Charlie Munger spent his final chapter doing something most investors half his age might hesitate to attempt: leaning into complexity rather than retreating from it. Even as the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) vice chairman chose to remain in his un-air-conditioned Los Angeles home rather than the oceanfront Montecito estate he once expected to grow old in, he kept surrounding himself with conversations, curiosity, and ideas that could be. Friends say that even a week or two before his passing, he was still asking whether Moore’s Law could apply in the age of AI. It was a reminder that the same mindset that helped him and Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) turn Berkshire Hathaway into a trillion-dollar force remained active until the end.
In the year before he died, Munger made one of the most unexpected trades of his career: a more than $50 million paper gain from two coal companies he had largely avoided for six decades. He saw producers like Consol Energy and Alpha Metallurgical Resources trading at inexpensive levels in 2023, despite long-term industry skepticism, and decided the setup could be attractive. Consol doubled before his death, Alpha surged, and friends note the combined gains crossed the $50 million mark. At the same time, he accelerated his real-estate focus, working closely with partners Avi Mayer and Reuven Gradon as Afton Properties expanded toward nearly 10,000 Southern California apartments valued at about $3 billion. Munger pushed for long-duration debt, insisted on low-density layouts, and was personally involved in choosing neighborhoods, construction details, and even paint colors. Days before he passed, he was negotiating a building acquisition across from a new Costco supercenter.
Away from the deals, Munger kept building the community he knew he needed. Weekly breakfast sessions at the Los Angeles Country Club with investors, executives, and longtime friends gave him the energy he once got from golf and travel. He revisited old lessonssuch as his view that a handful of winning investments shaped Berkshire’s trajectorywhile absorbing new perspectives from the group. Even as his eyesight, mobility, and independence declined, he maintained rituals around friendship, food, and humor, from In-N-Out burgers and Costco hot dogs to long lunches with See’s Candy and cherry pie. As he looked ahead to his planned 100th birthday gathering, he told friends he felt comfortable with his life’s work and optimistic about Berkshire’s future framework. Late on Thanksgiving evening, from a hospital room near Montecito, he asked for the room to clear so he could call Buffett. They shared their final farewell.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/99-old-billionaire-charlie-munger-150019651.html?guccounter=1
