Charlie Munger and the Art of Standing Beside Greatness

Since yesterday, my business news alert app has been inundated with news that the legendary investor Warren Buffet was retiring from the company that brought him immense wealth at the end of the year. It’s deserved praise. His is a story of sticking to one’s conviction and going right when everyone was going left. He merits all the accolades he’s getting.

For me though, on this occasion, when the discussion is about the legacy at Berkshire Hathaway, I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to remember Charlie Munger. I am sure Buffet would not mind.

You see, in a world obsessed with being number one, with titles such as founder, CEO, and top dog, there’s something almost countercultural about choosing to be number two. Yet, sometimes, history is shaped not just by the person in the spotlight, but by the one standing just behind them. Such is the legacy of Charlie Munger, the man Warren Buffett called “the architect” of Berkshire Hathaway and whose influence may very well be one of the greatest investment stories never fully told.

When Munger passed away on November 28, 2023, at the age of 99, tributes poured in, not just for a brilliant mind, but for a partnership that defined one of the most successful companies in American history. At the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett, six years…