I.H.22.Warren Buffett.Will

爱钱还是爱工作？

1、《1998-05-04 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting》

78. Buffett on inheritance: “Enough to do anything, not enough to do nothing”

巴菲特谈遗产：“足够让他们做任何事情，但不足以让他们无所事事”

WARREN BUFFETT: OK, zone 8, please.

沃伦·巴菲特：好的，请第8区提问。

JAIME MCMAHON: Hello, I’m Jaime McMahon (PH) from Birmingham, Alabama.

杰米·麦克马洪：你好，我是杰米·麦克马洪（音），来自阿拉巴马州伯明翰市。

And I was hoping that, Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger, y’all would expand a little bit on your ideas of an inheritance, and the positive and negative influences that that can have on your heirs, and what you might be able to do as a businessperson, and an investor, and as a parent to sort of mitigate those negative influences.

我希望巴菲特先生和芒格先生能谈谈你们对遗产的看法，以及遗产对继承人可能产生的积极和消极影响。作为一个企业家、投资者和父母，你们认为可以做些什么来减轻这些消极影响？

WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah, well, I quoted — I think Kay Graham was quoting her father at the time but — some years back as saying, “If you’re quite rich, probably the idea of leaving your children enough so they can do anything, but not enough so they can do nothing, is not a bad formula.”

沃伦·巴菲特：是的，我曾引用过——我认为这是凯·格雷厄姆当时引用她父亲的话——多年前她说，“如果你很富有，可能留给你的孩子足够让他们做任何事情，但不足以让他们无所事事，这并不是一个坏的方式。”

I think, if you’re talking about people that aren’t quite rich, I’ve seen — you know, socially, I wouldn’t have a system that involved inheritances. But recognizing the situation that exists, I think probably at lower levels, that leaving to the children in this society is perfectly OK.

我认为，如果你谈论的是那些不太富有的人，我认为从社会角度来看，我不会设计一个包含遗产的系统。但基于现有的社会情况，我认为在较低的财富水平上，留给孩子一些遗产是完全可以接受的。

But I believe enough in a meritocracy that if I were devising the system with a consumption tax and everything, I would probably make inheritance a form of consumption that would be very heavily taxed, because I don’t believe that because you happen to be the — come out of the right womb, essentially, that you are entitled to live an entirely different life than somebody who wasn’t quite as lucky, in terms of womb selection. (Laughter)

但我足够相信精英主义，如果让我设计一个包含消费税的系统，我可能会把遗产视为一种消费，并对其征收重税。因为我不认为仅仅因为你——从“正确的子宫”出生，你就有权过上完全不同于那些在“子宫选择”上不太幸运的人的生活。（笑声）

But in my own case, you know, I follow the “enough so they can do anything, but not enough so they can do nothing.” I think that society showered all these —

但在我自己的情况下，我遵循的是“足够让他们做任何事情，但不足以让他们无所事事”的原则。我认为社会赋予了我们这些机会——

I was very lucky, I was wired the right way at the right time in history to do very well in this kind of a market economy. Whereas Bill Gates has told me if I was born some thousands of years ago, I’d been some animal’s lunch. (Laughter)

我非常幸运，在历史的正确时机具备了适合市场经济的才能。而比尔·盖茨曾告诉我，如果我出生在几千年前，我可能会成为某种动物的午餐。（笑声）

You know, I don’t run very fast. (Laughter)

你知道的，我跑得不快。（笑声）

And there are different assets that are useful at different times.

在不同的时代，有用的能力是不同的。

And I’ll add, I’m not wired to play championship bridge, or championship chess, or not wired to be a basketball star or anything. It just so happens I’m in an area where it pays off like crazy to be good at capital allocation.

我再补充一下，我的能力并不适合打冠军桥牌或国际象棋，也不适合成为篮球明星或其他领域的明星。只是碰巧我擅长资本分配，而这在我的领域里带来了非常高的回报。

And that doesn’t make me a more worthwhile human being than anybody else or anything. It just means I was lucky.

但这并不意味着我比其他人更有价值。这只是意味着我很幸运。

And should that luck, in effect, enable many generations of people that are good at womb selection to do nothing in this world? You know, I would have some reservations about that.

