(Bloomberg) — Many Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It was his quip that allowed investors to enjoy almost as much as the 3,800,000% return that Charlie Munger helped engineer.
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Munger, who died in California on Tuesday about a month shy of his 100th birthday, was Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, and the pair transformed Berkshire from a failing textile mill into a $783 billion behemoth spanning industries ranging from insurance to energy. I ordered it.
The two joked on stage at Berkshire’s shareholder event in Omaha, Nebraska, almost every year, and Munger himself drew fans to Los Angeles each year for the Daily Journal Corp.’s shareholder meeting. Munger’s blunt style and deep knowledge made for witty one-liners that often contrasted sharply with the more folksy style of Buffett, 93.
Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America Corp. and former Wells Fargo & Co. Industry leaders, including CEO Tim Sloan, all called Munger a “legend.”
Munger was also “a generous philanthropist who provided unfiltered advice and fresh opinions that had a positive impact on businesses around the world,” Sloan said.
Read more: Charles Munger, who founded Berkshire with Buffett, dies at 99
Here are some of Munger’s famous sayings:
About life lessons
Building on his adoring fans (he called them “groupies”) who flock to the conferences Munger attends, the billionaire investor often opines on life lessons and answers questions about how to achieve the success he has found. . He also made some tough comments, warning that it will become more difficult for consumers to maintain their standard of living in 2015.
“Anyone my age has lived through the best and easiest time in the history of the world: the lowest mortality rate, the highest investment output, and the greatest improvement in living standards for most people,” Munger said in 2015. “You are dissatisfied with the life you have lived for the past 50 years and, unfortunately, you are evaluating life incorrectly.”
financial recklessness
Munger frequently criticized people for what he saw as bad bets or gambling. In 2011, he said the US bubble that led to the financial crisis was caused by a combination of “megalomania, madness and evil”, and told Alan Greenspan there had been too little oversight during his time in office. Federal Reserve Bank.
“Alan Greenspan is a smart guy,” Munger said. “He completely overdosed on Ayn Rand at a young age.”
Years later, he criticized Greek citizens for thinking they could make themselves rich while the country was struggling with debt. And he didn’t spare Wall Street.
“What do you think a derivatives trading desk is? “This is a cross-dressing casino,” Munger said in 2015. “They make shamans look cool.”
cryptocurrency
Munger is often critical of cryptocurrencies, calling Bitcoin a “poisonous poison” and warning that the digital asset is “part fraud, part delusion.”
“That’s a bad combination,” Munger said in a 2022 interview with CNBC. “I like neither fraud nor delusion. And delusions can be more extreme than frauds.”
politics
Munger, who often supported Republican causes, was never shy about expressing his opinions on either major political party. He said Republican leaders in 2017 risked going too far in their efforts to reduce bank oversight.
“Republicans who want to deregulate all major financial institutions,” Munger said in 2017.
He criticized former President Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election and said that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was focusing too much on income inequality.
“As an intellectual, he is a disgrace,” Munger said of Sanders at the time. “Now I don’t think he’s any worse than some Republicans. But at least they’re crazy in other ways.”
business description
The biggest appeal of Munger and Buffett was the way the two men often simply presented complex business ideas. Marking Berkshire’s 50th anniversary, Munger wrote a five-page letter explaining its history and summarizing why Berkshire was so successful. Asked whether Berkshire’s path has implications elsewhere, he said the answer is “absolutely yes.”
“In the early days of Buffett, Berkshire had a big challenge. It’s about turning small assets into big, useful companies,” Munger said. “And he solved that problem by avoiding bureaucracy and relying for a long time on one thoughtful leader. He continued to improve and bring more people like him. Compare this to a typical large company system where there is a lot of bureaucracy at headquarters and the CEO, at about age 59, joins the company for a long time, takes a break for quiet reflection, and is soon kicked out due to a fixed retirement age.”
–With assistance from Hannah Levitt, Katherine Doherty and Noah Buhayar.
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