I dwell on this rise in per-share book value because it roughly indicates our economic progress during the year. But, as Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s Vice Chairman, and I have repeatedly told you, what counts at Berkshire is intrinsic value, not book value. The last time you got that message from us was in the Owner’s Manual, sent to you in June after we issued the Class B shares. In that manual, we not only defined certain key terms—such as intrinsic value— but also set forth our economic principles. For many years, we have listed these principles in the front of our annual report, but in this
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