Kilpatrick - Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett (Part I)

OF PERMANENT VALUE

The story of Warren Buffett

PART 1 OF 3

By Andrew Kilpatrick

2012 Odyssey EDITION

Of Permanent Value Introduction

All characters in this book are real, not imaginary.

Copyright 2012 by Andrew (Andy) Kilpatrick

Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any
sense in any copyright law on the planet. (Mark Twain)

All rights reserved forever.

No part of this skimpy (Buffetts description of the book) work covered by the copyright may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photographing, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systemswithout approval from the holderAndy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire (AKPE).

To paraphrase A. Edward Newton, the witty author of books about books, My publisher has never had any trouble with me, nor I with him.

With perfectly performed printing by the Donning Company Publishers.

Produced in AKPEs war room

Cardboard box

17 Office Park Circle, Suite 1

Birmingham, Alabama, Heart of Dixie 35223

(UPS lists the address, which is actually Mountain Brook, as Mountain BRK.)

Fax/Phone: 205-251-2828

E-mail:ANDYAKPE@gmail.com

(Please go easy on solicitations for hot tubs, car washes, credit cards, mortgages, a new job, cruises, free vacations, condos, diet miracles, sports betting, time-shares, college diplomas without tests, debt relief, Viagra, free trials for septic cleaners, color printers, business books, babes, and Russian brides. The solicitation from John, Hi, this is John with Second Source Funding, came right on top of a note from Allison, Hi, this is Allison with Dish. About twice a week I get this: Can you publish my book? Oddest inquiry: Is this the IRS? Another inquiry: Is this Warren Buffetts office? Im trying to get a grant for our school. A recent one: Is this Sanctuary Hair Salon? Is Emily there? A call from Debt B Gone: Hello, if you have $5,000 or more in credit card debt.... Then it was Ive run into a brick wall. Can you help me write my dissertation. Later: Is there a pet store near here? Lastly: Is this the doctors office? My GPS led me here.

Limited edition. Six copies printed. One sold on Amazon.com. Fine condition. A great rarity.

Book, cover design, and the worlds largest photo index by the hard labor of Mary Porter.

Has more than 1,800 photos.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Blast off!

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005416911

Kilpatrick, Andrew. 1943Y3K (Hopefully); height, 510; weight, 165; eyes, brown; hair, there but fading

Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett/2012 Odyssey Edition

One thin volume

Andrew Not Paid by the Word Kilpatrick

Manufactured (somewhat seamlessly) in the USA

Cost: $60. (The book is $1; postage is $59.)

Some day I hope to write a book where the royalties will pay for the copies I give away (Clarence Darrow).

ISBN (variously means International Standard Book Number or I Sell Books Now)

ISBN 978-1-57864-748-4

Material from the Berkshire Hathaway annual reports is copyrighted by Warren E. Buffett and is quoted with permission.

COPYRIGHTPAGE:LETSHAVEFUN

AKPE World Headquarters in Mountain BRK, Alabama

This home, which started life as a standard Clayton Homes dubba-wide, has since been adorned with all manner of Berkshire products: Shaw carpeting, MiTek trusses, Precision Steel beams with Acme Brick surrounds, Johns Manville insulation, Larson-Juhl picture frames, Pampered Chef cookware, and even home furnishings from RC Willey in Salt Lake City. Inside the edifice, a Burlington Northern toy train loops around. Out back, just out of sight, a NetJets Gulfstream is parked. Guess you cant see it. Sorry, just kidding about all this.

Introduction The Story of Warren Buffett

DEDICATION

CARROLLKILPATRICK

My father, Carroll Kilpatrick (1913-1984), was a reporter all his life. He was fast, accurate, alert, full of purpose, and definitely at his best on deadline. When President Nixon announced he would visit China in 1972, my father had only 90 seconds to land the story in the Washington Post , front page, above the fold. His prize-winning article arrived on time, maybe with the help of a few minutes from a barely pushed-back deadline. Someone once said of Daddy, Fastest damn typist I ever saw.

FRANCESKILPATRICK

My mother, who died of a stroke on November 25, 1999, at the age of 85, was the hardest-working person I ever knew. In my youth, we had a summer home in Peru, Vermont. Once I got home after fishing and playing tennis all day to find Mother at the top of a ladder finishing a painting job. From dawn to dusk, she had single-handedly painted the entire house inside and out . In one form or another, every day of her life was like that.When she found out I was working on a book which had no prospect of publication, she wrote, Youre throwing away your life. False starts in this world were not her cup of tea. Only after attending a Berkshire annual meeting and being very impressed with Warren Buffett did she understand my interest; henceforth, she did all she could to help with the book.

PATKILPATRICK

The Book Widow has been tolerant beyond belief for many years. Before this latest publication, I told her that her wishes to shorten the book had come true, largely because of a new two-column format. With her characteristic bite, she replied, Oh, like the Bible!

Way Back Then

Carroll and Frances Kilpatrick in 1948 with their little rug rats: Frank, left, 3, who became a doctor in Madison, Wisconsin; and Andy, 5, who became the sole proprietor of Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire (AKPE). The books in the background are a nice touch, but they are not about Buffett.

Its no joke publishing ones own book. - Virginia Woolf

Of Permanent Value Introduction

2012 Odyssey edition

Since the early 1990s, with each successive edition, Of Permanent Value has had a different theme. Here is a quick review of the most recent:

The 2006 edition had a literary flavor, indicated with a blue cover in honor of the original 1922 edition of James Joyces Ulysses . Joyces Leopold Bloom and Buffett were portrayed as comparable modern-day heroes.

In 2007, the book took on an international flavor, reflecting Berkshires $4 billion purchase of Iscar of Israel in 2006.

In 2008, the theme was cosmic. Berkshire rose from nothing into a cosmos. Mark Twainisms began popping up in the cosmic scenery.

The 2009 edition played a musical refrain when it was dedicated to Woodstock. It was written to honor the massive gatherings, fun, music, and fellowship that occur during Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting weekendsand in remembrance of the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival.

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