Howard Buffett, 43, a son of legendary investor Warren Buffett, 68, once ran for a public office in Omaha. His father had some advice:
change the capital "B" in Buffett on the campaign posters to a lower case "b." "I'm the Buffett with the capital," Howard recalls his father saying.
霍华德·巴菲特，43岁，是传奇投资者沃伦·巴菲特（68岁）的儿子之一，曾在奥马哈竞选公职。他的父亲给了他一个建议：把竞选海报上“Buffett”中的大写字母“B”改成小写“b”。霍华德回忆父亲当时说：“我是那个大写字母的巴菲特。”
But of course this is no laughing matter, a relationship between a very rich dad (or mom) and the kids. Just ask Howard Buffett.
但这当然不是一件可笑的事情，而是涉及一位非常富有的父亲（或母亲）与子女的关系。问问霍华德·巴菲特就知道了。
Though he's based in Decatur, Ill., we meet Howard for lunch at the Hilton hotel near Kennedy airport in New York just hours before his flight to South Africa. He's headed off for a photo safari and vacation with his wife, Devon, and son, Howie.
虽然他常住伊利诺伊州迪凯特，我们还是在纽约肯尼迪机场附近的希尔顿酒店与霍华德共进午餐，此时距离他飞往南非只有几个小时。他将与妻子德文和儿子豪伊一起进行拍照狩猎和度假。
We order Cokes and sandwiches. After a bit of warm-up talk, I get to the point -- Howard, your dad has let the world know that his three children, Howard, Susan and Peter, will get only a modest sum from his eventual estate.
我们点了可乐和三明治。寒暄片刻后，我切入正题——霍华德，你父亲已向世人表明，他的三个孩子霍华德、苏珊和彼得只会从他最终的遗产中得到一笔适度的金额。
"I've never spoken about this, so I have to be careful," says Howard Buffett, taking a long, deep breath. Devon, who is clearly supportive of her husband, has joined us for the first part of the interview. She gives him an uneasy look that says, Careful, Howard.
“我从未谈过这个话题，所以我得小心，”霍华德·巴菲特深吸一口气说。明显支持丈夫的德文也加入了访谈的第一部分。她用一种不安的目光看着他，仿佛在说：小心点，霍华德。
"All three of us would say there have been times when it's been very frustrating," says Howard reflectively.
“我们三个人都认为，有时确实非常令人沮丧，”霍华德若有所思地说。
He tells a story to illustrate his point:
为了说明这一点，他讲了一个故事：
"When I graduated from high school in 1973, all I wanted in the world was a new Corvette," the young Buffett begins.
“1973年我高中毕业时，我唯一想要的就是一辆新的科尔维特跑车，”年轻的巴菲特开始讲述。
Dad didn't just say no. Neither did he reach for his checkbook. He offered a deal.
父亲并没有直接说不，也没有伸手去拿支票簿。他提出了一个条件。
Warren would pay \$5,000 toward the car, but it counted for three years of birthday presents, three years of Christmas presents, his entire graduation gift, and Howard would have to come up with the \$2,500 balance on his own.
沃伦愿意为这辆车支付5000美元，但这笔钱将抵掉未来三年的生日礼物、三年的圣诞礼物以及全部的毕业礼物，而且霍华德必须自己筹措剩下的2500美元。
Howard got the car.
霍华德得到了那辆车。
Then somebody backed into it. Buffett overheard a bystander exclaim:
随后有人倒车撞了这辆车。巴菲特听到一位旁观者惊呼：
"No big deal! That's the Buffett kid, there's lots more where that came from."
“没什么大不了！那是巴菲特家的孩子，他们还有很多钱。”
Fat chance. Howard paid for the repairs himself.
想得美。霍华德自己支付了维修费用。
Howard is a thin-skinned, less-driven version of his father. His vulnerability shows through just about every sentence.
霍华德是父亲的脆弱、动力不足的版本。他的脆弱几乎体现在他每一句话中。
Still, does having a father worth \$29 billion or so make a difference? Howard hesitated.
