The Best of Charlie Munger

S.F. Ehrlich Associates |

Who hasn’t heard of Warren Buffett, the so-called Oracle of Omaha? The man was known for making great investments and making billions along the way for himself and his shareholders. Warren Buffett is the brilliantly successful chair of Berkshire Hathaway.

If you dig just a tad deeper, you will find that Buffett had a crony, a sidekick who spurred him on to some of his greatest investments. A man with an extraordinary ability to select companies and people, and propel both to immeasurable heights. While Warren Buffett is certainly the face of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger served as the able-bodied and brilliant vice-chair.

Munger recently passed at the grand old age of 99. Other than leaving behind an extraordinary portfolio of companies at Berkshire, along with his own fortune, Munger also left us many lessons that we can all use to enhance how we invest and live our lives. Herewith is a sampling1:

  • “A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they’ve got terrible temperaments. And that is why we say that having a certain kind of temperament is more important than brains. You need to keep raw irrational emotion under control. You need patience and discipline and an ability to take losses and adversity without going crazy.”
  • “Investing is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes, temperament outlasts talent.”
  • “A life free of regrets is the best that anyone could ask for really.”
  • “Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have any fun at. There’s a lot of pain and no fun. Why would you want to get on that trolley?”
  • “Remember that reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets—and can be lost in a heartbeat.”
  • “People calculate too much and think too little.”
  • “Sometimes, one needs to look at the bigger picture instead of just formulas.”
  • “Develop into a lifelong self-learner through voracious reading; cultivate curiosity and strive to become a little wiser every day…Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.”
  • “How to find a good spouse? The best single way is to deserve a good spouse.”
  • “If I can be optimistic when I’m nearly dead, surely the rest of you can handle a little inflation.”
  • "The best armor of old age is a well spent life preceding it.”
  • “You’ll do better if you have passion for something in which you have aptitude. If Warren Buffett had gone into ballet, no one would have heard of him.”
  • On success: “It’s so simple. You spend less than you earn. Invest shrewdly, and avoid toxic people and toxic activities, and try and keep learning all your life…”

 

 

1 Cheema, Ramish. “25 Best Quotes from Charlie Munger.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, finance.yahoo.com/news/25-best-quotes-charlie-munger-160218373.html. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024. 

 

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