QuestionerKnowing your aversion to technology, but your close affiliation with Bill Gates, Microsoft, have you ever considered either inviting him to be part of the Berkshire through the board or being involved to maybe solve some of the problems with World Book in taking it to the new technology and expanding it?
WarrenBill and I talked about encyclopedia business some years ago, but he was pretty far down the line in Carta, quite far down the line in Carta, actually before I even met him. So it wasn't, my guess is if we'd met earlier that, you know, there might have been something evolve in that, but he had put a lot of chips on in Carter and had done a good job with it. So it really wasn't a real option to work with him on World Book. Bill also is very focused on his business, and I believe he's on the board of some biotech company in which he's got a significant investment. But you will not see him on the boards of, at least I don't believe it you will, of American corporations. I think if you look at the boards, say up in the Pacific Northwest where I have a lot of friends and knows the companies well, maybe grew up with some of the people. But I don't think you'll see him on anything which really doesn't, which is just a business that doesn't grab him intellectually on something. And I do think there's one biotech company that he's involved in that way. And, you know, he'd be a terrific asset, but he really focuses on Microsoft. He has his board meetings, as I remember on Saturday that last, you know, all day, and he goes after the business that way. He's not, I don't think he'd be interested in being on a bank board or an insurance company board because he just figures he's got other things to do with his time, and I think he's probably right.