was like his muse, and would never say "no" to him. By contrast, Buffett and Kay.Graham was totally different when she was with him, she depended on him not only because she was financially inexperienced but also because she was insecure.To put it lightly, it can be said that Buffett's help to her is no different from that of other colleagues.Of course, he also wanted to make some profit from the Post Company, but that intention didn't take away from the fact that he was animated by Graham, and he himself was very tolerant and magnanimous to her. Publisher Stan.Lipsey once saw Buffett and Graham go to Niagara Falls together. "I don't know the exact answer," Lipsey said, "but I don't see anything in them that between the people they slept with, Kay was authoritative and shy. 1000 999 people out there think twice about what they want to say to her, and Warren doesn't. The two of them became bosom friends." No "answer" seems to explain why Buffett handles this relationship so well.Maybe the annual statement he brought her had something to do with it.Buffett likes to play the role of teacher, like he wrote to his partners, and Graham is a very charming and receptive student. One director of the "Post" said: "This idea is too stupid No, she always had dinner before the meeting, and we all had to leave except Warren. I never thought it was about sex." Executives saw that the Buffett-Graham alliance had a profound impact on the business and, ultimately, on Buffett's investments.It was impossible to get Graham to write a check. For this, everyone has every reason to blame Buffett. Before Orlando was thoroughly developed into a Mecca of the tourism province, Joel, the head of the advertising department.Chasman had an opportunity to buy a TV station for 20 million yuan. "It was a painful deal," he said. "You knew it was going to have a big market right now, but there were some people in the upper echelons of the company who were so elusive that it got turned down." "Is someone really unpredictable?" Graham once called Buffett, and Buffett thought It's overpriced. Opportunities were passed up so often that the Post executives were frustrated.Buffett has little interest in