Day 96:) Poor Charlie’s Almanack

Charles T. Munger is a long serving vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. He is famous for his one liner “I have nothing to add” in the annual meetings of the company, where Buffet answers the question firstly and Charlie if he has anything to add. Mr. Munger is a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin and has named his book in the same line as Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Recently, I had the privilege to read Mr. Munger’s book. His children have given him a nickname, a book with two legs. You will always find a book in his hand, after all he is a learning machine. He is a lawyer by degree, graduating from Harvard Law School. He has never taken by a course on accounting, psychology, investing, business, finance, and economics. However, his knowledge is incredible in those fields. He is one of most ultra-successful investors.

The book is written in an unconventional style. It contains a little background about him and the eleven talks that he is delivered. During his 20s he lost his first child due to leukemia, just after divorcing with his first wife. He was crying on the streets and helpless.

Charlie used to work hard at his law firm to earn his livelihood. However, the earnings were not enough as he had eight children to raise. He seized opportunity to build wealth. He started investing in stocks and started his construction business with few of his friends. He is a man of principle. Integrity is prime for him.

Charles is a risk averse person. He can quickly identify a risk in a business within 60 seconds. He focuses a lot on psychology as it is one of prime drivers of the way humans do thing in day to day life. In one of his talks, he hypothetically showed how a beverage company starting in 1884 can be worth of a trillion dollar company by 2034.

He is one rarest among us who has gotten wiser as he grew older. He is 96 and still active. To put in Charlie’s word, “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day-if you live long enough-like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve.”

The book is full of wit and wisdom. It won’t be easy to understand the book in one go. Some of the concepts are difficult to digest but they are worth it. In case you are searching for the book click here.