Sadly, Goodbye Charlie
While it made the news around the world, for those of us in Omaha, it may have meant just a little bit more. Charlie Munger, the long-term confidant and partner to Warren Buffett, died recently. And he will be missed.
Better known as the vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger (born in Omaha) spent his life helping others. A well-known philanthropist, a great deal of which was centered near his home in California, Munger believed in funding things that may not be thought of as “sexy." Illustrative of that point was his dedication to building residence halls on college campuses. This included a $200 million gift to the University of California at Santa Barbara and a gift of $100 million to the University of Michigan. In addition, Munger had earlier given $20 million for graduate housing for law school students at the University of Michigan.
What I loved about his philosophy, not only about philanthropy but also in business, merged based on the following quote when he made one of his gifts to support housing on college campuses.
“It’s very uncommon that administrations are much interested in creating dormitories because if you’re an elite place and you’ve got 10 applicants for every spot, it’s perfectly natural to think, ‘Why the hell do we need to do any more for the students? They’re begging to get in,’” Munger said. “I don’t think you abuse your best customers merely because you can get by with it.”
It's so interesting that the idea of business emerged through philanthropy--his concept of what customers were and their experience with the basic necessities of an 18- to 22-year-old looking to go away from home for the first time.
From a business perspective, Charlie Munger could hold his own with anyone. Joining Warren Buffett in the 1970s, it was Buffett’s comments about the influence that Charlie had on his success that eludes to his business prowess. Warren credits Charlie with being more selective about bigger company investments, more of the tried-and-true business organizations that drive growth, which is the hallmark of Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire is just a stock that is now selling for over $500,000 a share.
We are in the midst of an enormous generational change where we're losing leaders that took us through the back half of the 20th century into our modern-day business world. Charlie's loss is another one of those gut punches of those who have made the biggest impact from a macro perspective. I only met him once. Shook his hand. I am the better for it. Many people are because of Charlie's largess. He will be missed.
