Charlie Munger, the longtime friend and business partner of Warren Buffett, passed away peacefully at a California hospital on Tuesday morning, November 28, 2023. His family informed Berkshire Hathaway with no cause of death given.
The business legend, who is five years older than Warren Buffett, had once advised him to “write his obituary the way he wants it written, and then live his life accordingly.”
“Look at things, and live backward,” he said.
In a statement, Buffett proclaimed that “Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation.”
Charlie Munger Biography
Named Charles Thomas Munger, he is popularly known by his nickname, “Charlie.” He was born in 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
Interestingly, as a teenager, Munger worked at a grocery store, Buffett & Son, managed by Warren Buffett’s grandfather.
In 1943, at the age of 19, after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Munger had to drop out of the University of Michigan to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he was trained as a meteorologist.
While in the army, he became an officer and began dating Nancy Huggings, whom he eventually married and had three children.
In 1948, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School with a J.D., despite not earning an undergraduate degree.
In what seemed to be the lowest point of his life, Munger got divorced from his wife after 8 years of marriage, losing all his savings to her. To make matters worse, he lost his 8-year-old son, Teddy.
Though the events left him shattered, rather than turn to drugs, he never gave up, reflecting Winston Churchill’s words that say, “If you’re going through hell, keep going. There is always a way up and out. If you are persistent enough and have the courage not to quit, you’ll find it.”
Later on, he met Nancy Barry, who had two children, and soon married her, then moved to Nebraska to support his family after the death of his father.
In California, he opened his real estate law firm, using his experience of playing cards from his college and army days to grow and refine his investing skills. Soon, he stopped law and focused entirely on investment, where he made good money and profits, opening an investment firm called “Wheeler, Munger, and Company” with Jack Wheeler.
From 1973 to 1974, however, he experienced significant losses, leading him to completely stop his investment partnership in 1976. A few years later, he developed a cataract and went blind in one eye after surgery.
Fast forward the story, from 1978 to 2023, Charlie Munger went on to become the second-in-command to Warren Buffett.
As of November 29, 2023, he bears a real-time net worth of $2.6B.
Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett’s Partnership
Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett first met in 1959, after they were introduced by a mutual contact at a cafe in Omaha, along with their wives. Though they had both worked at Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store as teenagers, their paths never crossed.
After their meeting, they stayed in touch over the years, with Buffett focused on his investment firm and Munger working as a real estate attorney.
Eventually, with Buffett’s advice, Munger left law practice in the 1960s to focus on investments, including a partnership with the billionaire newspaper executive, Franklin Otis Booth, on real estate development.
Prior to joining Berkshire, Munger ran his own investment firm, which Buffett in his 1984 essay, “The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville,” said generated compound annual returns of 19.8% between 1962 and 1975, far better than the 5% annual appreciation rate for the Dow during that time frame.
In 1962, Buffett began to buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway, and by 1965, took control of the company as chair and CEO with Munger becoming vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway in 1978.
Besides his engagement in Berkshire Hathaway, Munger also served as an independent director of Costco Wholesale Corporation and was chair of the board of Daily Journal Corporation.
From 1984 to 2011, he also served as chair and CEO of Wesco Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
As partners, Munger and Buffett made profitable investments in Apple, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Amex, Gillette, and Goldman Sachs, among others.
Charlie Munger’s Legacy
Through the years, Charlie Munger worked as an investor, businessman, real estate attorney, architectural designer, and philanthropist.
According to Houston Cofield of Bloomberg, “Munger was known for his pithy and often humorous remarks on investing, life, and more.”
Munger often mentioned that high ethical standards were integral to his philosophy—and to his success. “Good businesses are ethical businesses. A business model that relies on trickery is doomed to fail,” he said at one time. At some point, Munger described Bitcoin as being “created out of thin air,” serving as a “go-to payment method for criminals.”
Remaining pivotal in Berkshire Hathaway’s growth, which saw a market capitalization of over $780 billion, Buffett also credited Munger for shifting Berkshire’s focus to “buying wonderful businesses at fair prices” instead of settling for “fair businesses at wonderful prices.”
Munger, who often spoke highly of China, remained a firm supporter despite the country’s recent economic troubles. The country paid tribute to him with over 32,000 posts on Weibo and 340 million views.
