2024-01-01 07:47:58
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Munger, who began his career as a grocery store assistant. Charlie Munger was one of the richest investors in the world when he passed away on November 28. As a teenager, Charlie Munger got his first job at Warren Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store, Buffett & Son.
In 1941, Munger left this job to attend the University of Michigan to study mathematics. In 1943, shortly following turning 19, Charlie joined the US Army Air Corps as a second lieutenant, dropping out of school when the US declared war during World War II. Charlie scored high on the Army Intelligence Test and was sent by the Army to study at Caltech in Pasadena. After excelling in his studies and military service, Munger married Nancy Huggins in 1945. There are three children from this relationship.
A few years later, Charlie attended Harvard Law School for graduate studies. Meanwhile, Charlie divorced Nancy Huggins following 8 years of marriage. The death of his eight-year-old son Teddy was also a big blow for Charlie, who had to pay all his earnings to his wife. It is during this period of crisis that Charlie meets Nancy Barry, a mother of two children. Soon the two got married. After his father’s death, Charlie returned to Nebraska to take care of the family.
∙ Meeting a soulmate
Back in Nebraska, Charlie met Warren Buffett. The friendship between the two continued even following they returned to California. In California, Charlie opened his own law firm focusing on real estate. Having had an interest in playing cards since his college and military days, he tried to use it to develop and improve his investment skills. It didn’t take long for Charlie to move away from the law and focus entirely on investing. Charlie thrived by earning profits from the investment sector. He then started an investment firm called ‘Wheeler, Munger and Company’ with Jack Wheeler.
Charlie suffered huge losses in 1973 and 1974, and in 1976 Charlie was forced to stop investing altogether. A few years later, Charlie started showing symptoms of a cataract in one of his eyes. After cataract surgery, one eye experienced loss of vision. Doctors said that there is a possibility of complete loss of vision in both eyes these days. With this, he started learning Braille but later regained his sight.
Charlie began to learn more regarding investments during his vision problems. With more knowledge, Charlie returned to the investment field. He soon began investing with Buffett and eventually became Buffett’s investment advisor. It was around this time that Munger and Buffett learned that both had worked at Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store as teenagers. In 1978, Charlie became the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and became the focus of investors around the world.
Image Credit: X/ cfapath
∙ Brother to Buffett
After becoming Berkshire’s vice chairman, Charlie worked closely with Buffett in allocating capital to Berkshire and avoiding public backlash when he felt his business partner was wrong. ‘Charlie was one of the best investors to work with as a team with Buffett. I’m sure it’s a big loss for Buffett personally’ – said Rick Meckler, a partner at Le Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey, at the time of Charlie’s death. Buy very good stocks at reasonable prices. Reinvest the proceeds from it. Charlie loved ensuring continued growth and consistent cash flow. This was Buffett’s favorite strategy.
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