Charles T. Munger, a billionaire investor, philanthropist and long-time partner and confidante of Warren Buffett, has died. He was 99.
Munger passed away on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, California after a long illness.
Munger and Buffett shared a close working relationship as well as a friendship since they first started investing together in the mid-1960s. Munger served as vice chairman of Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, which they built into the fifth-largest company in the world by market capitalization.
Munger was known for his shrewd investment acumen and contrarian personality. He was a lauded value investor, believed to be a key part of the winning formula behind Berkshire Hathaway’s success.
The two men famously shared a similar investing philosophy, seeking to purchase “value stocks” that were ignored by the markets and were undervalued. The pair were amicable to the point of coining the phrase “Lifetime friendship, lifetime partnership” to describe their bond.
Munger was committed to giving away much of his fortune. He and Buffett established the Munger and Buffett Foundation, which has awarded over $1 billion in grants for philanthropic and educational purposes.
Munger’s legacy will live on in the value investing principles that he helped champion, as well as in the impact that he had on philanthropy and business. He is widely respected for his acuity and will continue to be remembered as one of the greatest minds in investing history.
