Charles Munger Interview: The Power of Partnership with Warren Buffett

Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Charles Munger describes his long business relationship and friendship with Warren Buffett that started in 1959. He discusses what makes a great company, the investment game, and succeeding from knowing the big ideas.

Charles Thomas Munger was born in 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied mathematics at the University of Michigan and dropped out to serve in the U.S. Army. After his service, he studied meteorology at Caltech, and took a number of advanced courses, eventually receiving a J.D. from Harvard Law. He practiced for a short time and left law to concentrate on managing investments and real estate development. Although Munger is better known for his association with Buffett, he ran an investment partnership of his own from 1962 to 1975 and served as chairman of Wesco Financial Corporation. Wesco became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett. Munger has served as the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, where he and Buffett are close partners. They are one of the main inspirations behind the book Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (2003).

From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett." With a net worth of over $60,000,000,000, Warren Buffett is truly a one-of-a-kind billionaire. This documentary chronicles Buffett's evolution into one of the wealthiest and most respected men in the world.

Charles Munger, Warren's Business Partner
Interviewed By: Doug Blush
Interview Date: June 6, 2016

© Home Box Office and Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

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[erikharrysson]

Fantastic interview, a bit of a shame that the interview is only focused on Mungers view of Buffet. I have become increasingly fascinated by Munger and it is more and more clear to me that he deserves as much credit for the terrific success of Berkshire as Buffet

[georgesotiriou]

Many of us owe a lot to Munger. He and Warren will be remembered primarily as teachers.
Two very fine minds.

[matt]

It amazes me how humble this man is. This is the type of friend that would make your life incredible, with or without the money.

[Raymondjohn]

Didn't Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett invent the strategy of buying/investing when the market is low and also buying/investing when the market is high? As Warren Buffet said, he has seen this happen many times in his life. Not an investor. My wife and i never earned more than a middle class salary. We plan to get retired at 58 with a stock portfolio worth $4M. We have never sold so much as one share of stock...

[anon]

“The dumbest thing you can do in life is to ever feel like a victim. And any politician that makes people feel like victims I automatically dislike”

[kevinsmith]

[0:09] Meeting Warren Buffett
[1:09] What makes Warren’s mind unique
[1:39] Warren’s investing philosophy
[2:53] Working in Omaha
[3:20] Warren’s ability to take criticism
[4:12] Buying Berkshire Hathaway
[5:22] On teaching and paying it forward
[6:32] Warren’s father’s death
[7:36] Picking Berkshire Hathaway
[8:34] The blueprint of Berkshire Hathaway
[9:51] Getting along with Warren
[10:45] Value investing
[11:56] See’s Candy
[13:33] What makes a great company
[14:27] On Warren playing bridge
[14:49] Salomon Brothers
[16:58] On Berkshire Hathaway’s record
[18:26] Berkshire Hathaway is a reflection of Warren
[18:51] Berkshire Hathaway’s annual conference
[19:43] Extended Confucianism
[20:58] On growing Berkshire Hathaway
[21:49] On getting ahead
[22:36] The investment game
[23:30] Warren’s competitive nature
[24:12] On Warren and social injustice
[25:43] Ethics
[26:53] Investment in Burlington Northern
[28:24] On his relationship with Warren
[29:02] Warren’s character
[30:18] Knowing the big ideas
[32:14] The Lollapalooza effect
[33:07] Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio

We love you Charlie.

[patrickbrussels]

Its quiet interesting how we reject the reality of our situation and expect to be able to observe it, control it and even change it. I used to be financially depressed until I read a book that made me realized that the secret to making a million is making better investments.

[Freedomthirtyfiveblog]

Very inspirational. Charlie Munger is one of the brightest minds of our time.
I recommend his book, Poor Charlie's Almanack, for anyone who wants to see more of his talks and speeches.

[lailaalfaddil]

The most important thing that should be on everyone's mind currently should be to invest in different sources of income that doesn't depend on the government. Especially with the current economic crisis around the word. This is still a good time to invest in various stocks, Gold, silver and digital currencies.

[krishnateja]

Wisdom packed in this 35min is simply invaluable. Thanks a lot for this upload!

[alexanderkraft]

A stock call option gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy a stock from the seller by a certain date (the expiry), for a certain price (the strike price).

[grizz]

Unbe-freakin-lievable. What have we done to deserve this content for free? I'll come back and watch this over and over again.

[Meditationmiamibeach]

Thank you Mr. Munger. Very grateful for the learnings through the years.

[wizastravels]

An absolute legend, thank you for sharing.

[jsong]

One of the greatest interview I have ever watched for wisdom and motiviation in life.

[ton]

Charles Munger is an absolute beast of a man. His story and how he made an impact in the financial world is without a doubt something to remember for the ages. Truly one of the greatest and smartest human beings who ever lived.

[ralfydotcom]

. . . this is a brilliant interview, with a very interesting man, who is having a most interesting life, and the content is pure gold !

[irockluculent]

This is one hell of a good interview, both the substance and the way it is presented.

[BilalAhmed-tsxj]

So much wisdom in this man's words...great interview 👍

[Andysfishing]

What an honest interview. Great to watch.