'Visionary' investor always had a soft spot for China

Charles Munger, the alter ego, sidekick and foil to Warren Buffett for almost 60 years as they transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile maker into an empire, has died. He was 99.

He died on Tuesday at a California hospital, the company said. "Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation," Buffett said.

A lawyer by training, Munger helped Buffett, who was seven years his junior, craft a philosophy of investing in companies for the long term. Under their management, Berkshire averaged an annual gain of 20 percent from 1965 through 2022 - roughly twice the pace of the S&P 500 Index. Decades of compounded returns made the pair billionaires and folk heroes to adoring investors.

Munger was vice chairman of Berkshire and one of its biggest shareholders, with stock valued at about US$2.2 billion (HK$17.16 billion). His overall net worth was about US$2.6 billion, according to Forbes.

"It's terrific to have a partner who will say, 'You're not thinking straight,'" Buffett once said of Munger at a 2002 meeting.

("It doesn't happen very often," Munger interjected.)

Too many CEOs surround themselves with "a bunch of sycophants" disinclined to challenge their conclusions and biases, Buffett added.

For his part, Munger said Buffett benefited from having "a talking foil who knew something. And I think I've been very useful in that regard."

Munger was for many years more bullish than Buffett when it came to investing in China. Berkshire became the biggest shareholder of Chinese automaker BYD, for instance, years after Munger began buying its stock, though Berkshire began trimming that stake in 2022.

The auto giant mourned "the passing of longtime friend Charlie Munger, a legendary investor and one of our earliest and most significant supporters."

"Charlie Munger was not just an investor; he was a visionary who believed in the potential of electric vehicles and renewable energy long before they became global imperatives," said Stella Li, president of BYD Americas.

"His legacy will continue to inspire our innovation and drive us forward."

Munger started sharing his vice chairman title at Berkshire in 2018 with two next-generation senior executives, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain. Buffett subsequently identified Abel as his likely successor.

"In some important ways," Munger wrote of the pair in 2015, "each is a better business executive than Buffett."