Charlie Munger

Charlie Munger was the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett's closest partner for over 45 years, until his passing on November 28, 2023 at the age of 99. Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1924, Munger studied mathematics at the University of Michigan before serving in World War II as a meteorologist. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1948 without ever completing an undergraduate degree, going on to practice law in Los Angeles before partnering with Buffett. It was Munger who persuaded Buffett to evolve beyond Benjamin Graham's strict cigar-butt bargain hunting and instead pay fair prices for truly great businesses — a shift that defined Berkshire's transformation into one of the greatest wealth creation stories in history.

Alongside Berkshire, Munger served as Chairman of Daily Journal Corporation from 1977 until his death, using it as a vehicle for his own independent investment thinking in later life. Under his stewardship, Daily Journal's investment portfolio — small relative to Berkshire but closely watched by value investors worldwide — held concentrated positions including a large stake in Alibaba that he initiated in his 90s, demonstrating conviction and intellectual independence until the very end. Daily Journal is now led by CEO Rick Guerin's successor Gary Salzman, with the board continuing to steward the company's legal publishing and software businesses. Munger's annual remarks at the Daily Journal shareholder meeting in Los Angeles, delivered without notes into his late 90s, became required viewing for serious students of investing and business.