I happened across this name several months ago. Admittedly, I had never heard of him.
Charlie Munger.
I did not know that much about him other than he was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was best known for being the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. You can’t tell a company by just its name many times. But Berkshire Hathaway is a “multinational conglomerate holding company led by Warren Buffett.”
Munger had been Buffett’s longtime business partner and was considered his right-hand man in managing Berkshire Hathaway’s investments and operations. So there it is. And of course, Buffet has vowed to give away the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes, primarily through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other charitable organizations.
Back to Charlie. Born on January 1, 1924, Munger sounds like a pretty smart guy. Munger’s investment philosophy emphasized the importance of rational thinking, patience, and a broad understanding of multiple disciplines beyond finance. He was highly regarded in the investment community for his sharp intellect and contrarian thinking. That would be contrarian as in contrary. He thinks in unconventional ways.
But here is the thing. Munger is also known for his wit, wisdom, and his insightful speeches and writings on investing, business, and life principles. And that is how I noticed him. I happened upon a page of his quotes and I thought they were pretty good.
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1. “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you
woke up.”
2. “The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being
know more.”
3. “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have
gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very
intelligent.”
4. “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the
time — none, zero.”
5. “I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know
the other side’s argument better than they do.”
6. “The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.”
7. “You don’t have to be brilliant, only a little bit wiser than the other guys,
on average, for a long, long time.”
8. “The game of life is the game of everlasting learning. At least it is if
you want to win.”
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Munger died at a hospital in Santa Barbara, California, on November 28, 2023, at the age of 99, 34 days shy of his 100th birthday. In the statement announcing his death, Warren Buffett said, “Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation.”
He seemed like a very wise man.
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“Intelligence is the ability to solve problems, whereas wisdom is the ability to avoid them.” — Albert Einstein
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“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” — Albert Einstein
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“Intelligence is the ability to see patterns where others see chaos.” — Unknown
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Charlie and his smart quotes