不过，拥有一位身价约290亿美元的父亲会有所不同吗？霍华德犹豫了。
"I don't know for sure," he says at last, "but I think I would have made the same choices that I've made." Howard stands up and stretches. He had told me earlier his back is hurting, and he's had to take some painkillers.
“我也不确定，”他最后说道，“但我想我仍会做出我已经做出的那些选择。”霍华德站起来伸了伸腰。他之前告诉我，他的背很疼，不得不服用一些止痛药。
So what were those choices, Howard?
那么，霍华德，你做了哪些选择？
He explains that like a lot of children, rich or poor, it took time for him to find his own identity. He bounced around several different colleges before finally dropping out. He attended Augustana College in 1974, Chapman College in l975 and the University of California at Irvine in 1976.
他解释说，与许多无论贫富的孩子一样，他花了时间才找到自我定位。他辗转于几所不同的大学，最终选择辍学。1974年就读于奥古斯塔纳学院，1975年就读于查普曼学院，1976年就读于加州大学欧文分校。
His brother and sister dropped out, too. Clearly, if the withholding of inheritance was supposed to fire academic drive, it backfired in this case.
他的兄弟和妹妹也辍学了。显然，如果限制继承是为了激发求学动力，在这个案例中却适得其反。
After a few jobs -- operating a bulldozer; working for See's Candies,, one of his dad's companies; and farming -- Howard thought he'd take a stab at politics. It was 1988, and he ran for commissioner of the Douglas County board that oversees the Omaha district.
做过几份工作——开推土机；在父亲旗下公司之一的See's 糖果工作；以及务农——之后，霍华德决定尝试从政。那是1988年，他竞选负责奥马哈地区的道格拉斯县委员会委员。
Sitting up straighter in his chair, he raises his voice a few decibels: "I've always been interested in politics. My grandfather, a Republican congressman from 1942-52 \[and Howard's namesake], is the person my dad most respected in life.
他坐直身体，声音提高了几分贝：“我一直对政治很感兴趣。我的祖父（也是我的同名人）在1942年至1952年间曾是共和党国会议员，是我父亲最尊敬的人。”
"I asked my dad one question that, if he had answered differently, I might not have run for office. I asked him if he thought voters would think less of you if you ran for political office and lost. Dad instantly responded: 'Not at all. People will respect you if you are willing to participate and put yourself on the line.'"
“我曾问过父亲一个问题，如果他的回答不同，我可能就不会竞选。我问他，选民会不会因为你竞选公职却失败而看轻你。父亲立刻回答：‘绝不会。如果你愿意参与并将自己置于风险之中，人们会尊重你。’”
Not that Howard agrees with his father on everything. Warren, repudiating his own father's politics, is a Democrat; Howard, like Grandpa Howard, is an active Republican.
这并不意味着霍华德在所有事情上都赞同父亲。沃伦否定了自己父亲的政治立场，成为民主党人；而霍华德则跟祖父同样，是一位积极的共和党人。
Howard made the run, and his opponent, a woman, Lynn Baber, ran on the slogan, "I'm nobody's son."
霍华德投入竞选，而他的对手——一位名叫琳恩·贝伯的女士——则以口号“我不是谁的儿子”参选。
Warren had made another deal. He would match 10% of whatever funds his son could raise.
沃伦又做了一笔交易。他承诺按霍华德所筹款项的10%进行配捐。
"Howard, did you say 10% or 100%?"I ask. He looks at his hands, he looks at the ceiling, then back at me: "10%," he repeats with a sigh.
“霍华德，你是说10%还是100%？”我问道。他低头看了看自己的手，又望向天花板，然后看向我：“10%。”他叹了口气重复道。
"It was a good solution." Good for Howard, because it forced him to work like hell to raise money. Dad wrote that check, but reluctantly, Howard says.
“这是个好办法。”对霍华德而言确实如此，因为这迫使他拼命筹款。霍华德说，父亲确实开了那张支票，但相当不情愿。
During the campaign there was a community meeting in one of Omaha's poorer districts. Howard was nervous. "They're all going to think I'm just some rich kid from West Omaha," he confided to his dad, again asking for advice. "Just go down there, shake hands, be friendly,"
竞选期间，奥马哈一个较贫困社区召开了一次社区会议。霍华德很紧张。“他们肯定会觉得我只是西奥马哈来的富家子弟，”他向父亲倾诉，再次求教。“去吧，握手，友好些，”父亲说。
Warren responded. "They're all going to think you're going to be a jerk, and so as long as you're not a jerk, you win.'"
