Berkshire Hathaway 2013 Annual Report Download - page 23

A couple of interesting sidelights about the book: Later editions included a postscript describing an
unnamed investment that was a bonanza for Ben. Ben made the purchase in 1948 when he was writing the first
edition and – brace yourself – the mystery company was GEICO. If Ben had not recognized the special qualities of
GEICO when it was still in its infancy, my future and Berkshire’s would have been far different.
The 1949 edition of the book also recommended a railroad stock that was then selling for $17 and earning
about $10 per share. (One of the reasons I admired Ben was that he had the guts to use current examples, leaving
himself open to sneers if he stumbled.) In part, that low valuation resulted from an accounting rule of the time that
required the railroad to exclude from its reported earnings the substantial retained earnings of affiliates.
The recommended stock was Northern Pacific, and its most important affiliate was Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy. These railroads are now important parts of BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe), which is today fully
owned by Berkshire. When I read the book, Northern Pacific had a market value of about $40 million. Now its
successor (having added a great many properties, to be sure) earns that amount every four days.
I can’t remember what I paid for that first copy of The Intelligent Investor. Whatever the cost, it would
underscore the truth of Ben’s adage: Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Of all the investments I ever
made, buying Ben’s book was the best (except for my purchase of two marriage licenses).
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Local and state financial problems are accelerating, in large part because public entities promised pensions
they couldn’t afford. Citizens and public officials typically under-appreciated the gigantic financial tapeworm that
was born when promises were made that conflicted with a willingness to fund them. Unfortunately, pension
mathematics today remain a mystery to most Americans.
Investment policies, as well, play an important role in these problems. In 1975, I wrote a memo to
Katharine Graham, then chairman of The Washington Post Company, about the pitfalls of pension promises and the
importance of investment policy. That memo is reproduced on pages 118 - 136.
During the next decade, you will read a lot of news – bad news – about public pension plans. I hope my
memo is helpful to you in understanding the necessity for prompt remedial action where problems exist.
The Annual Meeting
The annual meeting will be held on Saturday, May 3rd at the CenturyLink Center. Carrie Sova, our talented
ringmaster, will be in charge, and all of our headquarters group will pitch in to help her. Our gang both does a
better job than professional event planners would and – yes – saves us money.
CenturyLink’s doors will open at 7 a.m., and at 7:30 we will have our third International Newspaper
Tossing Challenge. Our target will be a Clayton Home porch, precisely 35 feet from the throwing line. I tossed
about 500,000 papers when I was a teenager, so I think I’m pretty good. Challenge me: I’ll buy a Dilly Bar for
anyone who lands his or her throw closer to the doorstep than I do. The papers will be 36 to 42 pages, and you must
fold them yourself (no rubber bands allowed).
At 8:30, a new Berkshire movie will be shown. An hour later, we will start the question-and-answer
period, which (with a break for lunch at CenturyLink’s stands) will last until 3:30. After a short recess, Charlie and
I will convene the annual meeting at 3:45. If you decide to leave during the day’s question periods, please do so
while Charlie is talking.
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