Investing guru Charlie Munger, the longtime business partner and close friend of Warren Buffett, has died at 99 years old.
Known for his pithy financial wisdom, Munger spent decades as Buffett’s right-hand man.
Munger served as vice chairman of their company Berkshire Hathaway.
He died at a hospital in California.
“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation,” Buffett said in a statement.
Munger continued working until the end as he wasn’t a believer in retirement.
In an interview with CNBC taped ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday, he attributed his and Buffett’s success to wise decisions and a desire to keep working.
“We got a little less crazy than most people and a little less stupid than most people and that really helped us,” he said.
Munger was born in Omaha, the same hometown as Buffett.
He even worked in the grocery store owned by Buffett’s grandfather.
But Munger and Buffett did not meet until they were grown men – and became immediate friends.
Together, the pair transformed the textile mill Berkshire Hathaway into a massive, multinational conglomerate.
Munger served as vice chairman and Buffett as CEO.
“Charlie has taught me a lot about valuing businesses and about human nature,” Buffett said in 2008.
Investors would flock every year to Omaha to hear Buffet and Munger share their advice.
Munger would let Buffett do most of the talking, often saying, “I have nothing more to add.”
Before venturing into finance, Munger took a degree in law at Harvard and served in the Army during World War II.
Despite his great wealth, Munger was famously modest, and he was known for dispensing simple maxims: Spend less than you earn, delay gratification, and always be learning more.
“The big money is not in the buying or the selling, but in the waiting,” was one of his quotes.
As he put it, the secret to success isn’t so secret.
“You don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment, you don’t overspend your income,” he said.
“You stay cheerful in spite of your troubles.
“You deal with reliable people, and you do what you’re supposed to.
“All these simple rules work so well to make your life better, and they’re so trite.”
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