Beloved as Warren Buffett’s closest ally, billionaire philanthropist and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger passed away in California on Tuesday night at the age of 99.
After Buffett’s tenure as vice chairman at Berkshire Hathaway for many years, the company said it was “advised by members of Charlie Munger’s family that he peacefully died this morning at a California hospital.”
In a statement, Warren Buffett stated, “Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation could not have been built to Berkshire Hathaway’s present status.”
Munger was not only the vice chairman of Berkshire, but also a real estate lawyer, the chairman and publisher of the Daily Journal Corp., a member of the board of Costco, an architect, and a philanthropist.
His projected fortune in the beginning of 2023 was $2.3 billion, which many found astounding but far less than Buffett’s unbelievable fortune, which is estimated to be worth over $100 billion.
In 2021, Munger, who was 97 years old at the time, shared something that was presumably meant to remain a closely-kept secret: Vice Chairman Greg Abel “will keep the culture” after the Buffett era.
Buffett’s Berkshire acquired the remaining shares of the Pasadena, California-based insurance and investment company in 2011, during Munger’s tenure as chairman and CEO of Wesco Financial.
Munger grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, just like Buffett did. A friendship that lasted more than 60 years was formed when the two met as adults in 1959.
In 1978, Munger became vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, where he assisted Buffett in building the business from a little textile manufacturer to an enormous conglomerate currently valued at over $780 billion.
Many investors and industry veterans are expressing their grief on social media platform X on this exceptional man’s demise.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, tweeted, “A titan of business and keen observer of the world around him, Charlie Munger helped build an American institution, and through his wisdom and insights, inspired a generation of leaders. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Charlie.”
“RIP Charlie Munger. I’ll always remember him for this talk he gave on the Psychology of Human Misjudgement. If you have an hour, it’s well worth the time,” said, Brian Feroldi, a stock market expert.
Another tweet from MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund Radhika Gupta, stated “For wisdom that transcended markets, for showing what compounding really is, thank you Charlie Munger.”
In a 2017 interview, Buffett credited Munger with changing his views on investment for the better.
“He refined them in a huge way, in terms of looking for the quality companies, and looking out for the ability to make an investment that will work out for five or 10 or 20 years, as opposed to something where there might be one more puff left in the cigar,” he said.
“He’s strong minded, I’m strong minded. We’ve never had an argument in that whole time and we never will,” he continued.
“It’s been more fun doing it with Charlie,” he added.
