與巴菲特共進午餐的豐盛回報

The folks who successfully bid $2.3m for lunch with Warren Buffett can expect a convivial event filled with jokes, investment wisdom and life advice, according to those who have won in previous years — but they had better keep an eye on their soft drinks.

成功投標230萬美元與沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)共進午餐的人們，可以期待一段歡樂的時光，充滿了笑料、投資智慧和人生建議，但他們最好盯緊自己的軟飲料——這是往年的中標者介紹的“經驗”。

This year’s annual auction was won by a Chinese online games development company called Dalian Zeus Entertainment, which can take up to eight people to meet the legendary investor.

中國網遊開發公司大連天神娛樂(Dalian Zeus Entertainment)贏得今年的年度拍賣，中標者可以帶至多8人會晤巴菲特這位具有傳奇色彩的投資者。

Since Mr Buffett began the tradition in 2000, his lunches have raised $20m for Glide, a San Francisco charity supporting the city’s poor and homeless.

自巴菲特在2000年開啓這一傳統以來，這些年來他的“拍賣”午餐已爲Glide（一家舊金山慈善機構，支持該市的窮人和無家可歸者）籌集了2000萬美元。

Monsoon Pabrai’s most vivid memory from her lunch was that Mr Buffett pinched her Cherry Coke, thinking it was his. She was 12 at the time. Her hedge fund manager father, Mohnish Pabrai, took his two daughters along after he and a friend won with their $650,100 bid in 2007.

夢鬆•帕波萊(Monsoon Pabrai)對那頓午餐的最生動記憶是，巴菲特拿起她的櫻桃可樂(Cherry Coke)喝了起來，以爲那是他自己的。那年她才12歲。當時，身爲對衝基金經理的父親莫尼什•帕波萊(Mohnish Pabrai)和一個朋友在2007年以65.01萬美元中標後，帶上自己的兩個女兒與巴菲特共進午餐。

Now, partly inspired by that lunch, Ms Pabrai is doing an internship at the investment office at University of California, Los Angeles, and hoping to go into the world of endowments, but she also remembers Mr Buffett’s advice outside the sphere of investments.

部分是在那頓午餐的激勵下，如今帕波萊女士正在美國加州大學洛杉磯分校(UCLA)的投資辦公室實習，並希望進入捐贈基金的世界，但她也記得巴菲特在投資範疇以外的建議。

“He said the greatest decision we would make is who to marry,” she recalls. “Now every time my sister and I go on dates, that echoes in our heads.”

“他說，我們一生中將要做出的最大決定是與誰結婚。”她回憶道，“現在，每當我和姐姐出去跟別人約會，那條建議就會在我們的腦海裏產生迴音。”

Guy Spier, who bid with Mr Pabrai, recalls “the way the air vibrates” around Mr Buffett. Mr Spier has since written a book on what he has learnt from Mr Buffett, both personally and through following his value investment principles, and he puts some of his professional success down to the lunch.

當年與帕波萊聯合投標的蓋伊•施皮爾(Guy Spier)對巴菲特周圍的氣場記憶猶新。施皮爾後來寫了一本書，介紹他從巴菲特那裏學到的東西——無論是個人層面的哲理，還是因遵循巴菲特價值投資原則而得到的收穫。他將自己的一部分職業成功歸功於那頓午餐。

“The world is not a fair place,” he said. “Who you hang out with counts. Hanging out with people better than you counts. Somebody knows that I had lunch with Warren Buffett, at the margin that makes it more likely that they will want to hang out with me.”

“世界不是一個公平的地方，”他表示，“你跟誰打交道是重要的。與比你更優秀的人打交道很重要。有人聽說了我曾與巴菲特共進午餐，至少這使得他們更有可能想要與我打交道。”

The price of breaking bread with Mr Buffett began rising dramatically after the auction switched to eBay in 2003, opening it up to fans from all over the world. This year’s winning bid is 838 per cent higher than that paid in 2003 by David Einhorn, the famed short seller, and the highest bid ever was $3.5m in 2012.

自拍賣活動在2003年轉至eBay進行、讓世界各地的粉絲都能投標以來，與巴菲特一起吃飯的價格就開始戲劇性上漲。今年的中標價格比2003年知名賣空者戴維•艾因霍恩(David Einhorn)付出的價格高838%。歷年來的最高出價是2012年的350萬美元。

The cost of the meal itself, now donated by steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky, has risen more modestly. Restaurant food prices are up 41 per cent over the same period, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But even at the highest price tag, winning the auction can be worth every cent.

午餐——如今由牛排連鎖餐廳“史密斯與沃倫斯基”(Smith & Wollensky)捐贈——本身的開銷上漲更爲溫和。根據美國勞工統計局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)的數據，同期餐廳食品價格上漲了41%。但是，即使以最高的價碼中標，贏得這場拍賣也可能物超所值。

Mr Buffett surprised a two-time winning bidder — a hedge fund manager from Virginia named Ted Weschler — by offering him a job at the end of their second meal. Mr Weschler is now in line to take over some investment duties at Berkshire Hathaway when Mr Buffett retires as chief executive.

巴菲特曾給兩度中標的弗吉尼亞州對衝基金經理泰德•韋施勒(Ted Weschler)一個驚喜：在他們的第二頓午餐結束時向他提供了一個職位。如今，韋施勒將在巴菲特從首席執行官職位上退休之後，接手伯克希爾哈撒韋(Berkshire Hathaway)的一部分投資職責。

Duan Yongping, the Chinese electronics entrepreneur turned investor, has stayed away from airline stocks after discussing Mr Buffett’s own disastrous foray into the sector with him at lunch in 2006. “I love to talk to him,” Mr Duan said. “He uses the most simple words to explain the most complicated things.”

從中國電子行業企業家轉型爲投資者的段永平，在2006年與巴菲特共進午餐時，討論了巴菲特自己投資航空公司的災難性經歷，自那以來段永平一直避開航空公司股票。“我愛與他交談，”段永平表示，“他能用最簡單的語言來解釋最複雜的事情。”

Glide’s co-founder Janice Mirikitani said at the launch of the auction last week: “The divides are getting bigger between the haves and have-nots. Mr Buffett inspires others who have the means to help bridge that divide.”

Glide聯合創始人賈尼絲•美里木谷(Janice Mirikitani)上週在發起拍賣時表示：“富人與窮人之間的差距越來越大了。巴菲特激勵其他有能力的人士幫助彌合這一鴻溝。”

Mr Spier declined to put a figure on the return on investment from his winning bid, but he is certain of its value. “We could give that money to Harvard or Yale,” he said, “but it would not even buy you a plaque. It would only buy you lunch with the Dean.”

施皮爾拒絕量化與巴菲特共進午餐的投資回報，但他對這個機會的價值確信無疑。“我們可以把那筆錢捐給哈佛(Harvard)或耶魯(Yale)，”他說，“但它連一塊牌匾都買不到，只夠你與院長共進午餐。”