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本書回顧世界首富巴菲特的生平經歷。巴菲特從未寫過任何一本回憶錄,但此次他破天荒同意讓本書作者艾莉斯.舒德(Alice Schroeder)為他立傳,除了撥出時間親自接受採訪,也讓舒德小姐訪遍他的家人、朋友、生意夥伴,忠實記下他過去的事蹟、他對世事的看法、他的挫折與勝利、他犯過的錯誤,以及他的人生智慧。
投資精準度為世人所稱道的巴菲特,儘管一舉一動受到媒體緊迫釘人,卻從未詳實地對媒體披露他的一生;就名人的標準來看,他的私人生活低調、非常注重隱私。巴菲特是矛盾的綜合體,他證明了做個和善的好人,也能在競爭中出頭。他對待投資人向如平起平坐的事業夥伴,並且以幫投資人管錢的「管家」自居。不管是身為投資專家、公司的CEO、董事、演說家,他都以誠信為最高原則;這樣的成功秘訣說來簡單,結果卻一點也不簡單,讓他從美國中部平凡小城Omaha崛起,成為舉世知名的富商。
忙碌的巴菲特若不是遇到艾莉斯 舒德,恐怕也不會有機會透過一本書分享他的生命。舒德是幹練的保險產業分析師,向以觀察敏銳、和商業判斷精明在業界中聞名,她在金融題材的寫作上引起巴菲特的注意。舒德發現,儘管現有的書籍對巴菲特的投資手法多有著墨,卻從未有人把巴菲特這個人寫得更深入,談到他更大面向的哲學,以及這些哲學如何造就了巴菲特的性格與種種決策。因為這些原因,巴菲特同意與舒德合作,寫下這本書。
巴菲特從未花這麼多時間回答任何記者或作者的問題,但他數度與舒德長談,回顧他的兒時、他過去的點點滴滴。巴菲特這樣做需要相當大的勇氣,因為從這本書可看出,巴菲特也不過是個人,他有強處、也有弱點。雖然巴菲特最引人注目的是他的財富,但他對別人最大的影響,不是他在富豪排行榜第一名的位置,而是他的處世原則和智慧。這本書將告訴你,何以華倫巴菲特的故事,是世界最值得閱讀的成功故事。
作者簡介
艾莉斯.舒德 Alice Schroeder
曾任摩根士丹利的董事總經理(managing director),因為寫波克夏海瑟威公司的研究報告,而與巴菲特結識,而巴菲特也因為賞識她的洞察力、和掌握主題的能力,願意讓舒德書寫他的人生故事。舒德生於德州,在德州大學奧斯汀分校獲得學士及MBA學位。她擁有會計師執照,目前與丈夫居住在康乃迪克州。
★本書中譯本《雪球:巴菲特傳》由天下文化出版
Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.”
Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term “simple.”
When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write.
Never before has Buffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions, talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It was an act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.