沃伦回答说：“他们本来以为你会是个混蛋，所以只要你不做混蛋，你就赢了。”
Sure enough, during the first moments of that meeting, a woman stood up and pointed accusingly: "'You're that rich guy's son!'" recalls Buffett. "I just said, 'Yes, but I don't have his money,' and laughed."
果不其然，会议一开始，一位女士站起来指责道：“你就是那个富人的儿子！”巴菲特回忆说，“我只是回答：‘是的，但我没有他的钱。’然后笑了起来。”
This anecdote obviously held an important lesson for Howard. It reminded him that in interpersonal relationships, who you are on paper is just a starting place. When given a chance to meet you in person, people generally make up their own minds.
这段轶事显然为霍华德提供了重要启示：在人际关系中，纸面身份只是起点。当人们有机会亲自见到你时，他们通常会形成自己的判断。
From all accounts, Howard was a superb commissioner -- willing to take on tough issues and sensitive on human matters. He met every Tuesday for lunch with Warren, and they'd hash over all the goings-on. Howard was so popular there was even talk of a run for governor.
据各方描述，霍华德是一位出色的委员——既敢于直面棘手问题，又对人性事务富有同理心。他每周二都与父亲共进午餐，讨论各种事务。霍华德极受欢迎，甚至有人谈论他竞选州长的可能。
Not ready for so public a role, Howard began to focus on a growing interest in agriculture, which led to his involvement at Archer-Daniels-
Midland.
霍华德还没准备好担任如此公开的角色，便开始专注于自己日益增长的农业兴趣，这让他卷入了阿彻丹尼尔斯-米德兰公司（Archer-Daniels-Midland）的事务。
Chief Executive Dwayne Andreas asked Howard to join his board in 1991. In 1992 he asked Howard to become his executive assistant and to act as company spokesperson.
首席执行官德韦恩·安德烈亚斯（Dwayne Andreas）于1991年邀请霍华德加入公司董事会。1992年，他又邀请霍华德担任他的执行助理并出任公司发言人。
"My background in politics and agriculture gave me the experience I needed," says Buffett. "I was getting to the big leagues on my own."
“我在政治和农业方面的背景给了我所需的经验，”巴菲特说，“我是在靠自己进入大联盟。”
Then came the allegation of price-fixing by certain senior ADM executives. The news hit at the end of June 1995.
随后，部分ADM高管被指控操纵价格。消息于1995年6月底爆出。
At this point in the conversation, Buffett put his sandwich down: "I remember as a kid the strike against the Buffalo Evening News -- a Berkshire Hathaway property -- in 1980. I listened to my father talking on the phone for hours. Over principle my dad was willing to shut down the newspaper and take the loss. He figured out the math. He could go six days without publishing and still start up again. He told the union they could strike for six days, and if they didn't come back, he would shut it down and no one would have a job. The strikers came back.
谈到这里，巴菲特放下了三明治：“我记得小时候，在1980年针对《水牛城晚报》（Berkshire Hathaway旗下媒体）的罢工。我听到父亲在电话里谈了几个小时。为了原则，父亲愿意停刊并承受损失。他算过账，可以六天不出报纸，之后再重新启动。他告诉工会，他们可以罢工六天，如果不回来，他就停刊，到时谁都没有工作。最后罢工者回来了。”
"I learned there are times you have to sacrifice for something bigger. You stand your ground and don't back down."
“我明白，有时候你必须为更大的事情做出牺牲。你要坚守立场，不要退缩。”
At ADM, Howard chose to stand his ground. He quit, just weeks after the scandal erupted, a move many interpreted as bailing out. Howard saw it as a matter of principle.
在ADM，霍华德选择坚守立场。丑闻爆发数周后他就辞职，许多人将此举解读为“逃跑”；而霍华德视其为原则问题。
"I knew I'd be criticized. I knew I would lose friendships. I gave up a significant amount of stock options and put my life in turmoil. But I was spokesperson and in charge of investor relations. How could I be a mouthpiece when I didn't and couldn't know what was accurate or inaccurate?"
