Review
Money talks – in an astonishing number of languages. Janet Lowe′ s books on business and finance have been translated into 17 tongues, including Thai, Hebrew, Slovenian and three different kinds of Chinese.
President of the San Diego Press Club, former financial editor of the San Diego Tribune and the author of 16 books, Lowe′ s writing focuses on the leaders of specific industries. Her latest work, "Damn Right! Behind the Scenes With Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger," gives further evidence of Lowe′ s expertise on money–related success.
The very rich, she observes, seem to have one particular thing in common.
"The people that I have written about all earned their own wealth. They are not inheritors. They did not fall by it accidentally," she said. "It came about as the result of having a particular talent that they recognized very early in their lives, and they concentrated on it."
She says that Warren Buffett was fascinated by investing even as a child, that Oprah Winfrey began working in radio and television while still in high school, that Ted Turner, although a "wild child," was always someone who saw big ideas and took big risks.
Lowe challenges the stereotype of the wealthy as dishonest and ruthless. Money talks – but it talks straight.
"People usually do not rise to this level unless they′ re very smart, good communicators, and ethical," she explained. "You may not agree with the philosophy of a Warren Buffett or a Jack Welch (the head of General Electric) and with what they do or how they feel, but they are honest and true to themselves and they follow an ethical course. They′ll tell you that if you′ re not a straight shooter and an honest dealer, people will see that and not work with you."
The San Diego Union–Tribune Online (By Sarah Sabalos LaSpaluto, October 29, 2000
"Janet Lowe′s extensive access to Charlie Munger, his family, friends and business partners has ensured a perceptive look at the man and his business methods." (Lloyd′s List, 9th December 2000)
"This is a well–written, fascinating, cautionary tale which examines the seductive nature of power, and people′s willingness to believe in these latter–day icons." (International Wealth Management, October 2000)
"Janet Lowe′s extensive access to Charlie Munger, his family, friends and business partners has ensured a perceptive look at the man and his business methods." (Lloyd′s List, 9th December 2000)
Lloyd's List, 9th December 2000
The Publisher
The San Diego Union-Tribune Online By Sarah Sabalos LaSpaluto October 29, 2000
Product Description
From the author of the bestselling WARREN BUFFETT SPEAKS. . .
"Charlie Munger, whose reputation is deep and wide, based on an extraordinary record of brilliantly successful business strategies, sees things that others don′t. There is a method to his mastery and, through this book, we get a chance to learn about this rare individual." –MICHAEL EISNER, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
"Janet Lowe uncovers the iconoclastic genius and subtle charm behind Charlie Munger′s curmudgeonly facade in this richly woven portrait of our era′s heir to Ben Franklin. With a biographer′s detachment, an historian′s thoroughness, and a financial writer′s common sense, Lowe produces a riveting account of the family, personal, and business life of the idiosyncratically complex and endlessly fascinating figure." –LAWRENCE CUNNINGHAM, Cardozo Law School, Author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America
"For years, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and investors worldwide (me included) have struggled to learn more about Warren Buffett′s cerebral sidekick. Now we can rest and enjoy reading Janet Lowe′s book about this rare intellectual jewel called Charlie Munger." –ROBERT G. HAGSTROM, Author of The Warren Buffett Way
"Charlie has lived by the creed that one should live a life that doesn′t need explaining. But his life should be explained. In a city where heroism is too often confused with celebrity, Charlie is a true hero and mentor. He lives the life lessons that he has studiously extracted from other true heroes and mentors, from Ben Franklin to Ben Graham. This book illuminates those life lessons." –RONALD L. OLSON, Munger, Tolles & Olson llp
"Janet Lowe′s unprecedented access to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett has resulted in a first–class book that investors, academics, and CEOs will find entertaining and highly useful."–TIMOTHY P. VICK, Money Manager and Author of How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett
From the Author
Answer: Buffett of course is the chairman of the company, and as such is the company's spokesman and public symbol. But it's also a matter of style. Buffett is a natural showman and handles publicity well. Munger prefers to have a quieter life and work behind the scenes.
Q: Some people say that Munger actually is the power behind the Buffett throne. Is this true?
A: Munger and Buffett are two very smart men. They both were doing well financially before they met. When they joined forces, they both did much, much better. Munger often says that "lollapalooza" results are obtained when you put two or more big ideas (or big thinkers) together.
Q: What did Munger bring to the party that Buffett needed?
A: As an experienced corporate lawyer, he brought a deep understanding of the best ways to create wealth, making the most of the legal system and taking best advantage of tax laws. But Munger also was a real estate developer and had operated several industrial companies, and he knew the nuts and bolts of business. Munger hadn't studied under Benjamin Graham at Columbia University as Buffett had done. His ideas were based on experience and they drew Buffett beyond the traditions of value investing.
Q: Did Charlie Munger become a billionaire because of Warren Buffett?
A: Munger was a millionaire when he met Buffett, so he was well on his way. But there is no doubt, by working with Buffett, his financial fortunes were improved.
