The thing I will always remember Munger for was his downright cruel psychological torture on students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXd7Y3HvUj4
Charlie Munger has died
361–370 of 454 posts
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#362Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would you mind to explain why? Arguably the guy did nothing worthy of admiration. Sure he managed to multiply cashflow, but on my books that doesn't stand nearly to definition of hero. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy his books and interviews perhaps like everyone else. He was incredibly smart character, no doubt about that. But hero? Not trolling, genuinely curious.
> [doing ...] worthy of admiration Being. Being well is an achievement. What you come up to be is something you do - you develop it.
I'll do some mental experiment here - supposing I am not well off and I met you. You are way better - and I will forcefully take part of your wealth.
Now I am doing much better. And seems to be an achievement per your statement.
Does that make me a hero? Or even just a decent human being?
Being well is not much of achievement if we don't look at bigger picture - how it was made and if it was put to work at greater good.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#363A legend of the business and investing world. Acquired podcast got to do one of (possible the) last interviews with him a month ago for anyone looking for recent content from him: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/charlie-munger Also Stripe Press is releasing just next week a book (technically re-release of an older book) on his collected thoughts: https://press.stripe.com/poor-charlies-almanack
I highly recommend listening to the Acquired interview. At age 99 he was still remarkably sharp and up-to-date.
I actually found that interview to be quite hard to listen to.
Charlie often interrupted the question, answered one that could have been asked, and then later on the interviewer (Ben or David) came around to actually finishing the question, and it turned out not to be the one that Charlie prematurely answered.
He also gave several answers that I didn't think were really insightful, of course YMMV.
I found this interview to be one of the least interesting to be ever published by Acquired.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#364> Assume life will be really tough, and then ask if you can handle it. If the answer is yes, you've won.
> Is there such a thing as a cheerful pessimist? That's what I am.
~~~ Charlie Munger
--
It is a disservice to salute the Man by picking just a partial idea, in the rich amount he was so kind to share, yet there is something fundamental in that message above.
It was Warren Buffett that said «You should write your obituary and try and figure out how to live up to it», and this seems very relevant with Charlie Munger.
We are grateful for all the good teaching.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#365Earlier quoted context omitted.
My first stock purchase was in 1982. 60 shares of Boeing at $16/share and $29.52 commission.
So that is about $3k in todays money you had laying around and could risk. Are you sure you are well attuned what is within the reach of the common man?
It took me a while to save up the money. I had an entry level salary at Boeing, which was an average salary for a newly minted engineer.
I also had an ancient car and a cheap apartment, and didn't spend money on booze.
Average new car prices were $14,000 in 1982. I bought my car for $800. So yeah, I'd say investing $1,000 was well within common man finances.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#366Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not OP but mr Munger and Buffet have also held steady course in an increasingly hype driven financial world. And they've stayed course since the 60s! For that alone they've become (cult) legends among small time investors. As a small time investor myself born in the 90s it is insane the amount of bullsh*t social media will push onto you regarding finance. Their annual meetings where they answer questions are some of…
That's all great, but does it qualify for a hero? They did't do anything with the cash except piling it up and multiplying. By all means they could do that - don't get me wrong again, but that doesn't make them heroes, does it? Their videos are by far _not only_ sane advice out there. They are good, but any decent book on the subject value much more.
He is a defacto investment hero. Berkshire Hathaway is reality in sea of insanity. They defined the strategy of finding companies with a good structure, good fundamentals, and a good product and capitalising them.
If you are looking for positive externalities to qualify "hero", he probably played a part in creating a large number of the companies you have ever heard of, employing millions and large part of the success of US markets today.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#367One of the greats of investing. And a value investor. It's all about the profits, not the growth. Munger is gone, Bogle is gone, Buffett is 93. Who takes up the mantle of value investing now?
>Bogle is gone
I found this out the hard way when I saw an email from vanguard saying they would be charging me $25/year/fund unless I signed up for e-delivery AND moved all my accounts over to their brokerage.
Vanguards death by a thousand nickle-and-diming-cuts has begun.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not OP but mr Munger and Buffet have also held steady course in an increasingly hype driven financial world. And they've stayed course since the 60s! For that alone they've become (cult) legends among small time investors. As a small time investor myself born in the 90s it is insane the amount of bullsh*t social media will push onto you regarding finance. Their annual meetings where they answer questions are some of…
That's all great, but does it qualify for a hero? They did't do anything with the cash except piling it up and multiplying. By all means they could do that - don't get me wrong again, but that doesn't make them heroes, does it? Their videos are by far _not only_ sane advice out there. They are good, but any decent book on the subject value much more.
I think 'Hero' here just means somebody they look up to and aspire to be like. And a lot of people aspire to be rich.
Nothing wrong in that at all.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
> [doing ...] worthy of admiration Being. Being well is an achievement. What you come up to be is something you do - you develop it.
I'll do some mental experiment here - supposing I am not well off and I met you. You are way better - and I will forcefully take part of your wealth. Now I am doing much better. And seems to be an achievement per your statement. Does that make me a hero? Or even just a decent human being? Being well is not much of achievement if we don't look at bigger picture - how it was made and if it was put to work at greater go…
> per your statement
Miles away from what you seem to have understood. Re-read that statement, and make an effort to understand it. It is very simple really: Charlie Munger was admirable after his wisdom - intentionally and purposely built.
Incidentally, your (delirious and disconnected - I speak of Being, "Being" which is opposed to "having" after at least Fromm, and you are there attempting to adapt what I wrote into concepts of theft) process seems to fall into that bias that Charlie Munger insisted on, of having embraced some judgement so tightly that it blinds you.
Returning to what I expressed: people «not well off», in wisdom, they met somebody «way better», in wisdom - which is a core point in the «achievement» in question -, and through their own effort, facilitated by gifts, «take part of the wealth». With a collective gain.
My original reply was faithful to your question: "what did he do in life worth of admiration", to which you have been replied: "he built himself well". And he shared that achievement generously. Other matters like faults are contextual to different questions.
Re: Charlie Munger has died
#370Anyone who had the chance to work with him?