点评：投资是个综合业务，巴菲特在公司治理、管理人员方面和投资股票同样出色，这也是很多人忽视的内容。想想伯克希尔有70多个附属企业，如果单独排列，将近有5个世界500强公司。如果详细阅读他写的几十年的致股东的信，就会发现巴菲特善于使用表扬，那些表现好多经理人都会受到他真挚的表扬，比较代表的是Ajit、Abel等，他善于为经理人树立先进，让其他经理人看到自己的差距。
在巴菲特的办公室里挂着一张卡内基培训的证书，他并没有放置内布拉斯加大学、哥伦比亚商学院获得的学士、硕士学位。他认为戴尔•卡内基有效演讲、领导力培训、赢得朋友及影响他人的艺术的课程影响了他的一生，就是因为这个培训，巴菲特勇敢的求婚成功，可见投资的范围更广泛。
Becky Quick：这个问题来自印度的 Vedant Sharma。沃伦，你和查理经常说，你们能够找到你们想合作的人，在这方面有着出色的记录。然而，在 Pilot 的案例中，我们注意到，最后的股权购买最终引发了纠纷，并且有一种精明的会计意识，换句话说，从交易中榨取比卖方应得的更多一点。我很清楚这件事已经庭外和解，需要保密，我想听听你对一些经验教训的看法，这些经验教训可能对未来的交易和未来的领导层都有用。
沃伦·巴菲特：好吧，我对此发表两点评论。有几位董事对加入 Pilot 持怀疑态度，无论如何，Pilot 对我们来说发展得很好。我的朋友山姆·巴特勒有一次对我说过，他只是泛泛地谈论某些情况，但他说，好吧，沃伦，他说，一切都结束了，这就是我们现在的处境。那么我们来谈谈第五站。好吧，在我们谈到第五站时，我会告诉您更多关于现在经营 Pilot 的家伙的信息。我知道您可能在这里见过 Greg 很久以前认识的人。他在奥马哈长大，来自一个贫穷的家庭，由母亲抚养长大。他上的是同一所高中，我妻子上的是公立高中，北高中。他去了奥马哈大学，在那里创下了冲球码数的历史记录。是的，他是一名保镖。我记得他被纽约巨人队选中。但后来在春季训练中受伤了，我记得，有点受伤。所以他最终成为一名实习生。不是实习生，而是在我去那里之前在 Mid American 的培训生。现在他在这里，仍然相对年轻，他经营着一家大公司，我们对他能做的事情充满信心。我们非常非常喜欢 Big Jim Haslam 创建的业务。这几乎是一个只发生在美国的故事，但它确实向你展示了一个真正有实力的人和一个相信他们的母亲，以及一路走来的不幸。我的意思是，想象一下如果你被纽约巨人队选中，然后在春训中受伤，你会有什么感觉。我的意思是，你花了一生的时间，这很痛苦，但这不是我曾经有过的经历。我是最后一个被选中的人。但要看他经营一家公司，取决于交易的价格，但这是一家大公司。他有多少钱，25,000 美元左右？他还有好多年要干。所以我不仅对 Pilot 的收购感到高兴，而且它告诉你关于美国的真相。你可以，你有什么值得期待的？在谷歌上阅读关于他们的信息，还是亚当的采访？
格雷格·阿贝尔：是的，我试着想它是否是。播客。
沃伦·巴菲特：是的，他有一个播客。播客绝对会让你大吃一惊。如果你不认为这是一个伟大的国家，那么这里有很多伟大的人。你只需要阅读播客。所以。
Greg Abel：但我们确实拥有一套很棒的资产。哦，是的。你知道，如果你看看 Pilot，我们有 800 多个站点、旅行中心，为了让每个人都知道，我的意思是，这很美妙，今天早上有一个关于 Pilot 燃料选择的问题。令人兴奋的是，最终，Pilot 将提供客户需要的任何燃料。它可以是电动的，可以是可再生柴油，可以是柴油或任何各种可持续燃料。但关键是，它在州际公路上拥有优越的地理位置。数百个。我们购买了一个令人难以置信的特许经营权，现在我们拥有一支由 Adam 和他周围的团队组成的优秀领导团队。所以我们很高兴这个机会会去往何处。
沃伦·巴菲特：是的，我们可能平均拥有 10 到 12 英亩的土地，或者类似这样的土地，这些土地分布在美国各地的州际公路上。谁知道呢？但在那里创造的东西也很神奇。你有一个在田纳西大学打球的家伙，他保持不败，然后离开了这支足球队，你会想，好吧，另一个足球运动员，你知道，也许他出去了，故事中可能有一些中间部分，但他买了一个加油站，并把它变成了一个巨大的东西。所以我们真的很高兴。这是另一种只有在美国才会发生的故事。你知道，我们中有多少人能成为全美排名第一的球队，更不用说创办一家能达到这种高度的企业了。所以我们对此感到非常高兴。贝基？
格雷格·阿贝尔：不，我认为他们现在已经准备好五年了。哦，我明白了。他现在已经在那里了，准备出发了。
沃伦·巴菲特：好的，去做吧。
Becky Quick: This question comes from Vedant Sharma in India. Warren, you and Charlie have often said that you were able to identify the people you want to go into business with and have had an exceptional record in that. However, in the case of Pilot, we noticed that the final stake purchase ended up in a dispute and had a sense of smart accounting, to put it one way, to squeeze a little more out from the deal than was deserved by the seller. Knowing well that this has been settled out of court, and needs due confidentiality, I would like your views on some of the lessons learned that may be beneficial for future deals to watch for and for coming leadership to look out for as well.
