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At 99, most individuals are slowing down. Charlie Munger was doubling down—on coal.
In keeping with The Wall Road Journal’s deep-dive profile on Thursday, “The Untold Story of Charlie Munger’s Remaining Years,” the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman made a surprising funding in 2023 that shocked even his shut buddies. After steering away from coal for six a long time, Munger out of the blue jumped in with each ft—and walked away with greater than $50 million in paper positive aspects.
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The transfer got here from the identical library he’d labored in for many years—a room with out air con, the place buddies as soon as hauled in ice and electrical followers throughout a heatwave to maintain him snug. Sitting in a recliner, surrounded by inexperienced Worth Line binders, Munger nonetheless had the identical sharp eye for worth he’d develop into recognized for throughout a legendary investing profession.
Munger got here throughout an article declaring coal “down the chute,” the Journal reported. He wasn’t shopping for it. “Horse feathers,” he advised his stepson, Hal Borthwick. Whereas the business had seen a long-term decline, Munger believed many coal producers remained extremely worthwhile and deeply undervalued—particularly these producing metallurgical coal, which continues to be important to international steelmaking.
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So in Could 2023, Munger bought shares of Consol Power. Later that 12 months, he added Alpha Metallurgical Sources to the combination. By the point of his loss of life in late November 2023—simply weeks shy of his one hundredth birthday—Consol’s inventory had doubled, and Alpha had soared as nicely. Buddies near Munger stated the mixed paper positive aspects from the 2 positions exceeded $50 million.
“He made a really massive guess, and it turned out very well,” Borthwick advised The Journal.
The coal commerce wasn’t a fluke. Whereas Munger was now not deeply concerned in Berkshire’s day-to-day operations—regardless of holding a $2.2 billion stake—he was removed from retired. In keeping with the Journal, he spoke with Warren Buffett each week or two. Each males had listening to points, which made calls extra dramatic than discreet.
“They might scream to one another,” stated Whitney Jackson, Munger’s grandson’s spouse. “It was possible meant to be confidential, however anybody inside a mile’s radius may hear them.”
In his later years, Munger additionally poured vitality into different ventures. He remained a loyal board member of Costco, the place his stake was reportedly value $100 million. He invested in smaller corporations in Boston and Melbourne, Australia, and backed hedge fund supervisor Li Lu‘s Himalaya Capital—typically dubbed the “Chinese language Warren Buffett.”
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In an interview with Enterprise Insider posted early this 12 months, Li stated that Munger’s coal trades weren’t simply gutsy—they have been deliberate. “He may nonetheless go in opposition to the market consensus and stay to see this inventory double,” Li stated, including that the place remained within the Munger household portfolio and was nonetheless performing nicely. He emphasised that Munger insisted on unusually excessive odds—round an 80% probability of success—earlier than making a transfer, a normal that separated him from extra aggressive risk-takers. Even in his closing 12 months, Munger was making use of the identical ideas that constructed his fortune.
Throughout Berkshire Hathaway’s annual assembly again in 2015, he famously remarked, “If individuals weren’t so typically improper, we would not be so wealthy.” That mindset did not fade with age. Even at 99, he stayed alert to moments when markets misjudged actuality—and acted accordingly. His late-in-life coal funding wasn’t about nostalgia or luck; it was a pointy reminder that in a world fast to jot down issues off, there’s nonetheless room for these prepared to look twice, assume independently, and belief their very own math.
And at 99, Munger nonetheless had the conviction—and readability—to name out the gang, purchase when others bailed, and stroll off with a win most buyers half his age would envy.
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This text Charlie Munger Made Over $50 Million Betting On Coal At 99—After Avoiding It For 60 Years and Calling The Panic ‘Horse Feathers’ initially appeared on Benzinga.com
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