cellular phones or cable television, because they require a lot of capital, (he invested in The Post because its publishing and television stations—unlike airlines—generate direct cash flow , the profits do not have to be reinvested back into the enterprise).He is skeptical about starting new businesses or new technologies.Because they are so new, it's like changing the taste from hamburger to foreign food. Buffett feels uncomfortable when he can't see a business in person.It is not enough to have a new project with expert guarantees on which executives rely, and if he does not understand a risky venture -- instinctively -- he thinks he is speculating . And Buffett will never speculate. Because of Graham's dependence on Buffett, the Post sometimes misses the mark.Confident Cosmopolitan CEO Tom.Murphy also discussed various things with Buffett, but he always selectively adopted his suggestions.But Graham, who presided over the work behind the revolving door in the executive room, even went to him for things that Buffett was not proficient in, and Buffett's conservative attitude gradually permeated the entire board. Before joining The Post, Chasman founded an all-news format at Wins Radio in New York. In the late 1970s, he suggested that The Post create an all-news cable show, Ted.Turner had suggested the same idea.However, it was not passed at the Post's first board meeting. "I don't think they're going to buy anything at all, which is against the grain of an entrepreneurial business," Chasman said.He was so devastated that he wanted to spin off the Post's broadcasting division into an independent company. "Post" president Mark.Marr wrote a long letter when he resigned, urging the Post to be privatized—because in his opinion it was unwise for such a bloated corporation to hold public money, Richard.Simmons took Marr's place. After another proposal was rejected, he said dryly: "The wise men of Omaha have spoken again." Funny thing, Post executives didn't really dispute Buffett's reasoning. In a typical comment, Marr said: "I don't disagree with him, the price is too high. Meanwhile, on a personal level, executives can't help but like Buffett.Like everyone else, Simmons