Charlie Munger

Warren Buffett's longtime business partner and intellectual force behind Berkshire Hathaway's evolution toward quality businesses.

Charlie Munger (1924-2023) was a Harvard Law School graduate who practiced law before transitioning to investing. He met Warren Buffett in 1959 and became Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway in 1978. Munger was instrumental in shifting Buffett's strategy from buying cheap, mediocre businesses (pure Graham approach) to buying wonderful businesses at fair prices. His multidisciplinary approach to investing—drawing from psychology, physics, biology, and other fields—became legendary. He also served as Chairman of Daily Journal Corporation and designed the architecture for several buildings. Known for his wit and wisdom, his annual Poor Charlie's Almanack is a compilation of his speeches and thinking.

Invert, always invert. Use mental models from multiple disciplines to make better decisions. Avoid stupidity rather than seeking brilliance.

Focus on quality businesses with pricing power and sustainable advantages. Wait for 'no-brainer' opportunities. Use a multidisciplinary latticework of mental models to analyze businesses. Emphasize patience and avoiding mistakes.

1. 1. Mental Models: Use frameworks from psychology, physics, mathematics, biology
2. 2. Circle of Competence: Stay within areas of deep understanding
3. 3. Inversion: Think about what could go wrong, not just what could go right
4. 4. Patience: Wait for no-brainer opportunities, do nothing most of the time

• 13.6% annual returns managing Daily Journal portfolio
• Partnership returns of 19.8% annually (1962-1975) before joining Berkshire
• Berkshire's quality shift led to decades of outperformance

• Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
• Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (by Peter Bevelin)
• The Complete Investor (by Tren Griffin)

• Daily Journal annual meetings ↗
• Poor Charlie's Almanack ↗