Berkshire Hathaway 2001 Annual Report Download - page 71

70
"Wherever feasible, I believe in maintaining such a partnership frame of mind, even though we
operate through a large, fairly widely-held corporation. Our Treasury ruling will allow such partnership-
like behavior in this area . . .
"I am pleased that Berkshire donations can become owner-directed. It is ironic, but understandable,
that a large and growing number of major corporations have charitable policies pursuant to which they will
match gifts made by their employees (and — brace yourself for this one — many even match gifts made by
directors) but none, to my knowledge, has a plan matching charitable gifts by owners. I say "understandable"
because much of the stock of many large corporations is owned on a "revolving door" basis by institutions
that have short-term investment horizons, and that lack a long-term owner's perspective . . .
"Our own shareholders are a different breed. As I mentioned in the 1979 annual report, at the end of
each year more than 98% of our shares are owned by people who were shareholders at the beginning of the
year. This long-term commitment to the business reflects an owner mentality which, as your manager, I
intend to acknowledge in all feasible ways. The designated contributions policy is an example of that intent."
* * *
The history of contributions made pursuant to this program since its inception follows:
Percent of
Specified Amount Eligible* Shares Amount No. of
Year Per share Participating Contributed Charities
1981 $2 95.6% $ 1,783,655 675
1982 $1 95.8% $ 890,948 704
1983 $3 96.4% $ 3,066,501 1,353
1984 $3 97.2% $ 3,179,049 1,519
1985 $4 96.8% $ 4,006,260 1,724
1986 $4 97.1% $ 3,996,820 1,934
1987 $5 97.2% $ 4,937,574 2,050
1988 $5 97.4% $ 4,965,665 2,319
1989 $6 96.9% $ 5,867,254 2,550
1990 $6 97.3% $ 5,823,672 2,600
1991 $7 97.7% $ 6,772,024 2,630
1992 $8 97.0% $ 7,634,784 2,810
1993 $10 97.3% $ 9,448,370 3,110
1994 $11 95.7% $10,419,497 3,330
1995 $12 96.3% $11,558,616 3,600
1996 $14 97.2% $13,309,044 3,910
1997 $16 97.7% $15,424,480 3,830
1998 $18 97.5% $16,931,538 3,880
1999 $18 97.3% $17,174,158 3,850
2000 $18 97.0% $16,894,872 3,660
2001 $18 97.8% $16,672,992 3,550
* Shares registered in street name are not eligible to participate.
In addition to the shareholder-designated contributions summarized above, Berkshire and its subsidiaries have
made certain contributions pursuant to local level decisions of operating managers of the businesses.
* * *
The program may not be conducted in the occasional year, if any, when the contributions would produce
substandard or no tax deductions. In other years Berkshire expects to inform shareholders of the amount per share that
may be designated, and a reply form will accompany the notice allowing shareholders to respond with their
designations. If the program is conducted in 2002, the notice will be mailed on or about September 15 to Class A
shareholders of record reflected in our Registrar's records as of the close of business August 31, 2002, and
shareholders will be given until November 15 to respond.
Shareholders should note the fact that Class A shares held in street name are not eligible to participate in the
program. To qualify, shares must be registered with our Registrar on August 31 in the owner's individual name(s) or
the name of an owning trust, corporation, partnership or estate, as applicable. Also, shareholders should note that
Class B shares are not eligible to participate in the program.