has made the trip to Omaha.The itinerary is always the same, including a steak dinner, a trip to the same place that Buffett used to hang out in his childhood, and listening to Buffett's words of wisdom. " Buffett rarely speaks at the Post's board meetings, but occasionally chimes in. At a meeting, Jeffrey MBA, a young man dedicated to finding new areas to invest in.Epstein provides an overview of what each consumer spends in the media and entertainment industry sector.He pointed out that the number of home entertainment reached 5 billion US dollars. Buffett raised his thick eyebrows three inches high: "Five billion, that's an interesting number," he said. It costs $20 on video." That's the way his mind works, numbers, numbers. It was immediately clear that Epstein's numbers, if true, would not stand up to scrutiny.Needless to say, The Post is not involved in the video business. Surprisingly, the Post barely had any big deals during Buffett's tenure on the board. ① These figures are based on store purchases, which greatly overestimate the actual level of purchases.不到一年，录像业的大王阿特 里被损失所震惊，这个行业出现了危机。 作为，整整11年中，他开办了体育杂志而后又关闭了它；他在华盛顿卖下一家报纸的同时又在特伦顿买了一家；他还在蜂窝式电话和其他领域中占有很小一份份额；但他们中的一部分又被陆陆续续地卖掉了。和从前一样，98％的利润“依旧来自于《华盛顿邮报》，《新闻周刊》以及4个电视台”。 与此同时，《邮报》的收入稳定在12％左右，这个比率并不可观。唯一显著的变化是它赢利能力得到了改观。1974年公司每1美元销售额的营业利润为10美分，而1985年时，达到19美分，股权回报率也翻了一番。 当然，如果没有巴菲特的话，在这场报业大战中，《邮报》就会早已取得胜利。他对它电视台赢利率取得翻一番的业绩也并没有起到什么作用。 直到赚得利润之后，他最主要的贡献才姗姗来迟。巴菲特灌输给格雷厄姆的是一种以股东为导向的考虑企业问题的方法，而在此时，传媒公司们都争先恐后地忙着抢占地盘。他始终提醒他们——和多年前在纺织厂外面对肯。察思说的话一样——企业规模并不是目标，而对股东的回报才是目标。 机会纵然错过了，但是他把《邮报》从企业真正的悲剧中挽救了出来，这悲剧是指把本应属于好企业的利润扔进了业绩糟糕的企业之中。 在巴菲特的劝说下，《邮报》用它的超额现金收回了价值750万美元的股票，也就是总股数的40％，净赢利增长了7倍，而每股收益率——也就是每块馅饼上的奶酪有了成10倍地增长。 当然，那几年整个传媒界的公司都很兴趣，但是就巴菲特所认可的唯一尺度——利润转化成对投资者的回报——而言，《邮报》在整个领域里独占鳌头。 试想一下，这几年里，从1974年到1985年，《邮报》为股东平均每一美元的资本挣到了可观的23美分，而大都会公司和时代明镜公司的业绩为19美分，尽管还过得去，但也略显逊色。 《邮报》的股票以年复利35％的惊人速度不断增值。加上红利，整个年收益达37％，大都会公司是32％，而时代明镜公司勉强是24％。《邮报》比它们都做得更好一些。在1985年底巴菲特即将离开董事会为止，伯克希尔所做的1千万投资已经升值为二亿零500万美元了。 在巴菲特加入《邮报》董事会后不久，他又重新对另一个老牌号的公司产生了兴趣。这家公司不仅在华盛顿历史悠久，而且早在巴菲特年少时便很有名气了。当巴菲特从哥伦比亚坐火车来到华盛顿，敞开GEICO的门时，它还只是一家很小的公司。在随后的几年中，它成长异常迅速。Lorimer.戴维森，这位曾在多年前的那个周六耐心倾听巴菲特提出问题的人，已经晋升到了主管，而GEICO也一跃成为了全国最大的汽车保险商。 然而，在70年代初戴维森退位以后，GEICO有了新的管理层，公司的气氛也相应地发生了变化。