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- Yahoo Finance Video
Charlie Munger on Apple, Amazon, inflation, crypto, and more
Legendary investor Charlie Munger died on November 28th at the age of 99. He served not only as Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK-B) Vice Chairman, but as Warren Buffett's right-hand man for nearly six decades. Over the years, Yahoo Finance has had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with him to discuss everything from inflation to crypto. Here's a look back at his expert insight and advice as we commemorate his monumental legacy. Charlie Munger on Berkshire Hathaway deals (00:00:25) "I can't think of a single example in my whole life where keep keeping it simple has worked against us," Munger said. "We made mistakes but they weren't because we kept it simple." Charlie Munger on investment advice to younger generations (00:00:55) "To flit around to various careers and go into the other fellow's professional territory and try and outdo him and do all kinds of things like that, I think will not work for most people," Munger explained. "A young man goes to see Mozart and says, Mozart, I want to start composing symphonies. And Mozart said, how old are you? And the guy says, 22. And he says, you're too young to do symphonies. And the guy says, yes, but you were 10 years old when you were composing semis. And Mozart says yes, but I wasn't running around asking other people how to do it." Charlie Munger on boom or bust economy (00:02:02) "The economy sometimes booms and sometimes it doesn't," Munger said. "We just keep swimming, and sometimes the tide is with us, and sometimes the tide is against. But we keep swimming either way." Charlie Munger on the Federal Reserve's decisions on national debt (00:02:20) "There comes a time when printing money is counterproductive," Munger explained. "I don't think we are at that point, but nobody knew when the point was going to come. And we don't know now." Charlie Munger on wealth and income inequality (00:02:53) "Nobody was trying to make the rich richer," Munger said. "It just was an accidental byproduct of a correct governmental decision made on a bipartisan basis." Charlie Munger on Amazon, admiration of Jeff Bezos (00:03:54) "I've never owned a share of Amazon (AMZN). I'm a huge admirer of Bezos," Munger explained. "It's always been too complicated and uncertain for my particular temperament." Charlie Munger on Apple, investing in tech stocks (00:04:19) "I think Apple (AAPL) is one of the strongest companies in the world. I judge the strength of the company based on how much the customers love it," Munger said. "That's a hugely powerful position to be in. And I think Apple is one of the strong companies and will stay a strong company." Charlie Munger on inflation amid geopolitical risk (00:05:04) "Inflation is a very serious subject," Munger explained. "If you look at the Roman Republic, and even after they went to a empire with an absolute ruler, they inflated the currency steadily for hundreds of years, and eventually the whole damn Roman empire collapsed. So it's the biggest long run danger we have, probably apart from nuclear war." Charlie Munger on the Federal Reserve's reaction to inflation (00:05:57) "The reaction this time was bigger than it's ever been before in the history of the United States," Munger said. "They just threw money at the problem, and they were probably right to fear what was going to happen and to throw money at it. But they probably overdid it a little." Charlie Munger on cryptocurrency, the future of Bitcoin (00:06:28) "It's an ideal currency if you want to commit extortion or kidnapping or protection or something," Munger explained. "Why should a civilized government want an ideal untraceable technology to come into the payment system run by a bunch of people who want to get rich quick for doing very little for civilization? Of course. I hate it." Charlie Munger on the widening economic gap post-pandemic (00:07:27) "Of course it creates tension. People are not motivated by greed, they're motivated by envy. It's the nature of our species," Munger said. "It'll never go away as long as you have human beings." Check out more coverage on Charlie Munger by Yahoo Finance: • Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett: The power of partnership • Munger-Buffett legacy cannot be easily reproduced • Berkshire's Charlie Munger was 'just as powerful' as Buffett • Remembering Charlie Munger's positions on crypto, China • How Charlie Munger found value investing success • How Buffett has prepped investors for a Berkshire without him
- Yahoo Finance Video
How Buffett has prepped investors for a Berkshire without him
For decades, succession plans have been a big question for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) investors, especially given the high bar set by Warren Buffett. The death of the company's vice chairman, Charlie Munger, has again brought some of those concerns to the forefront. Who will take over? How will the company fare after years of Buffett's leadership? However, as Morningstar Senior Stock Analyst Greggory Warren explains to Yahoo Finance Live, Buffett has made changes at the company that could make the transition easier for whomever takes his place. Warren expounds on the current structure of Berkshire Hathaway: "The fact that there are so few people at corporate and that Buffett's day-to-day duties have really just involved looking at potential capital allocation decisions, he spends far more time reading through Ks and Qs than he does sort of worrying about how one plant is running or another operation is running. He's left that down to the managers down the line, and that's kind of the beauty of the business model right now. It's sort of self-running and there's not a whole lot that the corporate is going to need to do going forward even without Buffet at the helm." Click here to watch the full interview on the Yahoo Finance YouTube page or you can watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live here.
- Yahoo Finance Video
Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett: The power of partnership
Iconic investor and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) Vice Chair Charlie Munger passed away on November 28 at the age of 99 and his impact on the business world is undeniable. George Washington University Professor Lawrence Cunningham and Wall Street Journal Special Writer Gregory Zuckerman join Yahoo Finance Live to weigh in on what made Munger's friendship and business partnership with CEO Warren Buffett so special and unique. Cunningham insists that the most important characteristic in finding similar success to Munger and Buffett is to “find someone to bounce things off of”, noting Munger’s candid approach to advising Buffett “saved Berkshire many billions of dollars." With Munger’s passing many questions about the future of investment have arisen and Zuckerman acknowledges “things have changed" in the investing landscape, but Munger's approach individually and with Buffett has reshaped key principles. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
