This is of interest to those of us who are at that stage of life looking after our ageing retired parents. Retirement is meant to be a happy phase of life where one hangs up their boots having fulfilled life’s responsibilities. Whilst it is absolutely well-deserved but research has shown that it is also important for the elderly to keep their cognitive activities going to ensure the last years remain one of high quality. There are no better exemplars of this than Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, living an active life well into their nineties. Munger passed away two years ago, weeks short of his 100 th birthday. This piece by the renowned journalist and author Gregory Zuckerman, originally written for the WSJ and reproduced at MSN, talks about Munger’s final years, which should be an inspiration to anyone hoping to live a long and fulfilling life.
One of the things that stands out about Munger is his insatiable curiosity and that stayed intact until his last breath: ““Even a week or two before passing away, he was asking questions such as, ‘Does Moore’s Law apply in the age of AI?’” recalls his friend Jamie Montgomery, referring to whether artificial intelligence would see exponential gains like those experienced in computational power. 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.
“To the day he died, that mind was running,” says Munger’s stepson, Hal Borthwick. “He never stopped learning.””
The article refers to a couple of specific investment decisions in his last days:
“For decades, he barely looked at coal stocks, friends say, but in 2023, these companies grabbed his attention. Coal usage was in a long-term decline, and investors saw a bleak future for the industry. Yet many producers remained profitable, trading at inexpensive levels. Coal will remain necessary as global energy demand grows, Munger argued to friends and others.
“He read an article that said coal was down the chute,” Borthwick recalls. “He said, ‘Horse feathers.’ ”
In May 2023, Munger purchased shares of coal miner Consol Energy. Later in the year, he bought shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, which produces coal for steel production. By the time of Munger’s death, Consol had doubled in value. Alpha had also surged. Together he scored paper gains of more than $50 million, friends say.
“He made a very large bet, and it turned out really well,” Borthwick says.”
Consol doubled since then.
Even more fascinating was his engagement with a much younger neighbour of his, Avi Mayer, who he mentored and partnered with on a real estate investment:
“When Mayer partnered with his childhood friend, Reuven Gradon, to invest in real estate, Munger studied their early moves. A few years later, he offered to back the young men and their company, Afton Properties. “I’m graduating you,” he said. Starting around 2017, the three men purchased nearly 10,000 “garden” apartments in Southern California, becoming one of largest owners of these low-rise apartments in the state.
In the years before his death, Munger involved himself in almost every aspect of their business—choosing neighborhoods, assessing construction, even picking paint colors. He had special interest in landscaping details, insisting on low-density building complexes, deciding the company should spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to plant new trees, says Mayer, now 37.
Munger encouraged Mayer and Gradon to take long-term loans—even as other real-estate investors favored short-term debt that could be quickly refinanced—arguing that securing favorable interest rates and holding assets for years was the way to profit.
The moves panned out: Afton’s holdings are now worth about $3 billion, according to a person close to the matter. Munger remained involved until the end, helping negotiate the purchase of a building in Santa Maria, Calif., a transaction that closed days after his death.”
His inquisitiveness and sharpness were evident as several others sought his advice:
“Munger retained a bit of an edge, though. When a senior Ford executive joined the breakfast club one time, Munger surprised the group by outlining the carmaker’s profitability—by product line—over the previous 25 years. Then, Munger hit him with a zinger.
“I don’t know why you guys bother making cars,” he said, noting that the bulk of Ford’s profits came from trucks.
Munger appeared invigorated by the meetings, the last of which took place 10 days before his death.
“We all learned from Charlie, and Charlie liked that he learned from us,” says Paul Major, a local businessman who was another regular.”
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