在拉尔夫。C.佩克领导下，承保人们被新出台的“无过失”法律以及逐渐爬升的通货膨胀率折腾得焦头烂额，佩克努力想克服这些问题来谋求自身的发展，于是放宽了公司只接受低风险驾驶员的历史性政策——甚至于在总体上还保持低价格。自然，赢利额升高了，现金也滚滚而来。 暂时一段时间里，一切都显得十分美好。令人遗憾但也一直不足为奇的是，高风险驾驶员开始琢磨着获得更多的要求权，另外，通货膨胀也引起GEICO所保险的汽车修理费用的成本提高了许多。 更糟糕的是，GEICO的管理层没有足够的资金留存来弥补损失，在1974 年到1975年的15个月的紧要关头中，公司对这个问题采取了否认，贬抑或是欺骗的态度——不仅对华尔街，还对它自己。依旧在位的洛里默。戴维森抱怨说公司被搞垮了，但是，甚至连他都没意识到情况究竟有多么糟糕。 当董事会保留了一个独立的保险核计公司以后，我们才意识到事情有多严重。1975年圣诞节前一天，我们收到了报告，它可真是件圣诞礼物。我们有了千万的亏空需要弥补——而令人惊恐万分的是——我们根本就没有这笔钱。 1976年之初，GEICO宣布前一年份的损失额达到了惊人的1亿2600万美元。1974年时的股票曾创下每股42美元的记录，而如今只标到47 8 元。 自从巴菲特售出手中持有的少量的GEICO股票以来，时间已经过了很久了，但他心里一直怀着一个秘密的心愿，想要大规模地重新投资于这个公司，就如同他对《华盛顿邮报》所做过的一样。对于理性化的巴菲特来说，他对自己的过去也许是有点多愁善感（尽管在股票很贵时，他并没有昏头昏脑地投资于GEICO），现在，GEICO股票很便宜了，并且它陷入了一场很大的麻烦之中。而且，当巴菲特在加州时，本。格雷厄姆是GEICO的主席，还有一些积蓄在GEICO股票里。于是协助挽救这家公司便带有一种双重的意味：跟随格雷厄姆的脚步，拯救他的公司。 这时候，格雷厄姆和情人马洛正在过着一种宁静朴素的生活，一半时间呆在拉霍亚，另一半时间在普罗旺斯地区的艾克森。在他80大寿聚会上，他全家人都来到了拉霍亚，他满怀深情地回顾自己往昔的生活，却丝毫没有提及他在华尔街的事业。他谈到了自己从美学、文学、艺术以及许多女性同伴那里得到的快乐，还像个孩子似地回忆起早年时见到马克。吐温的情景：“他容光焕发，穿着白衣服，还有头银白色的卷发。”但是，格雷厄姆并没有对股票丧失兴趣，他在拉霍亚有一个账户，尽管他很少交易，但这位“证券分析之父”会来到经纪人那儿，在角落里的一张不引人注目的桌子旁坐下，读一本他所钟爱的标准普尔的书。一位前来拜访格雷厄姆的人曾在他的书桌上发现过一本希腊语的书，而在卧室里则看到了一座罗丹的雕像。 在GEICO陷入困境的同时，格雷厄姆叫巴菲特和他一起合著《聪明的投资人》的修订版。他们通过写信互相联系，但是巴菲特发现自己和老师之间存在着一些根本的分歧。巴菲特希望有部分内容关于如何确定“大型企业” （比如：喜诗糖果公司），而格雷厄姆认为一般的读者难以达到这一点。而且，格雷厄姆建议一个人投资于股票的资产额上限为75％，而巴菲特更为勇敢，他愿意在合适的价位押上所有的赌注。于是巴菲特非常想放弃合著者的身分，而只愿以“合作者”的身分在书里被提到一下。 可笑的是，没有什么股票比GEICO股票更能暗示出两人哲学上的分歧了。格雷厄姆说它缺少安全裕度——在公司濒于破产时，它确实如此。而巴菲特认为如果管理能得到改良，这将是一个机会，于是他紧紧关注着它戏剧般的变动。 1976年4月份，GEICO举行了它的年度会议，400个股东把华盛顿的希尔顿饭店挤得水泄不通。就是在这儿，股东们差点把公司的行政人员轰出这幢房子。不到一个月，佩克就被解雇了。一位43岁的旅游公司的老手——约翰。J.伯恩取代了他的位置。伯恩精力异常充沛，常常四处奔波着。在新泽 西，他前去拜访了詹姆斯。希让，州保险委员会委员，要求他提高利率。后来伯恩发现自己走投无路了，便从口袋里抓出一张纸，猛地掷到希让的桌子上，说道，“给你该死的执照，我们不再是新泽西州的公民了。”然后，他当场解雇了700名职工，并且通知全州30万投保人去寻找别的承保人。 伯恩在全国范围内关闭了100家办公机构，裁员将近一半之多，但这还不够。华盛顿特区的保险业监管威胁伯恩，要他停止关门，除非GEICO能找到其他承保人，来承担一部分客户（这就是所谓的再保险）。伯恩做出同意的样子，但到了7月初，行业领导人斯泰特。法姆却象个随意的旅游者一样弃他而去。 现在GEICO的财产值跌到了最低点，巴菲特非常敏锐地开始对涉足于GEICO产生了兴趣——但是和往常一样，他找来其他人为他的介入扫平道路。遵照巴菲特的旨意，凯。格雷厄姆给伯恩打电话说：“有一位贵宾想见见你。”伯恩说另找一个时间。后来伯恩接到了GEICO年长的政治家洛里默。戴维森打来的电话，询问伯恩是否确实有怠慢沃伦。巴菲特一事。当他听说确有其事时，不禁大声叫道：“你这头蠢驴！快到他那儿去一趟！” 7月里，在《邮报》董事会会议召开的前夜，伯恩来到格雷厄姆的大厦①里。此时GEICO的股票只值2美元一股了.这个一度不可征服的公司正面临着成为保险业有史以来最惨痛的失败者的危险——用巴菲特的话来说就是“保险业里的泰坦尼克事件。” 