Billionaire resided in the same house for 70 years: "A mansion cannot provide happiness"
Legendary investor and billionaire, Charlie Munger, who recently passed away, had a peculiar outlook on residential extravagance. In one of his final interviews, Munger stated he could not comprehend why some feel compelled to construct elaborate homes. He believed that grand mansions tend to detract from the homeowners' happiness.
1:02 PM EST, December 5, 2023
Munger, akin to his long-time business partner Warren Buffett, had spent 70 years in the same Los Angeles residence, as reported by "Fortune". What was the reasoning behind this atypical decision by the famed investor and billionaire?
Apparently, Munger believed that possessing large, sumptuous mansions could diminish an individual's contentment. Observing his affluent friends splurge huge amounts on real estate only to find a decrease in their satisfaction further enriched his belief. On top of this, he also emphasized that maintaining a large house simply means bigger expenses, as "Fortune" reports.
Yet, this was not his sole motivation. Charlie Munger was apprehensive that an opulent residence and luxury lifestyle could potentially spoil his children. Munger held the idea that if children are raised in a wealthy family, they would inevitably learn to exploit this wealth– a scenario he earnestly wished to avoid.
Munger dies at age 99
A celebrated investor and Warren Buffett's deputy at Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, passed away at 99 years old in a California hospital. "Berkshire Hathaway could not have reached its current stature without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom, and contribution," expressed Buffett, following Munger's demise.
The two business moguls had a long-standing friendship and shared leadership of the Berkshire Hathaway fund for over six decades.
Together, Munger and Buffett erected an investment empire that currently boasts a valuation of $673 billion on the stock market– rendering Berkshire the highest valued financial firm globally. To illustrate, by the end of the second quarter of 2023, the fund had cash reserves of nearly $157 billion– an amount greater than the value of several large companies or banks.
