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待能在今年的中国春节听到美国知名投资者巴菲特（Warren Buffett）高歌一曲的人恐怕要失望了。
Bloomberg News
关于巴菲特将在今年网络春晚上演唱歌曲的传闻被证实是假的。图为2010年9月30日巴菲特在长沙出席中国汽车制造商比亚迪的一个新闻发布会。
上述消息和中国网络春晚的监制王平久上周四在新闻发布会上的说法相左。新华社报道援引了王平久的说法，他说，巴菲特特别为网络春晚录制了一段视频，在视频中他弹奏吉它并演唱。据新华社报道，王平久说，我们都知道巴菲特很善于投资，不过很少人知道他歌唱的也不错。
王平久的声明被外媒纷纷转载，同时也在新浪微博引发了强烈反响。因为在日渐富裕、看重投资诀窍的中国，巴菲特是一位知名人物。
这则消息看来和巴菲特此前的行为相一致。这位亿万富豪一直因爱在公众场合放声高歌而出名，比如他曾在Geico Corp.于2010年制作的一个视频中客串，模仿80年代知名摇滚歌手Axl Rose。Geico Corp.是伯克希尔哈撒韦（Berkshire Hathaway Inc.）旗下的保险公司。中国网民对巴菲特也不陌生：中国西服厂商大杨创世在其网站上发布的一段视频中，巴菲特曾盛赞这家企业。
但新华社的报道也引起巴菲特观察人士的一些疑问：首先，巴菲特是四弦琴爱好者，但好像不会弹吉他。王平久也拒绝提供巴菲特露面的具体细节，包括这段视频是否会出现在今年电视春晚的节目中。电视春晚是一台长达四至五个小时的综艺晚会，由中国中央电视台制作，在中国内地有7亿人收看，可能是全球收视率最高的电视节目。
王平久上周五说，他是通过阳光媒体集团的吴征接触到巴菲特的。吴征接受记者采访时说，他确实通过巴菲特的家庭成员获得了一段巴菲特祝福中国观众春节快乐的视频。吴征还说，他还向网络春晚的制作方提供了一段巴菲特的儿子皮特（Peter）演奏钢琴的视频。
吴征原本计划再加入巴菲特一年前为阳光文化基金会（Sun Culture Foundation，吴征参与该基金会运作）录制的一段视频。那段视频于2011年1月在北京举行的一个慈善舞会上播出，巴菲特在其中操起四弦琴自弹自唱了一首《我一直在铁路上工作》（I've Been Working on the Railroad）。但吴征说，巴菲特发现这段唱歌视频会被插播在新年祝福视频中时提出了反对。吴征说自己答应了巴菲特的要求，将唱歌视频撤下。
吴征说他仍然期望网络春晚能播出巴菲特致中国观众的春节祝福。他说，巴菲特的新年祝福很棒。
Kersten Zhang / Carlos Tejada
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
Those expecting a song from U.S. investor Warren Buffett this Chinese New Year are likely to be disappointed.
Mr. Buffett has recorded a greeting that will appear on the website of China's annual Chinese New Year show later this month, according to organizers. But the greeting won't include a song, said Wu Zheng, co-chairman of Sun Media Investment Holding Ltd., a Chinese media company, and the person who connected the U.S. billionaire with the show's Chinese producers.
That's at odds with what Wang Pingjiu, a production executive for the broadcast, told a press conference on Thursday. In his statement, which was repeated by the state-run Xinhua news agency, Mr. Wang said Mr. Buffett would sing a song and play guitar in the online version of this year's Spring Festival gala. 'We all know that Buffett is good at investment, but few knew he also did well in singing,' Mr. Wang said, according to Xinhua.
The statement was broadly picked up by foreign media. It also set off a strong reaction on China's Sina Weibo microblogging service because Mr. Buffett is well-known in increasingly wealthy China, which prizes investment know-how.
The story appeared consistent with Mr. Buffett's previous behavior. The billionaire has long been known, including a cameo turn as '80s rocker Axl Rose in a 2010 video made by Geico Corp., the insurer owned by his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment vehicle. He's also no stranger to the Chinese Internet, having once lauded a Chinese suit maker in a video posted on its website.
