OGUM, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Paying respects to renowned investor and Warren Buffett’s valued confidant Charlie Munger, who passed away at the age of 99, tributes have been pouring in.
“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Mr Buffett stated.
Munger, who would have turned 100 on 1 January, had been a vice chairman at Berkshire since 1978.
According to the company, he passed away quietly at a California hospital.
Mr. Buffett has built Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile maker into a investment juggernaut which has a stock market valuation of $785bn (£618bn).
When it came to distributing the company’s cash, Munger collaborated closely with Mr. Buffett and was renowned for being blunt in his criticism of his business partner’s mistakes.
Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, described Munger as “a titan of business and keen observer of the world around him” who has “helped build an American institution” in his post on X, formerly Twitter.
Berkshire owns hundreds of billions of dollars of stocks in various companies, led by Apple.
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Munger had been credited with steering Mr Buffett away from buying what they called “cigar butts” , mediocre companies that had a puff of smoke left and could be bought for very cheap prices.
“Charlie Munger was a legendary figure in the investment community,” said Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, adding that “there are many who benefited greatly from his wisdom”.
In early 2023 Munger’s fortune was estimated at $2.3bn, vastly smaller than Mr Buffett’s fortune which is estimated at more than $100bn.
Munger’s passing comes one week after Mr Buffett donated about $866m of Berkshire stock to four family charities.
At the time, Mr Buffett also issued a rare letter in which he acknowledged that at the age of 93, whilst he has not signalled a desire to step down, that he is “playing in extra innings”.
Berkshire has two other chairmen, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, who oversee its day-to-day businesses and Mr Abel was named by Mr Buffett as his successor in 2021.
Although Munger was wellknown for his colorful quotes, many of which featured profanity, the shareholders present at Berkshire’s annual meeting appreciated his frank remarks,
which they will miss when the meeting reconvenes in May.