Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett's bond transcended over half a century, building one of the most successful conglomerates there is. Initially meeting when Munger was 35 and Buffett 29, the two changed Berkshire Hathaway from a minor textile mill into a worth of $785 billion. Not once did they argue, even if contradicted each other in opinion. Buffett famously stated in 2014, “Charlie and I have never had an argument. We’ve disagreed on a lot of things. And it's just never led, and never will, lead to an argument. We argue with other people.” The two would often share a comical outlook towards their different views, with Munger even expressing in 2014, “Most of the time, we think alike. That's one of the problems. If one of us misses it, the other is likely to, too.” An example of this was when Munger was captivated by Costco, which Buffett never really favored. At the 2011 Berkshire annual meeting, Buffett joked, “The hijackers picked us out as the two dirty capitalists that they really had to execute. They didn’t really have anything against us, so they said that each of us would be given one request before they shot us.” to which Munger replied he wanted to give “my speech on the virtues of Costco — with illustrations.” Throughout their many years together, the partnership between Buffett and Munger was truly special and full of learning, experience, and humor.
Munger encouraged Buffett to expand his investment strategy from buying near worthless, “cigar-butt” firms to targeting quality companies at fair prices. At a 1998 Berkshire Hathaway meeting, Munger himself expressed the sentiment that it's not much fun investing in a business where the expectation is for it to liquidate before it fails. Even later in his career, Buffett recognized that he was more apt to act than Munger was when it came to ventures. He used to tease Munger as the “abominable no-man,” usually cooling Buffett’s ardor to purchase particular businesses.
The two investment magnates shared a mutual admiration and appreciation for one another. They both embraced the idea that the world works best when it comes to win-win relationships. To them, the key to finding a great associate was to become a great one. These notions, though old-fashioned, worked remarkably well.
Buffett praised Munger, saying he had encouraged him to pursue quality businesses early on in their career together. He noted that Munger had "made [him] think about things [he] hadn't thought about," and that they had interacted frequently by the time the latter had closed his hedge fund in 1975 and became vice chairman at Berkshire three years later. According to Buffett, "Charlie has given [him] the ultimate gift that a person can give to somebody else," allowing him to lead a better life.
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