“我知道我会受到批评，也知道我会失去友谊。我放弃了大量股票期权，让自己的生活陷入混乱。但我是公司发言人，负责投资者关系。当我无法、也不可能知道哪些信息是真实或不真实时，我怎么能当喉舌？”
There are times in an interview to just listen. This was one. I listened, entranced.
有些采访时刻只需倾听。这就是其中之一。我听得入神。
After resigning from ADM, Buffett looked around and made a modest investment to become chairman of Assumption, Ill.-based GSI Group, a private company making agricultural equipment. He also became more involved in one of his other passions -- wildlife photography. His photographic company, Bioimages, sells Buffett's cards to museums and bookstores around the country -- thus the photo shoot in South Africa.
从ADM辞职后，巴菲特投入了一笔不大的资金，成为位于伊利诺伊州阿萨姆普申、生产农业设备的私营企业GSI集团的董事长。他还更加投入到自己另一项热情——野生动物摄影。其摄影公司Bioimages向全美博物馆和书店出售巴菲特的摄影卡片——这也解释了他在南非的拍摄。
Even though Warren had nothing to do with GSI, his long shadow still cast itself over Howard's work. "I understand my dad's in a unique position and has to be careful," Howard begins. "GSI, my company, recently had a road show to sell our high-yield bonds. It would have been appropriate for me to go. But I called my father for advice, and we agreed I should not do it so that there would be no confusion about which Buffett was involved."
尽管沃伦与GSI毫无关系，他的巨大影响仍笼罩着霍华德的工作。“我明白父亲的处境特殊，必须谨慎，”霍华德说，“我自己的公司GSI最近进行了高收益债券路演。原本我应该出席，但我致电父亲征求意见，我们一致认为我不该去，以免外界搞不清是哪个巴菲特参与其中。”
Buffett stops eating and looks downcast. Not doing the GSI presentations to the investment community in 1997 was part of what he earlier referred to as the frustrating part of being Warren's son. "If we do an initial public offering, I can't keep my head buried in the sand. I have that obligation to my partners and to myself."
巴菲特停下进食，神情黯然。1997年未向投资界做GSI推介，是他早先所说作为沃伦之子的挫折之一。“如果我们要进行首次公开募股，我不能把头埋在沙里。我对合伙人和自己都有责任。”
He brightens noticeably when talk turns to being invited by his dad to join the Berkshire Hathaway board in 1992. That says a lot, I tell Howard.
当谈到父亲在1992年邀请他加入伯克希尔·哈撒韦董事会时，他明显精神一振。我告诉霍华德，这说明了很多。
"I never looked at it that way," Howard says. "I never knew whether I would be asked or not. I didn't ask why."
“我从没那样看过这件事，”霍华德说，“我从不知道自己会不会被邀请，也没问过为什么。”
Howard has struggled to find his place in the world, but he's well on his way. He enjoys his 640-acre farm: "I wouldn't take a job where I couldn't farm," he says. He enjoys his work at GSI and still harbors a lust for politics. His mother, Susan Buffett, had no small influence there. Howard is extremely close to his mother, who also sits on the Berkshire Hathaway board. "She is simply the most generous, kindest and most caring person I've ever known," Howard gushes. "It's her interest in looking out for other people that's instilled my true interest in politics."
霍华德一直在努力寻找自己的位置，而现在他已稳步前行。他喜爱自己那块640英亩的农场：“如果不能务农，我不会接受任何工作，”他说。他喜欢在GSI的工作，并仍对政治抱有热情。他的母亲苏珊·巴菲特在这里也影响不小。霍华德与母亲关系极为亲密，她也在伯克希尔·哈撒韦董事会任职。“她是我所认识的最慷慨、最善良、最关怀他人的人，”霍华德由衷说道，“正是她关心他人的那份心，激发了我真正的政治兴趣。”
Then he stops himself. I could see he was concerned that he'd already said too much. His mother guards her privacy. Howard respects that but wants us to know that she has been equally influential as his father in shaping his life. "Equal if not more," he says.
