A Letter to Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger
To Warren and Charlie,
I shed a tear for the first time in a long while on the 28th of November 2023. Strangely, it was a tear for a man who I had never met before, yet it was for someone who has had as much impact on my life as just about anyone else. It was on that day Charlie joined the esteemed ranks of the eminent dead, and while he taught a fair bit while he was alive, hopefully, we can continue to learn even more from him after his passing.
I’d like to use this letter to express my profound appreciation for and lessons learned from two of the greatest investors of all time, but perhaps more importantly, the two greatest teachers I’ve ever come across.
It would be easy to spend days talking about the investing and business knowledge the two of you have shared, and the lessons learned, as a keen disciple of your investment philosophy. However, that would be selling you two short of the near-infinite wisdom you have shared about life in general and the way to go about things as a human. That is what I would like to focus on today. The worldly wisdom I have learned from two giants of the modern era.
To begin with, when it comes to you two, there is no pretentious intellectualism, you prefer simple but profound wisdom. There is no confusing labyrinth of ideas found in some other thinkers, instead, with your simplicity and clarity comes great benefit for practical application and theoretical understanding. Simple principles and ideas, which when carried out, bring tangible results and outcomes. It is this simplicity that is lacking in the thinking of so many others that often leads to fatal errors, and it is the love of simplicity that lets you two outlast and outperform the others.
The humility you two have displayed throughout is something I believe we can all learn from, for purposes of being a better person and to better achieve our personal goals. You two have constantly been humble about your achievements, upfront and realistic in acknowledging the luck you have received, and truthful in recognising your circles of competence and when you have reached your limits. The ability to not participate in the material excesses and bragging bravado of many others in similar positions, and to be honest about your abilities and their limits are truly underrated traits that have served you well and that many others are still unable to adopt. You have been honest and truthful, acknowledging when you believe you have made mistakes or future performance may not be as good as the past, and while it seems so simple, many are incapable of doing this due to their ego and ambition. But you have not let this humility affect your decision-making and confidence, allowing you to strike the balance of recognising risk and unattractive opportunities, while also being able to make important decisions when the analysis deems it time to take action or inaction.
Furthermore, you both have displayed a commitment to being rational but human at the same time which has resonated with me. There is a commitment to rationality in all areas of your life, particularly in business. However, you have also acknowledged that we humans are not robots, and there are emotional components we must take care of as well, as part of being a rational creature. I can think of many examples of you two demonstrating this commitment to rationality and humanity but some of them include when you both echo the sentiment about doing something you love for your career, for if you do not love what you are doing, it is hard for a human to excel in the field and personally. Another example is when Warren talks about purchasing his home in Omaha at a young age. Although the more prudent financial decision would have been to invest these funds in equity investments for Warren with his returns for equities likely to far exceed the house gains, there are emotional and human benefits to having stability in your living situations on a personal and family level that cannot be ignored in your decision making. A commitment to rationality should be commended, but a commitment to rationality adapted for the human condition is something I believe to be even better and something we can all learn from you two. At the end of the day, it’s the simple realisation that part of being rational is to ensure our long-term wellbeing and reputation is intact that improves the lives of the decision-makers.
Beyond all, the two of you demonstrate an approach to life that I would call simply being decent people. Whether through the large charity donations and commitments from both of you or the way you two approach business, it shines through much of your quotes and actions, that being a decent person is something we should strive for, for individual and collective reasons. You have shown me that decent people can do well in life, that you can achieve goals without compromising integrity, and when you meet people who do the opposite, simply do your best to avoid them. Do not stoop to their level. You have preached earning your money through doing the right things, rather than shortcuts or trickery, and those who take the long-term view will see that you will make money because of doing the right things, not in spite of them. As Charlie would say, don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself. There is no perfect person, and being a saint is too hard for most, but being a decent person is something that is not too much to ask of us all.
To this day, one of Charlie’s quotes remains a mantra of life I keep returning to, “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.” There are countless more examples of these quotes by both of you, and it is these simple yet profound ideas, that contain the greatest nuggets of wisdom for all those who listen.
More than anything, thank you Warren and Charlie for sharing rather than hoarding. The sharing of your knowledge has paved the way for a lifetime of learning for your students, and most importantly, paved a way for a life well lived. There is no greater truth and compliment from me than to say you two have been the greatest teachers one could ask for.