Q: What can the everyday investor learn from Charlie Munger?
A: Many things of course, but basically, how to structure your personal and financial life in a way that builds wealth. He lived below his means, reinvested profits, and like a poker player, folded early on bad hands but bet big on good hands.
Q: Munger and Buffett are of an older generation and they won't even buy tech stocks. Do they have anything relevant to say to today's investors?
A: Microsoft founder Bill Gates listens to them, venture capitalist Roger McNamee listens to them, as do many other high tech players. While the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio was structured on the expertise of an earlier time, the principles Buffett and Munger use are sound in any type of market or when investing in any market sector.
Q: Buffett and Munger are value investors, but that style of investing hasn't done so well recently. Is it a dead theory?
A: Buffett always warned investors that markets could be cyclical and that he would have down years. People stopped believing him when decade after decade, his performance soared. Then in the late 1990s when his prophecy came true, people had a difficult time believing that Berkshire Hathaway would recover. When the Internet frenzy cooled, value investing began to regain its luster, proving that the theory survives.
Q: Did Munger and Buffett agree to be interviewed for this book, and if so, what were the interviews like?
A: Munger and Buffett both agreed to be interviewed. Because I had interviewed Buffett before, I knew what to expect. He has a talent for being quotable. The interviews with Charlie were fascinating, but went slowly. This is because he has so much to say on so many subjects that it was difficult to stay on the point and get the specific answer I was aiming for. One thing is for sure, the interviews were never dull.
Q: What was the most difficult part of writing this book?
A: So little had been written about Munger, the research was time-consuming and daunting. Once the research was completed, a massive amount of material had to be organized, facts checked, etc. This was a labor-intensive book.
Q: What was the most fun thing about writing Damn Right?
A: The interviews were enormously fun to do. Munger is surrounded by interesting and entertaining people.
Q: Why did you choose this title for the biography?
A: At one point I asked Munger a question, and he enthusiastically declared, "Damn Right!" He holds strong beliefs, and wants very much to do the right thing, so the words, I believe, describe Munger himself.
Q: What will Charlie Munger's legacy be?
A: Munger said that he wanted to be wealthy so that he could have a large family, but also so that he could be independent, follow his own ideas and live life the way he chooses. He hopes to follow the example of Benjamin Franklin - to use his wealth and independence to do good works. His legacy will be that of a self-made billionaire who also is a dedicated family man, a faithful friend and a good citizen. He may also be remembered for his passion for fishing.
International Wealth Management, October 2000
From the Inside Flap
Businessperson, attorney, confidant, and straight man to Buffett′s jokes, father of nine, and self–made billionaire in his own right, Charlie Munger′s career is an inarguable testament to his genius, versatility, loyalty, and famed talent for "cutting through the bull." Buffett himself credits Munger as the person who expanded his horizons by teaching him the value of great franchises and the virtues of qualitative analysis. Yet, as this first–ever book about one of the investment world′s most mysterious, private, and illusive figures reveals, Charlie Munger is far more than the man behind Buffett′s throne.
A midwesterner through and through, the Omaha native is living proof that valuable, innovative financial and cultural ideas can and do flow from east to west. Indeed, the Berkshire Hathaway empire′s stature as a model–investment–firm–turned–household–word is a reflection of Director and Vice Chairman Munger′s staunch advocacy for ethical business practices, his brutal honesty, and his perseverance in the face of myriad adversity. An occasional lecturer and enigmatic instructor in how to become financially independent, lead an ethical life, and be responsible to your family, your community, and your world, Munger is, above all, a man whose life lessons are revealed not so much in the telling as in the living. And quite a life it′s been thus far, as this fascinating mosaic of business philosophy, humor, and biography clearly conveys.
Drawing from the unprecedented cooperation of Charlie Munger himself, as well as his family, Warren Buffett, numerous interviews, speech transcripts, and other writings, Damn Right! offers an unparalleled look at the techniques, tactics, and personal history of one of the foremost thinkers of our time, from his fortuitous connection with Buffett to his evolution as a remarkable strategist, corporate wizard, and exceptional citizen.
From the Back Cover
From the author of the bestselling WARREN BUFFETT SPEAKS. . .
