‘Untold story’ of Charlie Munger’s last years

(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.)

In an “exclusive” article headlined “The Untold Story of Charlie Munger’s Final Years,” The Wall Street Journal’s Gregory Zuckerman reveals the “Berkshire vice chair was making gutsy investments, forging unlikely friendships and facing new challenges to the end.”

Munger died two years ago on Nov. 28, 2023, at the age of 99, just a bit over a month shy of his 100th birthday.

The Journal writes, “Friends and family say Munger’s eventful last period offers lessons for investors—and a blueprint for how to age with grace, equanimity and purpose.”

It quotes his stepson, Hal Borthwick as saying, “To the day he died, his mind was running. He never stopped learning.”

He also never stopped looking for new investments, leafing through data on publicly traded companies in green Value Line binders.

He went against conventional wisdom in 2023 by investing in two companies involved with coal, which he believed would still be needed due to rising demand for energy, despite environmental concerns.

Borthwick tells The Journal, “He read an article that said coal was down the chute. He said, ‘Horse feathers.'”

Friends say he had paper gains of more than $50 million on coal miner Consol Energy and Alpha Metallurgical Resources, which provides coal for steel production.

(Consol completed a merger with Arch Resources early this year to form Core Natural Resources.)

Munger also invested in real estate with an unusual partner.

In 2005, Munger started mentoring a 17-year-old neighbor whose ADHD was contributing to his difficulties in school.

Avi Mayer, now 37, tells the WSJ, “He listened to my problems and talked about life principles and personal values.”

“I watched him in action and learned from him, and he handed me books once in a while.”

Later, Munger backed a real estate company Mayer and a childhood friend established that has become one of the largest owners of low-rise “garden” apartments in California with around $3 billion in holdings.

Munger “remained involved until the end,” helping to negotiate a building purchase that closed days after he died.

The Journal says that as Munger grew older, he spent more time with friends, including a regular Tuesday morning country club breakfast with business associates that could go on for hours.

He became less “cranky and acerbic,” telling the group, “At my age, you make new friends, or you don’t have any friends.”

And after many years, Munger’s family gave up on trying to keep him on a healthy diet.

The wife of his grandson reports Munger’s last food delivery was a whole Korean fired chicken, kimchi fried rice, and waffle fries.

A friend relates that even as Munger joked that he longed to be “86 again,” he remained optimistic about Berkshire’s future.

“Once it’s built, you don’t need to be Warren and Charlie. What we have is a framework for looking at investments.”

Some links may require a subscription:

Charlie Munger explains why making mistakes is vital to success.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: With all due respect, Mr. Buffett, this question is for Mr. Munger. (Laughter)

In your career of thousands of negotiations and business dealings, could you describe for the crowd which one sticks out in your mind as your favorite or is otherwise noteworthy?

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, I don’t think I’ve got a favorite. But the one that probably did us the most good as a learning experience was See’s Candy.

It’s just the power of the brand, the unending flow of ever-increasing money with no work. (Laughter)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Sounds nice. (Laughter)

CHARLIE MUNGER: It was. And I’m not sure we would have bought the Coca-Cola if we hadn’t bought the See’s.

I think that a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time. And I think Berkshire’s gained enormously from these investment decisions by learning through a long, long period.

Every time you appoint a new person that’s never had big capital allocation experience, it’s like rolling the dice. And I think we’re way better off having done it so long. And —

But the decisions blend, and the one feature that comes through is the continuous learning. If we had not kept learning, you wouldn’t even be here.

You’d be alive probably, but not here. (Laughter)

WARREN BUFFETT: There’s nothing like the pain of being in a lousy business — (laughs) — to make you appreciate a good one.

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, there’s nothing like getting into a really good one. That’s a very pleasant experience and it’s a learning experience.

I have a friend who says, “The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. And the second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.” (Laughter)

And we’ve gotten good at fishing where the fish are.

Berkshire’s top holdings of disclosed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan, by market value, based on the latest closing prices.

Holdings are as of September 30, 2025, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on November 14, 2025, except for:

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at [email protected]. (Sorry, but we don’t forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)

If you aren’t already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.

Also, Buffett’s annual letters to shareholders are highly recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire’s website.

— Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch