Warren Buffett is a regular feature on lists of the world’s wealthiest individuals, while Charlie Munger seldom garners such recognition.
Munger’s wealth would currently surpass the $10 billion mark if he had maintained his holdings in Berkshire Hathaway.
However, Buffett’s longtime business partner has chosen to sell or donate more than 75% of his shares since 1996.
For decades, Warren Buffett has been a prominent fixture on the lists of the world’s richest people, whereas Charlie Munger rarely garners such attention. This trusted associate of the renowned investor would have been worth well over $10 billion today had he held onto his Berkshire Hathaway stock.
According to regulatory filings, as of October 5, Munger, who has served as Berkshire’s vice-chairman since 1978, held 4,033 Class A shares of the company. Based on the closing price of Berkshire Hathaway’s A shares at $522,700 on a recent Friday, this stake is now valued at $2.1 billion. In addition to this, the 99-year-old Munger possesses other noteworthy assets, including shares in Costco valued at over $100 million.
Forbes estimates Munger’s net worth at $2.5 billion, ranking him around the 1,200th position in its real-time wealth rankings. Surprisingly, he doesn’t even make the cut for the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which only includes the world’s top 500 wealthiest individuals. In stark contrast, Buffett secures top-10 spots on both lists, boasting an estimated fortune of approximately $116 billion.
The considerable difference in net worth between Munger and Buffett is primarily attributable to the fact that Buffett has consistently maintained a much larger stake in Berkshire Hathaway. Furthermore, Munger’s significant divestitures and philanthropic contributions, accounting for more than 75% of his Berkshire stock over the years, have played a substantial role in this divergence.
In 1996, Munger held 18,829 A shares, which represented 1.6% of the outstanding stock. If he had retained this stake, it would currently be valued at approximately $10 billion, and during Berkshire’s stock’s record high in September, it would have neared $11 billion.
A $10 billion net worth would position Munger among the top 200 individuals on both Forbes and Bloomberg’s lists, surpassing figures like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, fashion icon Ralph Lauren, and PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.
It is worth noting that Munger could have amassed even greater wealth, as it is likely he held more Berkshire shares prior to 1996. His initial stake primarily derived from Berkshire’s acquisition of two businesses, Blue Chip Stamps and Diversified Retailing, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, in which he had partial ownership.
Importantly, it should be emphasized that Munger has intentionally reduced his Berkshire stake in order to facilitate his charitable endeavors. For instance, he recently donated 77 A shares, valued at about $40 million, to a library and art gallery this past month.