而这种幸运是否应该使得许多代擅长“子宫选择”的人在这个世界上无所事事？对此我有一些保留意见。

So that’s my own feeling on inheritance. But Charlie has a bigger family and he can give you a better answer.

所以这就是我对遗产的看法。但查理的家庭更大，他可以给你更好的答案。

79. Munger on inheritance: Few people are “ruined by money”

芒格谈遗产：“很少有人被金钱毁掉”

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, I feel, in a capitalist system, that there should be an inheritance tax, and that once that’s been imposed and paid, what each person wants to do in his own testamentary arrangements is up to that person.

查理·芒格：嗯，我认为在资本主义体系中应该有遗产税。一旦遗产税被征收和缴纳，每个人如何安排自己的遗嘱就是他自己的选择了。

I see very few people that I regard as ruined by money. Many of the people that I see ruined who have money would have been ruined without money. (Laughter)

我见过的因金钱被毁掉的人非常少。我见过的那些有钱却被毁掉的人，假如没有钱，他们也会被毁掉。（笑声）

And I think the percentage of the people that are going to be living the life of the French aristocracy before the revolution is always going to be very small.

我认为，那些过着法国大革命前贵族生活的人所占的比例总是非常小。

And there are plenty of grasping people to take the money away from the incompetents who inherit it.

而且有很多精明的人会从那些继承遗产却无能的人手中夺走这些钱财。

I don’t think we have to worry about a whole class of incompetents ruling the world as their money cascades ever higher.

我不认为我们需要担心一整个阶级的无能者会因为他们的财富不断增加而统治世界。

芒格的安全感不足以正确的配置资产。

So I like a fair amount of charity, and certainly some testamentary charity is OK. But I feel it’s an individual choice that people have to make.

因此，我喜欢适量的慈善行为，当然一些遗赠慈善是可以的。但我认为这是一个人们必须做出的个人选择。

WARREN BUFFETT: They get a choice there.

沃伦·巴菲特：他们在这方面有选择的自由。

2、《2024-11-25 Warren Buffett Donates Another $1 Billion. He Has Estate-Planning Advice for Everyone.》

NEWS RELEASE 新闻稿

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 立即发布

Omaha, NE (BRK.A; BRK.B) -

Today, Warren E. Buffett will convert 1,600 A shares into 2,400,000 B shares in order to give these B shares to four family foundations:1,500,000 shares to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 300,000 shares to each of The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

今天，沃伦·E·巴菲特将把1,600股A类股票转换为2,400,000股B类股票，并将这些B类股票捐赠给四个家庭基金会：1,500,000股捐赠给苏珊·汤普森·巴菲特基金会，300,000股分别捐赠给舍伍德基金会、霍华德·G·巴菲特基金会和诺沃基金会。

Mr. Buffett’s comments to his fellow shareholders follow:

巴菲特先生对其他股东的评论如下：

*************

The gifts I am making today reduce my holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares to 206,363, a 56.6% decrease since my 2006 pledge. In 2004, before Susie, my first wife, died, the two of us owned 508,998 Class A shares. For decades, we had both thought that she would outlive me and subsequently distribute the vast majority of our large fortune. That was not to be.

今天我所做的捐赠将我持有的伯克希尔哈撒韦 A 类股票减少到 206,363 股，自 2006 年我承诺以来减少了 56.6%。2004 年，在我的第一任妻子苏西去世之前，我们两人拥有 508,998 股 A 类股票。几十年来，我们都认为她会比我活得更久，然后分配我们大部分的巨额财富。事实并非如此。

When Susie died, her estate was roughly $3 billion, with about 96% of this sum going to our foundation. Additionally, she left $10 million to each of our three children, the first large gift we had given to any of them. These bequests reflected our belief that hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.

Susie去世时，她的遗产约为30亿美元，其中约96%的遗产将用于我们的基金会。此外，她给我们的三个孩子每人留下了1000万美元，这是我们送给他们中的任何一个人的第一份大礼物。这些遗赠反映了我们的信念，即非常富有的父母应该给他们的孩子留下足够多的东西，这样他们就可以做任何事情，但不足以让他们什么都不做。

Susie and I had long encouraged our children in small philanthropic activities and had been pleased with their enthusiasm, diligence and results. At her death, however, they were not ready to handle the staggering wealth that Berkshire shares had generated. Nevertheless, their philanthropic activities were dramatically increased by the 2006 lifetime pledge that I subsequently made and later expanded.

