Jai and Veeru of Wall Street: Why Charlie Munger wasn’t a sidekick to Warren Buffett
Charlie Munger may come across as a sidekick to the legendary Warren Buffett who built Berkshire Hathaway's enormous empire worth $785 billion simply by buying and holding stocks for the long term. But in reality, Munger was picked by the 'God of Stocks' as his second-in-command for being smarter and wiser than him.
The 64-year-old partnership between the dynamic duo shows many unusual traits — the two titans never had an argument and would sometimes make decisions without consulting each other. The mutual trust and respect never faded between the 'Jai and Veeru' of Wall Street.
While Munger, who passed away today at the age of 99, lived in Los Angeles, his best friend and partner-in-crime Buffett lived 1,600 miles away in Omaha.
«The two men speak a few times every month on the phone, and they likely meet less than 3 to 4 times a year,» NRI investor Mohnish Pabrai wrote in his book 'The Dhandho Investor'.
He has had friendly relations with both the legends.
He notes that Buffett did consult Munger from time to time on certain investments or acquisitions but not in all cases.
«When Berkshire acquired General Re, its largest acquisition ever, Mr. Munger did not know it was even in the works until the deal was nearly done. Sometimes Mr.
Buffett consults Mr. Munger and if Mr. Munger is negative or skeptical, he proceeds anyway.»
Unlike a traditional investment team, the two legends proceeded with investments even without consensus.