Warren Buffett: Well, I’ll make two comments on that. A couple of the directors had their doubts about going in, and in any event, Pilot is working out well for us. And my friend Sam Butler one time said to me that, and he was talking in general about certain kinds of situations, but he said, well, Warren, he said, all is well that ends, and that’s where we are. So we’ll go to station five. Well, while we’re getting to station five, I’ll tell you a little bit more about the fellow that is now running Pilot. I knew you may have met here that Greg had known for a long, long time. And he grew up in Omaha and came from a poor family and was raised by his mother. And went to the same high school, public high school that my wife went to, North High. Went to University of Omaha, set an all time record in rushing yardage playing there. He was a bouncer, yes. Drafted by the New York Giants, as I remember. But then injured, actually, in spring training, I remember, in some way. And so he ended up being an intern. Not an intern, but a trainee, you might say, for mid American before I was there. And now here he is, still relatively young, and he’s running a huge company, and we’ve got incredible confidence in what he will do. And we like very, very, very much the business that was created by Big Jim Haslam. And it really is almost an only in America type story, but it does show you with somebody with some real stuff and with a mother that believes in them and with bad breaks along the way. I mean, imagine how you’d feel if you were drafted by the New York Giants and then you suffered some injury in spring training or something. I mean, you spend your life, it just, it hurts, but it’s not an experience I would have ever had. I was the last guy chosen. But to see that he’s running a company depends on the price of deal, but it’s a huge company. What does he have, 25,000 or something? And he’s got many, many, many years to go. So I couldn’t be more pleased about not only the acquisition of Pilot, but just what it tells you about America. You can, what do you have to look up to? Read about them in Google or an interview with Adam?
Greg Abel: Yeah, I try and think if it’s. A podcast.
Warren Buffett: Yeah, he’s got a podcast. Podcast that will just blow you away. And if you don’t think this is a great country, it has a lot of great people. All you got to do is read that podcast. So.
Greg Abel: But we do have a great set of assets. Oh, yeah. You know, if you look at Pilot, we have 800, more than 800 stations, travel centers, and just so everybody knows, I mean, the beauty of that, and there’s a question regarding this morning around fuel choices at Pilot. And the exciting thing is, in the end, pilot’s going to serve whatever fuel our customers need. It can be electric, it can be renewable diesel, it can be diesel or any of the various sustainable fuels. But the point is, it has exceptional locations that are on the interstate highways. Hundreds of them. And we bought an incredible franchise and now we have a great leadership team in both Adam and his team that’s around him. So we’re pleased where that opportunity will go.
Warren Buffett: Yeah, we’ve got probably the average one might be ten or twelve acres or something like that zoned commercial on interstates throughout the whole United States. Who knows? But what was created there is amazing, too. You had a fellow that played at University of Tennessee, and undefeated and came away from this football team and you think, well, another football player, you know, maybe he goes out and, and theremay be some intermediate parts in the story a little bit, but he buys a gas station and he turns it into something that is huge. So we’re really delighted with it. And it’s another kind of only in America story. You know, how many of us can become an all american, number one ranked team, let alone start a business that goes on these sort of heights. So we feel very good about it. Becky?
Greg Abel: No, I think they’re ready for five now. Oh, I see. He’s up there now, ready to go.
Warren Buffett: Okay, go do it.