我和苏西长期以来一直鼓励我们的孩子参与小型慈善活动，并对他们的热情、勤奋和成果感到满意。然而，在她去世时，他们还没有准备好处理伯克希尔股份所产生的巨额财富。尽管如此，由于我在 2006 年做出的终身承诺以及后来的扩展，他们的慈善活动大幅增加。

The children have now more than justified our hopes and, upon my death, will have full responsibility for gradually distributing all of my Berkshire holdings. These now account for 99.5% of my wealth.

孩子们现在已经完全证明了我们的期望，并且在我去世后，将全权负责逐步分配我所有的伯克希尔股份。这些现在占我财富的99.5%。

*************

Father time always wins. But he can be fickle - indeed unfair and even cruel - sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit. To date, I’ve been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me.

时间老人总是赢。但他有时会反复无常——确实不公平，甚至残酷——有时在出生时或不久后就结束生命，而在其他时候，则要等上一个世纪左右才会造访。到目前为止，我一直很幸运，但不久之后，他也会找上我。

There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69 and 66.

然而，我在避免他的注意方面的好运也有一个缺点。自 2006 年承诺以来，我孩子的预期寿命大幅缩短。他们现在分别是 71 岁、69 岁和 66 岁。

I’ve never wished to create a dynasty or pursue any plan that extended beyond the children. I know the three well and trust them completely. Future generations are another matter. Who can foresee the priorities, intelligence and fidelity of successive generations to deal with the distribution of extraordinary wealth amid what may be a far different philanthropic landscape? Still, the massive wealth I’ve collected may take longer to deploy than my children live. And tomorrow’s decisions are likely to be better made by three live and well-directed brains than by a dead hand.

我从未希望建立一个王朝或追求任何超越孩子们的计划。我非常了解这三个人，并完全信任他们。未来的世代是另一回事。谁能预见后代的优先事项、智慧和忠诚，以应对在可能截然不同的慈善环境中分配巨额财富？尽管如此，我积累的大量财富可能需要比我孩子活着更长的时间来部署。而明天的决策更有可能由三个活着且方向明确的大脑做出，而不是由一只死去的手。

As such, three potential successor trustees have been designated. Each is well known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children.

因此，已指定三位潜在的继任受托人。我的孩子们都很熟悉他们，并且我们都认为这是合理的。他们也比我的孩子们稍微年轻一些。

But these successors are on the wait list. I hope Susie, Howie and Peter themselves disburse all of my assets.

但这些继任者在等待名单上。我希望苏西、豪伊和彼得亲自分配我的所有资产。

Each respects my wish that the disposition program for my holdings of Berkshire shares in no way betrays the exceptional trust Berkshire shareholders bestowed upon Charlie Munger and me. The 2006-2024 period gave me the chance to observe each of my children in action and they have learned much about large-scale philanthropy and human behavior. Each has overseen teams of 20-30 for many years and has observed the unique employment dynamics affecting philanthropic organizations.

每个人都尊重我的愿望，即我对伯克希尔股份的处置计划绝不背叛伯克希尔股东对查理·芒格和我所赋予的特殊信任。2006-2024 年期间，我有机会观察我的每个孩子的行动，他们学到了很多关于大规模慈善事业和人类行为的知识。每个人多年来都管理着 20-30 人的团队，并观察到影响慈善组织的独特就业动态。

Wealthy friends have been curious about the extraordinary confidence I have in my children and their possible alternates. They express particular surprise at my requirement that all foundation actions will require a unanimous vote. How can this be workable?

富有的朋友们对我对孩子们及其可能替代者的非凡信心感到好奇。他们对我要求所有基金会行动都需要一致投票感到特别惊讶。这怎么可能可行呢？

I’ve explained that my children will forever be besieged with earnest requests from very sincere friends and others. A second reality: When large philanthropic gifts are requested, a “no” frequently prompts would-be grantees to ponder a different approach - another friend, a different project, whatever. Those who can distribute huge sums are forever regarded as “targets of opportunity.” This unpleasant reality comes with the territory.

