저자: WarrenBuffett · 외국인
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버핏이 텍사스퍼시픽랜드 투자 일화를 회고하며 단순하고 합리적인 투자 원칙을 강조. 해당 회사가 오랜 기간 보유 시 크게 성과를 냈다고 언급. 이어 이사 독립성 문제를 지적하며 높은 이사 보수를 받는 이사는 진정한 독립이 어렵다고 주장. 버크셔 주주 주식 재매입에 대해서는 원칙에 따라 판단한다는 입장 표명. 자산 가격 방향에 대한 구체적 예측은 없음.
다듬은 글
Second stock I bought was company called Texas Pacific Land Trust. And that came out of the bankruptcy of the Texas and Pacific Railroad back in the 1880s or something like that. And they had 3 million some acres and they owned the minerals and they owned the surface and everything else, but it was it was terrible land in the 1880s.
But they had some kind of a charter that said that use the proceeds from land sale or whatever it was they were going to buy in stock every year. And uh and you know, I sat there when I was 13 or 14 and I figured if I lived to be 100, I would own the whole place. Well, I haven't lived to be 100 yet and I then by the whole I wouldn't have bought the whole place.
So, both calculations are so far imperfect, but it it's uh been a remarkable company. It's plain remarkable because they would talk about raising fees of $6,000 a year or something like that, you know, maybe when they had 3 million acres and then they kept finding oil and more oil and more oil and and they've changed [clears throat] the form and all kind of thing, but they bought in in stock week after week after week.
And I sat there and figured out how long it would take until I owned the whole company and and I obviously made some improper calculations because it wouldn't have worked that way, but it it still was apparent to me that it would be a very good idea if they had 3 million acres down there that they got all through with and they kept the mineral rights and all kinds of things, which they were doing.
Uh you know, it ought to at a very cheap price it ought to work out well for anybody who sat around for a long time and it has worked out extremely well for anybody who sat around a long time, but but nobody knew that they were going to find a lot of oil and that eventually El Paso would grow out far enough so that the the surface lands became worth some money.
The They were somewhat near El Paso. Then they had to go a couple hundred more miles to find the next person, but that was another problem. So, uh it's it's just so some of the stuff is so simple, you know, but but you know, people want to get their PhD or something, so they they they work out hundreds of pages and have lots of Greek letters in it and all that sort of thing and and you know, either you're buying buying out your partner at an attractive price or you're not buying them out at a good price and you've got the money around to do it and the price is attractive.
You don't have some other opportunities, you know, why not do I mean you you got to come out ahead by doing it. And if certain [clears throat] other you've got other things that are more intelligent, you you don't do it. And and if the and if it isn't intelligent on an absolute basis, you also don't do it.
Charlie, you got anything to add to the What were you doing in 1940? Uh three, you were in the You were in the service and I was Oh, weren't we? We we'd be crazy if we didn't rather enjoy [clears throat] having come a considerable distance from small beginnings. And to do that in good company, it's a it's a favored life.
Yeah. We've been very fortunate. Yeah. And tomorrow, Monday, I can tell you it's almost certain that if anybody offers us Well, they'll be shares traded at Berkshire and we won't buy any. But it's also pretty fair chance someday a lot of shares quite a few shares, not a lot. Berkshire's got the Our shareholders are too smart.
That's one of our problems. They don't want to repurchase shares, but we really don't want to squeeze it. We don't want to squeeze out anybody, but but we also are here to do things that increase the value for the people who stick with us. I mean, it's not very complicated and and uh we'll get we'll there'll be times when we'll do it and there'll be times when we won't, but it won't it won't be any formula, but there will be the principles that I've just expressed and and uh and my guess is that my successor and their successor will have a similar calculation because we're looking for people that are rational and devoted to the Berkshire.
If somehow they [clears throat] had arranged it so that directors didn't get paid at all, there'd be plenty people who'd want to be directors and there'd be a prestigious sort of thing and all that, but in effect it's it's money I that uh comes very easily. I did the whole idea of the independent directors frankly is it just doesn't really make any sense.
You don't think a director is independent who needs $300,000 a year? money. Yeah. I mean, He's as independent as the way a slave is independent. I am I am willing to read a few sentences which are absolutely the case. Except I'm doctoring there's just a I don't want I don't want anybody to be identified obviously with us and these are just but these are word for word excerpts was I don't know I'm not I'm not telling you whether it's a a woman or a man.
I'm going to use a male pronoun because it's just cuz it's easier. But I picked out a few sentences from a letter I received many years ago. And this letter said, "I'm writing to you with a great deal of reluctance and a sense of personal embarrassment. I have tried all of the conventional means of raising the money.
This person needed a couple million dollars. And I wouldn't have known the person if I saw him on the street. You know, but but uh but it wrote this letter and said I need a couple million dollars. And uh and then this is the item [clears throat] that I think you might find interesting. And I've kept the letter.
My income is composed 100% of my board fees. Well, yeah, I just looked him up and at the time he was a director of five prestigious companies and had been directors of others and directors and he's going to be director of a whole bunch of things. But he was desperate for money and he says he's getting 100% of it from board fees.
And he was an independent director classified as an independent director at every one of these companies. Uh and uh it's just astounding to me uh that uh you know, we're going to have a shareholders meeting just a couple minutes. We're going to we're going to start it and uh um it's just astounding to me that uh uh in 2006 we own 9% of the Coca-Cola company.
I mean, maybe they gave me a free Coke. I mean, uh but we own 9% of Berkshire Hathaway. We could obviously care about the future of the Coca-Cola company. And and uh uh it so happened in in that year CalPERS and a few others have recommended that we be voted against for something or other and and at one time there were two big institutional investors that voted because they didn't think I was independent because Dairy Queen bought some Coca-Cola.
Uh the or actually the people that are franchisees bought some Coca-Cola. I mean do they think I can't add things in if we've got billions and billions and billions of dollars that I'm going to be compromised and but it's it's just nutty. And uh so one year my my my vote fell from 90 96% yeah, maybe it was 98% vote approval to 84% because uh I forget whether it was 2004 or 2000 somewhere along the line they just decided that that I wasn't the right sort of person to be able to handle these responsibilities.
And uh uh um you know, it the idea that somebody it's an important part of their income. I mean what they want. They may want to do a lot of other good things. It doesn't It doesn't mean they're terrible people. But if the if the difference is whether you uh how you live and in this case where the person might go broke uh how in the world you can call somebody like an independent and say that anybody owns a lot of when we waters got spent not independent or maybe it's just ridiculous.
But it's the way the the rules are and we we will we follow the rules but Well, they don't want them just independent. Now they want one horse, one rabbit, one cow, one what whatever. No, well I mean I I you know, I feel like Galileo Independence is not enough. You got to have a very diverse kind of independence.
Yeah. Yeah. And and if you if you desperately need to make money, in this case 100% of the income coming from it uh you're on five of the most prestigious boards in the in the country and and and classify as independent on each and other other and all you're hoping is that Well, I think your CEO gets called by another CEO and says, "Is this guy okay?" And you say, "Of course he's okay." Which means of course he doesn't cause trouble.
And so he gets on a sixth board. Anyway. I know. All I see is it's it's not our idea of an independent director. No.
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