Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett's right-hand man - here are 18 of his most brilliant quotes

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Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett's right-hand man - here are 18 of his most brilliant quotes

charlie munger

AP Photo/Nati Harnik

Charlie Munger.

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Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett's right-hand man.

The 95-year-old investor is vice chairman of the Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway, a title he's held since 1978. The pair met all the way back in 1959, and together the partners have built Berkshire Hathaway into the fourth-largest public company in the world. Forbes estimates Munger's net worth at $1.7 billion.

Over the years, Munger hasn't been shy to share his opinions on business, politics, and success, and his insight hasn't gotten any less sharp with age. We compiled 19 of the businessman's greatest quotes that anyone can learn from.

Here are 18 of Charlie Munger's most brilliant quotes:

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"Not everybody can learn everything. No matter how hard you try, there is always some guy or girl who achieves more. My attitude is, so what? Does any of us need to be at the very top of the whole world? It’s ridiculous."

"Not everybody can learn everything. No matter how hard you try, there is always some guy or girl who achieves more. My attitude is, so what? Does any of us need to be at the very top of the whole world? It’s ridiculous."

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

"You don't have to have the kind of ability that quantum mechanics requires. You just have to know a few simple things and really know them."

"You don't have to have the kind of ability that quantum mechanics requires. You just have to know a few simple things and really know them."

Source: Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, 1997

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"You don't have a lot of envy, you don't have a lot of resentment, you don't overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles, you deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. All these simple rules work so well to make your life better."

"You don't have a lot of envy, you don't have a lot of resentment, you don't overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles, you deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. All these simple rules work so well to make your life better."

Source: CNBC

"People build these enormous mausoleums. I figure they want people to walk by these mausoleums and say, 'Gosh, I wish I were in there.'"

"People build these enormous mausoleums. I figure they want people to walk by these mausoleums and say, 'Gosh, I wish I were in there.'"

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

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"I don't have a single achievement I'm all that proud of. I set out to have more common sense than most, and I'm pleased I did as well as I did. If I had to do it all over again, I think it'd be a lot harder."

"I don't have a single achievement I'm all that proud of. I set out to have more common sense than most, and I'm pleased I did as well as I did. If I had to do it all over again, I think it'd be a lot harder."

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

"In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time — none. Zero."

"In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time — none. Zero."

Source: "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T Munger"

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"There's a tendency to think that our present politicians are much worse than any we had in the past. But we tend to forget how awful our politicians were in the past."

"There's a tendency to think that our present politicians are much worse than any we had in the past. But we tend to forget how awful our politicians were in the past."

Source: Fortune

"Don't drift into self-pity because it doesn't solve any problems. Generally speaking, envy, resentment, revenge and self-pity are disastrous modes of thoughts."

"Don't drift into self-pity because it doesn't solve any problems. Generally speaking, envy, resentment, revenge and self-pity are disastrous modes of thoughts."

Source: USC Law commencement speech, 2007

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"An idiot can diversify a portfolio, or a computer. But the whole trick of the game is to have a few times when you know something is better than average, and invest only where you have that extra knowledge. If that gets you a few opportunities, that’s enough."

"An idiot can diversify a portfolio, or a computer. But the whole trick of the game is to have a few times when you know something is better than average, and invest only where you have that extra knowledge. If that gets you a few opportunities, that’s enough."

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

"Don't expect too much of human nature. I have a rule for politicians — it's a stoic rule. I always reflect that they are never so bad you don’t live to want them back. You laugh, you young people, but you're going to live to wish Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump were immortal."

"Don't expect too much of human nature. I have a rule for politicians — it's a stoic rule. I always reflect that they are never so bad you don’t live to want them back. You laugh, you young people, but you're going to live to wish Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump were immortal."

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

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"A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they've got terrible temperaments. And that is why we say that having a certain kind of temperament is more important than brains. You need to keep raw irrational emotion under control. You need patience and discipline and an ability to take losses and adversity without going crazy. You need an ability to not be driven crazy by extreme success."

"A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they've got terrible temperaments. And that is why we say that having a certain kind of temperament is more important than brains. You need to keep raw irrational emotion under control. You need patience and discipline and an ability to take losses and adversity without going crazy. You need an ability to not be driven crazy by extreme success."

Source: "Value Investing: A Value Investor's Journey Through The Unknown"

"I think that people who are professional traders that go into trading cryptocurrencies, it’s just disgusting. It's like somebody else is trading turds and you decide I can't be left out."

"I think that people who are professional traders that go into trading cryptocurrencies, it’s just disgusting. It's like somebody else is trading turds and you decide I can't be left out."

Source: Fortune

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'Of course when people talk about common sense, they mean uncommon sense. Every time you hear that someone has common sense, it means that he has uncommon sense, and it’s much harder to have common sense than is generally thought.'

'Of course when people talk about common sense, they mean uncommon sense. Every time you hear that someone has common sense, it means that he has uncommon sense, and it’s much harder to have common sense than is generally thought.'

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

"It's amazing how intelligent it is just to spend some time sitting. A lot of people are way too active."

"It's amazing how intelligent it is just to spend some time sitting. A lot of people are way too active."

Source: Daily Journal Annual Meeting, 2019

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"I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up, and boy, does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you."

"I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up, and boy, does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you."

Source: USC Law commencement speech, 2007

"There is no better teacher than history in determining the future … There are answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book."

"There is no better teacher than history in determining the future … There are answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book."

Source: "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T Munger"

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"To this day, I have never taken a course anywhere, in chemistry, economics, psychology, or business."

"To this day, I have never taken a course anywhere, in chemistry, economics, psychology, or business."

Source: Forbes

"If you're going to live a long time, you have to keep learning — what you formerly knew is never enough. So if you don't learn to constantly revise your earlier conclusions, and get better ones, you are — I always use the same metaphor — you're like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest."

"If you're going to live a long time, you have to keep learning — what you formerly knew is never enough. So if you don't learn to constantly revise your earlier conclusions, and get better ones, you are — I always use the same metaphor — you're like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest."

Source: Fortune

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