我已经解释过，我的孩子们将永远被非常真诚的朋友和其他人热切的请求所包围。第二个现实：当被要求提供大额慈善捐赠时，一个“拒绝”常常会促使潜在的受赠者考虑不同的方法——另一个朋友，一个不同的项目，等等。那些能够分配巨额资金的人永远被视为“机会目标”。这种不愉快的现实是不可避免的。

Hence, the “unanimous decision” provision. That restriction enables an immediate and final reply to grant-seekers: “It’s not something that would ever receive my brother’s consent.” And that answer will improve the lives of my children.

因此，“一致决定”条款。该限制使得可以立即并最终回复寻求资助者：“这不是我兄弟会同意的事情。”而这个答案将改善我孩子们的生活。

My unanimity clause, of course, is not a panacea - it clearly isn’t workable if you have nine or ten children or stepchildren. And it doesn’t solve the daunting problem of intelligently distributing many billions annually.

当然，我的一致同意条款并不是万能药——如果你有九个或十个孩子或继子女，这显然是行不通的。而且它也不能解决每年明智分配数十亿资金的艰巨问题。

I have one further suggestion for all parents, whether they are of modest or staggering wealth. When your children are mature, have them read your will before you sign it.

我对所有父母还有一个建议，无论他们是普通财富还是巨额财富。当你的孩子成熟时，让他们在你签署遗嘱之前阅读它。

Be sure each child understands both the logic for your decisions and the responsibilities they will encounter upon your death. If any have questions or suggestions, listen carefully and adopt those found sensible. You don’t want your children asking “Why?” in respect to testamentary decisions when you are no longer able to respond.

确保每个孩子都理解你做决定的逻辑以及他们在你去世后将面临的责任。如果有人有问题或建议，仔细倾听并采纳那些合理的建议。你不希望在你无法回应时，孩子们对遗嘱决定问“为什么”。

Over the years, I have had questions or commentary from all three of my children and have often adopted their suggestions. There is nothing wrong with my having to defend my thoughts. My dad did the same with me.

多年来，我的三个孩子都曾向我提出问题或评论，我经常采纳他们的建议。我需要为自己的想法辩护，这没有什么不对。我爸爸也曾这样对我。

I change my will every couple of years - often only in very minor ways - and keep things simple. Over the years, Charlie and I saw many families driven apart after the posthumous dictates of the will left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry. Jealousies, along with actual or imagined slights during childhood, became magnified, particularly when sons were favored over daughters, either in monetary ways or by positions of importance.

我每隔几年就会更改我的遗嘱——通常只是一些很小的改动——并保持简单。多年来，查理和我看到许多家庭在遗嘱的死后指令让受益人感到困惑，有时甚至愤怒后分崩离析。嫉妒，以及童年时期的实际或想象中的轻视，变得更加严重，尤其是在儿子在金钱上或重要职位上被优待于女儿时。

Charlie and I also witnessed a few cases where a wealthy parent’s will that was fully discussed before death helped the family become closer. What could be more satisfying?

我和查理也见证了一些案例，在这些案例中，富裕父母在生前充分讨论的遗嘱帮助家庭变得更加亲密。还有什么比这更令人满意的呢？

As I write this, I continue my lucky streak that began in 1930 with my birth in the United States as a white male. My two sisters had, of course, been explicitly promised by the Amendment’s enactment in 1920 that they would be treated equally with males. This, after all, had been the message of our thirteen colonies in 1776.

在我写下这些文字时，我依然延续着自1930年出生以来的幸运历程——我在美国出生，作为一名白人男性。我的两个姐妹，当然，早在1920年通过宪法修正案的颁布，就被明确承诺将与男性平等对待。毕竟，这正是我们十三个殖民地在1776年所传达的信息。

In 1930, however, I emerged in a country that hadn’t yet gotten around to fulfilling its earlier aspirations. Aided by Billie Jean King, Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and countless others, things began changing in the 1970s.