说到这里，他停住了。我能看出他担心自己说得太多。他母亲十分注重隐私，霍华德尊重这一点，但也想让我们知道，她在塑造他的生活中与父亲同样重要。“同样，甚至更甚，”他说。
On our third Coke, I ask: "How is her philosophy and yours different from your father's?"
喝到第三杯可乐时，我问道：“她的理念与你和你父亲的有何不同？”
"Well, he's a little more of a hard-liner. He'll say you've got to go out and earn it. If you give stuff to people they won't learn how to earn." Howard pauses and says, "I don't disagree with that, but there are exceptions to everything."
“嗯，他的立场更为强硬。他会说你必须自己去赚；如果你把东西直接给别人，他们就学不会怎样去赚。”霍华德停顿了一下，接着说，“我并不反对这种观点，但凡事总有例外。”
Every healthy family crafts solutions to smooth over the little rough spots of familial dissension. The Buffett family is no different. (When the Buffett family dines at a restaurant, Howard's sister always takes the bill and adds the tip -- Dad can't be trusted to tip generously enough.)
每个健康的家庭都会想办法化解家庭小矛盾。巴菲特一家也不例外。（当巴菲特一家在餐馆用餐时，霍华德的妹妹总是抢着买单并加上小费——因为爸爸在小费上不足够大方，靠不住。）
Taking the last bite of his sandwich, Buffett talks about his own son: "He's got to have pride in what he does and excel. I won't give him his first car -- I adopt my dad's attitude in general."
咬下三明治最后一口时，巴菲特谈到自己的儿子：“他必须为自己的所作所为感到自豪，并且做到出色。我不会送他第一辆车——总体上我采纳了父亲的做法。”
You'll do everything as your dad did?
你会事事都按你父亲的做法去做吗？
Not quite. "I will always try to include him. Howie is interested in politics, so when I had lunch with Paul Simon -- the former Illinois senator -- at the Capitol, Howie went with me. Howie was 6 years old."
不完全如此。“我会尽量让他参与。豪伊对政治很感兴趣，所以当我在国会大厦与前伊利诺伊州参议员保罗·西蒙共进午餐时，豪伊也跟着我去。那时他才6岁。”
Warren just didn't do that kind of thing.
沃伦可不会做这种事。
"I always tell my son the most important thing he can do is find a few really good mentors, which I have always had."
“我总告诉儿子，他能做的最重要的事就是找到几个真正优秀的导师，而我一直以来都有这样的导师。”
As the waitress clears the plates and only minutes remain before Buffett embarks for Africa, I ask: Aren't you at all bitter about being cut off from all those billions of dollars?
当服务员收拾盘子、离巴菲特启程前往非洲只剩几分钟时，我问道：被排除在那几百亿美元遗产之外，你一点都不苦涩吗？
"The truth is, if Dad loaded us with money, he could not help but control us. He let us go our own way. 'Find something you love to do,' he's always said, 'and do it.'"
“事实是，如果爸爸给我们大把的钱，他就免不了要控制我们。他让我们自己走路。他总说：‘找一件你热爱的事，然后去做。’”
As he gets up from the table he looks at me and says, "My family is close. We get together often." Then, smiling, he adds, "In our family no one is jockeying for position."
他起身离桌时看着我说：“我们家人很亲近，经常聚在一起。”接着微笑补充道：“在我们家，没有人争权夺势。”
Time for the plane. Howard has already arranged to have the check paid, so there is no argument, and I walk the family to the bus that will carry them to the airport. He has some parting words: "As I look back, Dad's done enough at certain times to be helpful."
该登机了。霍华德已安排好买单，所以没有争执，我陪他们一家走向开往机场的巴士。他临别时说：“回首往事，父亲在关键时刻已经给予足够帮助。”
"Our lives are better because of his generosity. He's a great listener, and I have had great advice."
“他的慷慨让我们的生活更美好。他是个出色的倾听者，我得到过许多宝贵的建议。”
Then with a broad smile he adds: "Now we'd love to have him loosen up a little!"
随后他露出灿烂笑容补充道：“现在我们倒希望他能再放松一点！”