But Xinhua's report raised a few questions among Buffett watchers. For one, Mr. Buffett is a ukulele enthusiast but doesn't appear to play guitar. Mr. Wang also declined to offer specifics on Mr. Buffett's appearance, including whether it would also appear on the Spring Festival television special, a four- to five-hour series of songs and skits produced by the state broadcaster that's watched by 700 million people in China and might be the world's most-viewed TV show.
Mr. Wang said on Friday that he worked with Sun Media's Mr. Wu to reach Mr. Buffett. In an interview, Mr. Wu said he indeed worked through Buffett family members to get hold of a video of Mr. Buffett wishing Chinese viewers a happy Chinese New Year. He also said he offered to the gala's producers a video of Mr. Buffett's son, Peter, who plays piano. (See an unrelated video of Peter accompanying his father.) .
Mr. Wu then planned to mix in a video Mr. Buffett recorded a year earlier for a charity the Chinese executive is involved with, the Sun Culture Foundation. In that video, which was shown at a charity ball in Beijing in January 2011, Mr. Buffett sang and played the ukulele to 'I've Been Working on the Railroad.'. But Mr. Wu said Mr. Buffett objected when he found out the singing video would be featured in the New Year's greeting. Mr. Wu said he acceded to Mr. Buffett's request and pulled it.
Mr. Wu says he still expects the online version of the gala will play Mr. Buffett's Chinese New Year greeting. 'Mr. Buffett's New Year's greeting is great,' he said.
Kersten Zhang / Carlos Tejada
Mr. Buffett has recorded a greeting that will appear on the website of China's annual Chinese New Year show later this month, according to organizers. But the greeting won't include a song, said Wu Zheng, co-chairman of Sun Media Investment Holding Ltd., a Chinese media company, and the person who connected the U.S. billionaire with the show's Chinese producers.
That's at odds with what Wang Pingjiu, a production executive for the broadcast, told a press conference on Thursday. In his statement, which was repeated by the state-run Xinhua news agency, Mr. Wang said Mr. Buffett would sing a song and play guitar in the online version of this year's Spring Festival gala. 'We all know that Buffett is good at investment, but few knew he also did well in singing,' Mr. Wang said, according to Xinhua.
The statement was broadly picked up by foreign media. It also set off a strong reaction on China's Sina Weibo microblogging service because Mr. Buffett is well-known in increasingly wealthy China, which prizes investment know-how.
The story appeared consistent with Mr. Buffett's previous behavior. The billionaire has long been known, including a cameo turn as '80s rocker Axl Rose in a 2010 video made by Geico Corp., the insurer owned by his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment vehicle. He's also no stranger to the Chinese Internet, having once lauded a Chinese suit maker in a video posted on its website.
But Xinhua's report raised a few questions among Buffett watchers. For one, Mr. Buffett is a ukulele enthusiast but doesn't appear to play guitar. Mr. Wang also declined to offer specifics on Mr. Buffett's appearance, including whether it would also appear on the Spring Festival television special, a four- to five-hour series of songs and skits produced by the state broadcaster that's watched by 700 million people in China and might be the world's most-viewed TV show.
Mr. Wang said on Friday that he worked with Sun Media's Mr. Wu to reach Mr. Buffett. In an interview, Mr. Wu said he indeed worked through Buffett family members to get hold of a video of Mr. Buffett wishing Chinese viewers a happy Chinese New Year. He also said he offered to the gala's producers a video of Mr. Buffett's son, Peter, who plays piano. (See an unrelated video of Peter accompanying his father.) .
Mr. Wu then planned to mix in a video Mr. Buffett recorded a year earlier for a charity the Chinese executive is involved with, the Sun Culture Foundation. In that video, which was shown at a charity ball in Beijing in January 2011, Mr. Buffett sang and played the ukulele to 'I've Been Working on the Railroad.'. But Mr. Wu said Mr. Buffett objected when he found out the singing video would be featured in the New Year's greeting. Mr. Wu said he acceded to Mr. Buffett's request and pulled it.
Mr. Wu says he still expects the online version of the gala will play Mr. Buffett's Chinese New Year greeting. 'Mr. Buffett's New Year's greeting is great,' he said.
Kersten Zhang / Carlos Tejada
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