然而，在 1930 年，我出现在一个尚未实现其早期愿望的国家。在比莉·简·金、桑德拉·戴·奥康纳、鲁斯·巴德·金斯伯格以及无数其他人的帮助下，事情在 1970 年代开始发生变化。

So favored by my male status, very early on I had confidence that I would become rich. But in no way did I, or anyone else, dream of the fortunes that have become attainable in America during the last few decades. It has been mind-blowing - beyond the imaginations of Ford, Carnegie, Morgan or even Rockefeller. Billions became the new millions.

由于我的男性身份，我很早就有信心我会变得富有。但无论是我还是其他人，都没有想到在过去几十年里在美国可以获得的财富。这令人震惊——超出了福特、卡内基、摩根甚至洛克菲勒的想象。数十亿成为了新的数百万。

Things didn’t look great when I arrived at the beginning of The Great Depression. But the real action from compounding takes place in the final twenty years of a lifetime. By not stepping on any banana peels, I now remain in circulation at 94 with huge sums in savings - call these units of deferred consumption - that can be passed along to others who were given a very short straw at birth.

当我在大萧条开始时到达时，情况看起来并不乐观。但复利的真正作用发生在一生的最后二十年。由于没有踩到任何香蕉皮，我现在在 94 岁时仍然活跃，并且有巨额储蓄——称之为延迟消费的单位——可以传递给那些出生时运气不佳的人。

I am also lucky that my philanthropic philosophy has been enthusiastically embraced - and widened - by both of my wives. Neither I, Susie Sr. nor Astrid, who succeeded her, believed in dynastic wealth.

我也很幸运，我的慈善理念得到了我两位妻子的热情拥护和扩展。无论是我、苏西·斯尔还是继任的阿斯特丽德，都不相信家族财富。

Instead, we shared a view that equal opportunity should begin at birth and extreme “look-atme” styles of living should be legal but not admirable. As a family, we have had everything we needed or simply liked, but we have not sought enjoyment from the fact that others craved what we had.

相反，我们一致认为，平等的机会应该从出生开始，极端的“看我”生活方式应该是合法的，但不值得钦佩。作为一个家庭，我们拥有了一切我们需要或喜欢的东西，但我们并没有因为别人渴望我们所拥有的东西而感到享受。

It also has been a particular pleasure to me that so many early Berkshire shareholders have independently arrived at a similar view. They have saved - lived well - taken good care of their families - and by extended compounding of their savings passed along large, sometimes huge, sums back into society. Their “claim checks” are being widely distributed to others less lucky.

我也特别高兴的是，许多早期的伯克希尔股东独立地达成了类似的观点。他们储蓄——生活得很好——很好地照顾了他们的家庭——通过长期复利增长，他们的储蓄回馈给社会大量的，有时是巨大的资金。他们的“索赔支票”被广泛分发给那些不那么幸运的人。

************

With this philosophy, I have lived the way I wanted to live since my late 20s, and I have now watched my children grow into good and productive citizens. They have different views in many cases from both me and their siblings but have common values that are unwavering.

秉持这一理念，自二十多岁后期以来，我一直按照自己想要的方式生活，现在我看到我的孩子们成长为优秀且有成效的公民。他们在许多情况下与我和他们的兄弟姐妹有不同的看法，但拥有坚定不移的共同价值观。

Susie Jr., Howie and Peter have each spent far more time directly helping others than I have. They enjoy being comfortable financially, but they are not preoccupied with wealth. Their mother, from whom they learned these values, would be very proud of them.

小苏西、豪伊和彼得都比我花了更多的时间直接帮助他人。他们喜欢在经济上感到舒适，但他们并不专注于财富。他们的母亲，他们从她那里学到了这些价值观，会为他们感到非常自豪。

As am I. 我也是。

About Berkshire 关于伯克希尔

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, manufacturing, services and retailing. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.

伯克希尔·哈撒韦及其子公司从事多种商业活动，包括保险和再保险、公用事业和能源、货运铁路运输、制造、服务和零售。公司的普通股在纽约证券交易所上市，交易代码为 BRK.A 和 BRK.B。

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Marc D. Hamburg 402-346-1400

I.H.22.Warren Buffett.Will

I.H.22.Warren Buffett.Will

1、《1998-05-04 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting》

2、《2024-11-25 Warren Buffett Donates Another $1 Billion. He Has Estate-Planning Advice for Everyone.》

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