The character arc of Charlie Munger

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 1 January 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. Between then and now sit dropping out of college in early 1943, a Harvard Law degree magna cum laude in 1948, a law firm and an investment firm both founded in 1962, thirteen years of returns from 1962, losses of thirty two percent in 1973 and thirty one percent in 1974, the winding up of the partnership in 1976, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairmanship in 1978 and Poor Charlie's Almanack in 2005. He died in Santa Barbara, California, on 28 November 2023.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who was Charlie Munger?

He lost a third twice.

He was born in Omaha in 1924, the son of a lawyer. In early 1943, a few days after his nineteenth birthday, he dropped out of college to serve in the United States forces. He never completed that first degree, and he was admitted to Harvard Law School anyway, where he excelled, joined the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and graduated magna cum laude in 1948.

In 1962 he did two things at once: he founded and worked as a real estate attorney at the law firm Munger, Tolles and Olson, and he partnered with Jack Wheeler to form Wheeler, Munger and Company, an investment firm with a seat on the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange. Warren Buffett wrote in 1984 that Munger's investment partnership had produced compound annual returns of 19.8 percent between 1962 and 1975, against 5.0 percent a year for the Dow.

That number hides the worst part of the line. The partnership lost thirty two percent in 1973 and thirty one percent in 1974, two consecutive years of losing roughly a third. He bought control of a publicly traded competitor in 1974 and wound the partnership up in 1976. Four years after the second of those years he became vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, in 1978, and held the role until his death in 2023. Poor Charlie's Almanack, collecting his speeches, was published in 2005. In his last interview in 2023 he credited his success and his longevity to caution and to the ability to avoid all the standard ways of failing.

The moments

Charlie Munger's timeline.

The 1940s

5 Jan 1943

He dropped out

Setback, and it changed everything. Nineteen years old, and out of university.

Jun 1948

Harvard Law, magna cum laude

Milestone, and it changed everything. A law degree with honours, from somebody who never finished the first one.

The 1960s

Jun 1962

A law firm and a fund

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two firms founded in the same year, in two different professions.

The 1970s

Jun 1970

Thirteen years of returns

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Nineteen point eight percent a year, against five for the market.

31 Dec 1973

A third of it, gone

Setback, and it changed everything. Thirty two percent in one year, and thirty one in the next.

Jun 1974

He bought a competitor

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Buying a rival in the middle of the worst two years he had.

Jun 1976

The partnership wound up

Setback, and it changed everything. The fund closed, after fourteen years.

1 Jun 1976

Stop, after the two bad years

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: wind it up and carry on, taken, or go back to the law. He was vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway from 1978 until his death in 2023.

Jun 1978

Vice chairman of Berkshire

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years after the fund closed, the job he kept for forty five years.

The 2000s

Jun 2005

Poor Charlie's Almanack

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The talks, gathered into a book at eighty one.

The 2010s

19 Jan 2010

On responsibility

Milestone. A philosopher, cited in an answer about a financial crisis.

The 2020s

28 Nov 2023

The line ends

Milestone, and it changed everything. Ninety nine years, and still answering questions in the last of them.

The line ends where the life did, in 2023. What it set moving is the answer to its own worst stretch: two years of losing roughly a third, and then forty five years as the second name on one of the most watched companies in the world.

What he wrote

Books by Charlie Munger

2005
Poor Charlie's Almanack
The wit and wisdom of Charles T. Munger, collecting his speeches. Not a book he sat down to write so much as a record of what he had been saying for decades, gathered when he was eighty one.

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Charlie Munger: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Charlie Munger's character arc?

He dropped out of college at nineteen in 1943 and was admitted to Harvard Law anyway, graduating magna cum laude in 1948. He founded a law firm and an investment firm in the same year, lost roughly a third of the fund twice, and became vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway in 1978.

Did Charlie Munger finish university?

Not his first degree. In early 1943, days after his nineteenth birthday, he dropped out of college to serve in the United States forces. He was admitted to Harvard Law School without it, and graduated with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1948.

What happened to Charlie Munger's investment partnership?

Wheeler, Munger and Company recorded losses of thirty two percent in 1973 and thirty one percent in 1974, two consecutive years of losing roughly a third, and was wound up in 1976. Over 1962 to 1975 it had still compounded at 19.8 percent a year.

When did Charlie Munger join Berkshire Hathaway?

In 1978, as vice chairman, two years after winding up his own investment partnership. He held the role until his death on 28 November 2023, which makes it one of the longest partnerships in business.

What book did Charlie Munger write?

Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, published in 2005, which collects his speeches. It is less a book he set out to write than a record of what he had been saying for decades.

What did Charlie Munger say about success?

In his last interview, in 2023, he credited his success and his longevity to a long-held sense of caution and to an ability to avoid all the standard ways of failing. It is a different claim from having found a way to win.

When did Charlie Munger die?

On 28 November 2023. He was born on 1 January 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, the same city Warren Buffett was born in, and had been vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway since 1978.

Where does this timeline of Charlie Munger's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Charlie Munger isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Charlie Munger, English Wikipedia biography.
Warren Buffett, The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, 1984, on the partnership's returns from 1962 to 1975.
Harvard Law School degree record, 1948, and Poor Charlie's Almanack, 2005.