There is perhaps no one celebrated more today for making money than Warren Buffett. But the tens of billions of dollars he amassed — and the zealous investment groupies that followed — may have never materialised if not for one man: Charlie Munger.
Munger, who died on Tuesday at age 99, was Berkshire Hathaway’s acerbic vice-chair and Buffett’s trusted business partner, instrumental in driving the man who eventually became known as the Oracle of Omaha away from his cigar-butt investment style where he could hope to get one last drag on a low-valued stock.
The shift away from a style Buffett took from Ben Graham, the father of value investing, helped propel Berkshire into the juggernaut it is today. The sprawling conglomerate is now worth more than $780bn with stakes in Apple, Coca-Cola and Bank of America, as well as the owner of the BNSF railroad and Geico insurer. It all can be traced back to Munger.