If you’re not a Berkshire Hathaway stockholder and weren’t invited to their annual meeting on Saturday in Omaha, you probably know little or nothing about Warren Buffet’s longtime (since 1978) “silent partner”: 85-year-old Charles Munger (7 years older than Buffet). While Buffet’s face, words and actions are world-famous, Munger rarely makes public appearances. But he was scheduled to appear with Buffet onstage at the meeting, to help explain why 2008 was the worst year in Berkshire’s history, with a loss of 9.6% in book value per share. (Still, they ended the year with a cash hoard of $24.3 billion, plus lots of stock in various companies.)
According to The Wall Street Journal (5/1/09), at year’s end Munger’s net worth was “only” $1.4 billion, compared to Buffet’s $37 billion. If you missed the annual meeting, you can “meet” Charlie Munger by reading his 10”W x 10”H x 1.5” thick, 480-page 2005 book, Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Here are a few random, edited-for-space quotes:
“The ethics of Wall Street will always average out to mediocre at best.
• Too many law and accounting firms get roped into shady things. For example, tax shelters, with their contingency fees and secrecy, are a total abomination.
• I think that every time you see the word EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), you should substitute the words ‘bullshit earnings.’
• If all you succeed in doing in life is getting rich by buying little pieces of paper, it’s a failed life. Life is more than being shrewd in wealth accumulation.
• A lot of success in life and business comes from knowing what you want to avoid: early death, a bad marriage, etc.
• Once you get into debt, it’s hell to get out. Don’t let credit card debt carry over. You can’t get ahead paying eighteen percent.”
