An ace investor and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathway Charlie Munger recently died peacefully. He was 90 years old. He experienced a long and fulfilling career as well as life.
Charles Thomas Munger was an American Businessman, ace investor, and philanthropist. who created the profound portfolio that made him a Billionaire. He ruled Wall Street for decades. As per Forbes at the time of death, Munger’s net worth was around $2.2 Billion.
Charlie Munger was a second in command of one of the biggest companies Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffet. Charlie in one of his interviews stated that” Berkshire Hathway was not in good condition before his arrival into management”. He then took command of management and silently reformed the whole company by staying behind the curtains.
He never tried to take any limelight thanks to his humbleness and introverted behavior.
Though Charlie always remained overshadowed by the influence of Mr Buffet, he gave a new approach and new strategies for the company. Such as Charlie was the one who suggested Buffet to buy Good Businesses at a fair price rather than buy Bad businesses at a lower price.
Warren Buffett always openly praised Charlie and his work. He once said in an interview,” He (Charlie) was the architect of the company and I was just a general contractor”.
It is said that Warren Buffet met Charlie Munger at the Dinner Party in 1959 in the club. They become friends instantly. Later Buffet convinced Charlie to Join the firm in 1970. Their friendship and partnership lasted till the demise of Munger. It was a 50 year long partnership. Both of them worked like two wheels of the Chariot Named Berkshire Hathaway.
Though Charlie was known for his association with Buffet and being Vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway. He has a long and successful career in different jobs and businesses other than Berkshire.
He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, United States on the 1st of January 1924. An interesting fact about him is at an early age he worked in the grocery store of Warren Buffet’s grandfather.
As a teenager, he worked in his grandfather’s Law Firm Buffet and Co. He dropped out of High school in 1943 to serve in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He served in World War 2.
Later took admission in the Harvard Law School to graduate as a lawyer in 1948. His father and grandfather were also lawyers. His grandfather was a U.S. District Judge.
He later moved to California to continue his endeavor. Munger worked briefly in the law firm before forming his own law firm named Munger, Tolles, and Olsen LLP. After a couple of years, he gave up law practice to concentrate on his investment journey.
He formed his own investment firm and ran it successfully before working for Buffet. Munger was famous for his humor and witty responses.
Recently Charlie made a headline when he openly criticized the Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, and Discount Brokerage app Robinhood. He denied the long-term existence of Cryptocurrencies and labeled them as “Immoral”. Also, he called Bitcoin “Noxious Poison”. Munger criticized the Robinhood app and said trading on it is like gambling.
Both Buffet-Charlie duo made Berkshire Hathaway a multi-billion dollar conglomerate involved in multiple businesses such as investment, Finance and services, Aviation, Insurance and reinsurance, Utilities, Energy, Manufacturing, Services, Retail, Media, and Real estate.
Charlie Munger’s name will always remain star studded on the boulevards of Wall Street.