"Charlie Munger, whose reputation is deep and wide, based on an extraordinary record of brilliantly successful business strategies, sees things that others don′t. There is a method to his mastery and, through this book, we get a chance to learn about this rare individual." –MICHAEL EISNER, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
"Janet Lowe uncovers the iconoclastic genius and subtle charm behind Charlie Munger′s curmudgeonly façade in this richly woven portrait of our era′s heir to Ben Franklin. With a biographer′s detachment, an historian′s thoroughness, and a financial writer′s common sense, Lowe produces a riveting account of the family, personal, and business life of the idiosyncratically complex and endlessly fascinating figure." –LAWRENCE CUNNINGHAM, Cardozo Law School, Author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America
"For years, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and investors worldwide (me included) have struggled to learn more about Warren Buffett′s cerebral sidekick. Now we can rest and enjoy reading Janet Lowe′s book about this rare intellectual jewel called Charlie Munger." –ROBERT G. HAGSTROM, Author of The Warren Buffett Way
"Charlie has lived by the creed that one should live a life that doesn′t need explaining. But his life should be explained. In a city where heroism is too often confused with celebrity, Charlie is a true hero and mentor. He lives the life lessons that he has studiously extracted from other true heroes and mentors, from Ben Franklin to Ben Graham. This book illuminates those life lessons." –RONALD L. OLSON, Munger, Tolles & Olson llp
"Janet Lowe′s unprecedented access to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett has resulted in a first–class book that investors, academics, and CEOs will find entertaining and highly useful."–TIMOTHY P. VICK, Money Manager and Author of How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett
About the Author
Excerpted from Damn Right! by Janet Lowe, Warren Buffett. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
PREFACE
The thousands of shareholders who attend the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, each spring, go to see Warren Buffett, but they also are fascinated by the man who sits beside him on the stage and helps the Oracle of Omaha answer questions. They call it the Warren and Charlie Show. It usually goes this way: Buffett answers the question, giving it as much or as little time as he sees fit. At the end, he turns to his longtime partner Charles Munger and asks, "Charlie, do you have anything to add?" Charlie sits there looking as if he'd already been chiseled into Mount Rushmore, and gives a brusque reply. "Nothing to add." He and Buffett play their little jokes each year to an audience that enjoys going right along with them. The meeting does have a deeper element though. Buffett gives serious thought to the questions. And occasionally, something will come over Munger and he delivers a little lecture, based on his long life and abundant experience. When he does speak, Munger has the audience's undivided attention.
He has messages that he thinks are important: Deal ethically with others; face reality; learn from the mistakes of others, and so forth. He delivers those sermonettes with missionary zeal.
"Daddy is very conscious of the fact that he represents social values that are not all that common in the business world," said his first daughter Molly Munger.
Munger isn't as wealthy as Buffett, partly because his life is organized differently. He isn't the showman Buffett is, though he can be enormously entertaining. Thanks to these two factors, the Munger family has long enjoyed the privilege of being billionaires without the inconveniences of fame.
I told Munger about this book project when I saw him at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in May 1997, and said I would attend the Wesco Financial Corporation meeting later the same month and hoped we could talk more about the project at that time. Munger didn't say much except that he didn't think the book would sell many copies. My husband, a friend, and I did attend the Wesco meeting and when it was over, Munger rose and in a loud voice asked, "Is Janet Lowe here?" The assembled audience of several hundred people craned their necks searching for the culprit, and a few who know me pointed in my direction. I timidly stood, "Yes, Mr. Munger." He rose from his chair and declared, "Follow me," and turned and marched out a back door. I waved goodbye to my husband and friend, not sure when I would see them again. Munger silently led the way up the elevator and to a private office where he told me that the Munger family didn't want a biography of him. They could see their cherished privacy slipping away. Being a fundamentally shy person who doesn't enjoy confrontation, I did not find this meeting easy. But I explained that I had signed a contract and would need to deliver the book, even if he did not cooperate. I said, however, that I believed the book would be much better if he did. "All right then," Munger barked. "You can start by reading these books." He handed over a long list of his favorites, including Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene. Later, Munger told me that he went through phases, at first opposing the book, then trying to minimize the damage, and in the end, working right beside me, trying to make the events of his life as understandable as possible. It clearly wasn't always easy for him, especially when I pressed for details about the death of his son and the misguided surgery that left Charlie blind in one eye.
I have been researching and writing this book for three years. Although some of the research builds on work done earlier on value investor Benjamin Graham and his star pupil Buffett, that material could only serve as background. Munger's photograph has appeared on the cover of Forbes and he has been profiled in a couple of newspapers, but there is very little written about him. More than 75 percent of the research in this book is original. I've done 44 interviews with 33 different persons. I attended eight Berkshire shareholder meetings and five Wesco Financial Corporation annual meetings, where Munger is alone on the stage and doesn't hold back anything. I worked with transcripts of about a half dozen speeches that Munger gave in various places, including one for his class reunion at Harvard Law School.
Although he became involved in the project, Charlie tried to resist the temptation to direct the book, other than to say often that he hoped it would emphasize the lessons he's learned during his 76 years of life. He would like others to benefit from his errors and successes. Indeed, the lessons of his life are not so much in the telling as in the living. The way he and his wife raised eight children through all kinds of adversity--how Munger constantly strove to maximize his talents and his financial situation, the responsibility he feels to be a connected, contributing citizen--all that is something of a saga. While writing this book, I often burst out laughing, but there were times I winced in pain or felt sorrow. Life threw Charlie about everything it had.
While Munger is a one-of-a-kind, he also is typical of the fusion of West Coast culture with Midwestern values, which took place primarily in the first half of the twentieth century. If Buffett shows that it is possible to be an alpha male investor and live and work in Omaha, a city not known as a financial center, Munger shows that despite some commonly held assumptions, valuable, innovative financial, and cultural ideas can and do flow from west to east.
