So Long, Charlie
By Seth Millstein
You don’t want to be like the motion picture executive who had many people at his funeral, but they were there just to make sure he was dead. Or how about the guy who, at his funeral, the priest said, “Won’t anyone stand up and say anything nice about the deceased?” and finally, someone said, “Well, his brother was worse.”
—Charlie Munger
If you have never heard of Charlie Munger, here’s a brief primer. Charles (“Charlie”) Munger (January 1, 1924 – November 28, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett. Buffett described Munger as his closest partner and right-hand man.
Munger died a billionaire. So what? Why write an article about it for lawyers in King County? Munger was a lot like Buffett in his love of folksy sayings, which always seemed to ring true. Not just about investing, but about life. “Mungerisms” provide a sense of perspective and the twist of a grin, which never hurt when practicing law or just living. With that, I’ve compiled a list of “Top Ten Mungerisms.” It was almost as much fun putting them together as it was discovering them in the first place. For anyone who is interested, here’s a link to 1200 pages of shareholder letters.1 His interviews are priceless as well.
There are so many gems — too many almost. It was hard to settle a top ten. So I didn’t. There’s eleven — including the one at the top of this article. You might notice that some Mungerisms sound familiar. The beauty of Charlie Munger was that he could take well-worn homilies and make them his own. Everyone talks about “upcycling” these days rather than recycling. Charlie was one step ahead there too. For obvious reasons, he’ll be missed. In fact, he already is. In no particular order, here goes. Enjoy, and thank you, Charlie.
TOP TEN “MUNGERISMS”
10. On Houses
“A house can be a nightmare if the buyer’s eyes are bigger than his wallet and if a lender — often protected by a government guarantee — facilitates his fantasy,” he wrote. “Our country’s social goal should not be to put families into the house of their dreams, but rather to put them into a house they can afford.”
9. On Fancy Houses
“I would say in practically every case, they make the person less happy, not happier,” he said. Having a basic house “really helps you,” he said. But “having a really fancy house, it’s good for entertaining 100 people at once. It’s a very expensive thing to do. And it doesn’t do you that much good.” Munger said he decided “not to live a life where I look like the Duke of Westchester or something. And I was going to avoid it. I did it on purpose.”
8. On Internet Stocks (Circa 2000 at a Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting)
“If you mix raisins with turds, they’re still turds.”2
7. On Social Codes
“If you rise in life, you have to behave in a certain way. You can go to a strip club if you’re a beer-swilling sand shoveler, but if you’re the bishop of Boston, you shouldn’t go.”
6. On Companies Hiding Things
“Every time you hear EBITDA,3 just substitute it with bulls---.”
5. On Life-Long Learning
“If you’re going to live a long time, you have to keep learning. What you formerly knew is not enough. If you don’t adapt, you’re like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”
4. On Using Your Own Judgment
“I’d rather throw a viper down my shirt front than hire a compensation4 consultant.”
3. On Politics
“When I first moved to California, there was a part-time legislature that was controlled by gambling interests, racetrack owners, and liquor distributors, who wined and dined the legislators, supplied them with prostitutes, etc. I think I prefer that to today’s full-time legislature.”
2. On Self-Appraisals
“It is, of course, normal for self-appraisal to be more positive than external appraisal. Indeed, a problem of this sort may have given you your speaker today.”
1. On Mortality
“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.”
Seth Millstein is a construction attorney in Seattle. He likes his job for the most part. But he likes writing articles even more. His motto is work comes second, which may not be a good pitch to clients, but the idea is it might also allow him to have another twenty years, or in Munger’s case, another 49 years. He hopes to live a long life, meaning he’ll have to find a way to pay for it. Seth@pillar-law.com.
1 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MMK0kBQb4
c8TaQs8BIvou46rmnCnlEAL/view?usp=sharing.
2 Sometimes overheard about the Seattle Seahawks – Ed.
3 Or, when it comes to discovery matters for example, when you hear “Discovery is ongoing…” same goes.
4 In the construction law context, substitute in “delay and impact.”