巴菲特领着伯恩走进富丽堂皇，天花板高悬于头顶的图书馆时，一种神秘的回忆向他袭来。25年前，当他敲开GEICO的大门，由看门人领到洛里默。戴维森面前的情景又浮现在眼前，虽然他的处境完全变了，但做法还和从前一样。他又一次渴望尽全力地了解GEICO的情况。据面色红润的伯恩回忆说，巴菲特和他谈了好几个小时。 我们大概谈到凌晨二三点钟左右，他想知道我要采取的措施。我对企业生存下去的能力的看法如何。记得我们谈到了家庭，还有一些别的东西，一直谈到深夜。但大多数内容都是关于GEICO的，我敢说大概有80％的谈话都是我在说。 巴菲特几乎无所不知了。GEICO依然保持低成本营运法（没有销售代理人），这方法曾使它很有优势。粗略地说，GEICO每1美元的利润有15美分用于费用，而其他承保人大约平均花费24美分，因而GEICO收费可以低一些，于是在挑选客户时就更具有选择性。最近几年来，GEICO显然放弃了这个成功的办法，但它潜在的成本优势依旧没有变化。巴菲特相信只要它能平安度过当前的危机，它的赢利能力就可以得到恢复。 即使当GEICO陷入彻底的混乱而且面临破产的威胁时，天才的巴菲特还是清醒地看到了这一点。和60年代的美国捷运一样，它是“一个正在度过一段困难时期的伟大的企业”。而且即使是在这样艰难的时期，他也能预见到暴风雨是会过去的。 这天晚上，巴菲特亲自对伯恩评价了一番，伯恩给他的印象很深；他的谈话就像一个业主，而不是经理或官僚，他坚毅果断，精力充沛，而这正是危机时期所需要的。也许他性情多变因而不能平和地率领部下，但作为一个 ① 如果要同现在价格比较，必须考虑在1994 年左右GEICO 曾经以1 ∶5 的比例拆股。 战争时期的将领，巴菲特认为他是绝好的人选。 我并没有问，“杰克，这需要多长时间？”这根本无法预测，（但是）杰克对这个问题的方方面面都理解得很透彻。 反正，伯恩一定会去做的，而且一旦他去做了，股票自身就会证明这是一笔不错的交易——也许比这还好。 在伯恩离开几小时以后，巴菲特起床给戈德曼。萨克斯交易所的经纪人罗纳德。古特曼打了个电话，指示以2 18 的价格买进50万股，并说随时都准备“买它几百万股”。在《邮报》董事会会议上，晕头晕脑的巴菲特泄露出消息：“我刚刚投资了一家兴许会破产的企业。也许下周，所有的投资都会化为泡影。”但是一旦他越界了，他就绝对不会停下。伯克希尔很快便投资了400多万美元到GEICO的股票上。 伯恩后来说：“在凯家的那个晚上是一个转折点。”但GEICO还远远没有脱离危险。它需要的是，首先，说服管理当局给它足够的时间；第二，说服竞争者提供给它再保险，以此来减小GEICO发生损失的风险。 巴菲特为伯克希尔提供了再保险，同时还给特区的保险业督察马克西米利安。沃勒克打了个电话。事实上，巴菲特认为如果伯克希尔在深思熟虑后对GEICO投入了数百万美元，那么沃勒克也许就不该这么着急地要把它关闭掉。 与此同时，伯恩也在争取使其他承保人同意承担再保险——但仅仅以“如果”二字作担保是不够的， GEICO必须筹集到新的资本。伯恩跑遍了华尔街上的8家公司，都一一遭到了拒绝。他极度沮丧地回到了当时还是个小公司的所罗门兄弟公司。 所罗门公司的第二把手约翰。古特弗伦德早已直言不讳地拒绝过了伯恩。但是有位名叫迈克尔。弗里凯尔的初级研究分析家曾约请伯恩在午饭后和所罗门谈一谈，由于伯恩要到楼里来，古特弗伦德便同意让他顺路拜访一下自己的办公室。 当伯恩坐定以后，古特弗伦德拿走嘴里叼着的雪茄，冲他很不高兴地冷笑了一下，“不知道谁会买你想兜售的这该死的再保险协议。”他说道。 伯恩心平气和地答说：“你对自己所说的该死的东西一无所知。” 他表现出来的男子汉气概给古特弗伦德留下了深刻的印象。他把伯恩送出门去以后，告诉所罗门的分析家弗里凯尔研究一下GEICO，然后写出一份推荐书。弗里凯尔的结论是GEICO可以被挽救回来，并且应该去挽救它。如果它恢复了元气，他说：“它对投保人会很有价值，同时对于投资者而言也有利可图。”听到巴菲特投资的消息后，古特弗伦德更加安心了。 8月份时，古特弗伦德同意办GEICO承销价值7600万美元的优先股，这可是惊天动地之举。其他公司都认为GEICO非常危险，因而都不愿意加入这个辛迪加之中。正如通常的情况一样，一旦发行失败，所罗门就会因7600万的巨额资金而陷入困境之中。 参与这项交易的一位律师在一些细节上对银行家不厌其烦地抠来抠去，古特弗伦德大声说道：“你有什么可担心的？工作是你的，可钱是我的。” 在11月份发行的前一天时，所罗门公司看样子得承担一大笔损失了。 在承销前不久，巴菲特告诉古特弗伦德说他愿意承购下所有股票，而且 由他自己来作价。伯恩希望以每股10.50美元出售，但古特弗伦德很清楚巴菲特的上限，坚持以9.20美元的价格出售，他不做任何让步——一分钱都不让，巴菲特是他的后盾。 最后，发行终于成功了。巴菲特买下了25％的股份，相当于伯克希尔2300万的投资。幸亏有了Catch—22，投资一旦做出，就不会再有风险了——追加的资本使GEICO脱离了危险。在伯恩眼中，此次搭救的英雄是古特弗伦德，是他在其他任何人都不愿意出面的时候促成了资本的投入。巴菲特对古特弗伦德的印象很深，很显然，古特弗伦德也是他这种类型的投资银行家。 短短6个月时间里，GEICO就上升到了818 美元——达到了原来的四倍，这只是对它潜能的一点点微弱的显示。随后的几年里，伯克希尔把份额翻了一倍，从而使得巴菲特成为了具有控制权的投资者。GEICO似乎陷入了巴菲特的模式——巴菲特对许多公司都有类似的影响。GEICO，和《华盛顿邮报》一样，购回自己的股票，GEICO的老板也养成了常常拜访巴菲特的习惯，它完全被巴氏化了。伯恩是一个很老练的行家，但是他与巴菲特的商业关系与凯和巴菲特的关系没有什么差别。引用伯恩的话来说： 我问他各种各样的问题。他对我展示各类有关财务方面有价值的方法。他从不吝惜自己的时间，但永远不会——也从来没有——给过我建议。很久以前沃伦就曾想过，如果他是个乐善好施的股东，他会为伯克希尔挣更多的钱。就是这个家伙使他赚了更多钱。 每年巴菲特都会和GEICO的主管们举行一次提问对答式的活动。他在台上显得从容自如，运用凯西。施藤格尔的技巧来避免过于文学化。他把问题的动机都当作一般化来处理，他还会继续讲一个小故事，其中常常蕴含着一个关于投资的训诫，他的表述风格非常简单朴素。他很随意，然而遣词造句优美精确，你不能不为之吸引。 伯恩发誓说，GEICO的人们宁可取消假期，也不愿错过这个机会。有一次，巴菲特说一个投资者在进入股票市场时，就仿佛拿着一张能永久保存的计时卡。每次他买了股票，就相当于在卡上打了个洞。当这卡上有20个洞时，他此生就不再做更多的投资了。非常明显，这个投资者将筛选出最棒的点。 正在经营GEICO投资组织的卢。辛普森说，这个比喻对他产生了极为深远的影响。 实际上，巴菲特早就拿定了在GEICO“打一辈子洞”的主意，并且不遗余力地想让伯恩明白这一点。不论是私下里，还是在伯克希尔的公开报告里都是如此。在这样一个时代里，管理者们要么是被迫抬高股票价格，要么就是得面临着被别人接管。但是，巴菲特希望伯恩从长远角度来进行管理，并且一再强调自己一定不会将股票买掉。 当一个在《幸福》杂志排前500名的企业做出一个严肃的投标想要收购GEICO时，它必然面临着一场考验。伯恩曾打电话给巴菲特询问他的想法。 巴菲特说：“这取决于你。”伯恩说：“噢！拜托——你完全可以告诉我是什么。”但巴菲特什么也没说，只是同意陪伯恩去参加一个在纽约沃尔多夫—阿斯托里亚举办的夜市交易。 投标者和他的银行家自然是要对这个具有控制权的股东自我介绍一番的。巴菲特说：“你们的谈话对象就错了，他（伯恩）才是你们该找的人。” 伯恩把巴菲特拉到一边恳求道，“你就在我耳朵边悄悄说个价格嘛！”结果 巴菲特还是保持缄默。 “真是难以置信，”伯恩说，“我们要谈的是大约10亿美元的买卖，他却把它都托付到我手上来了。” 最后，伯恩定的价格超出了收购者所能承受的范围，谈判中止了。这正是巴菲特想要的结果，他觉得GEICO的好日子还在后头呢！那为什么他还袖手旁观呢？“要想知道沃伦脑子里究竟想什么是一件很困难的事。”伯恩回忆道。 毫无疑问，巴菲特想让伯恩知道自己信任他。而且他必然也已经猜到一旦他显示出这种信任，伯恩就不会使他失望。谁都可以说巴菲特是幸运的，除非说他总是幸运而外。 回想起GEICO经历的坎坷波折，沃尔特。施洛斯，巴菲特在格雷厄姆—纽曼的兄弟，称整个过程“十分悲哀”。“有的人成为了百万富翁，有的人却没得到任何好处，还有的人甚至倾家荡产。”GEICO创办人的儿子利奥。古德温在低谷时期曾作过偿还保证，而本。格雷厄姆则彻底保留下了他的GEICO股票。在1976年9月，正好是保证偿还结束之前，格雷厄姆在法国的家中逝世，享年82岁。 格雷厄姆逝世以后，评论家们常常提到巴菲特与格雷厄姆的方法论之间的偏离，巴菲特明显地进步了。他不仅受过查理。芒格的影响，也受过身为作者兼投资者菲利浦。费舍尔的影响。他们各自都强调：一个好的经营完善的公司与从流行角度上来看的廉价公司是完全不同的，同时对他自己的经历也有很大的影响。 巴菲特比格雷厄姆更主观地分析公司。在一些公司，比如：喜诗糖果公司里，他找到了它的“内在价值”，而这些公司却是格雷厄姆从未涉足的，但这些差别的存在使得进一步的忠诚难以实现。关于股票有“内在”价值，而与行情机无关的思想，巴菲特是从格雷厄姆那里学来的。的确，难以想象的是，要是巴菲特没有读过格雷厄姆对“市场先生”所做的生动比喻的话，巴菲特会在投资年月的高潮时刻终止了合伙人企业，而在1974年市场低落时又纵身跳了回去。巴菲特为《财务分析家杂志》的撰文之中，他对本。格雷厄姆方法的持久性给予了很高的赞扬： 在上市以后几周或几个月的时间里，那些看似愚蠢的时点，本的原则总是奏效——在一场摧毁脆弱的智力结构的金融风景之后，它们的价值常常会增加，而且也为别人所理解了。 许多年以后，巴菲特承认说他买的那些股票与格雷厄姆会买的股票一定是不同的。他从本那里得到的是“一种恰当的关于本质的模式”，那就是，买入价值的原则，蕴含在格雷厄姆的安全裕度原则下的保守主义以及超脱于每日市场起伏的态度。 巴菲特从来没有否认过自己是格雷厄姆的追随者，也从来没有否认过对这位对分数毫不吝惜的老师的感情。很久以后，当巴菲特与作者谈到自己的事业时，他明显带着喜悦，说道：“我最成功的事情是选对了英雄人物，它都来自于格雷厄姆。”当作者提醒他，这番话正被格雷厄姆的一些孩子们听到时，巴菲特的声音突然大了许多，“我希望你能告诉格雷厄姆。”他回答道。