Charlie Munger
Nati Harnik/AP Photo
Charlie Munger died Tuesday at the age of 99. He revealed the one thing he wished he had accomplished in life.He said, however, that he probably wouldn’t go after that particular dream at his old age.
Charlie Munger, who died Tuesday at the age of 99, told CNBC‘s Becky Quick that the one thing he wanted to do before he died was catch a 200-pound tuna fish.
“I would have paid any amount to catch a 200-pound tuna when I was younger. I never caught one,” Munger told Quick in an interview filmed right before his 100th birthday.
However, Munger jokingly said that he was so “old and weak” compared to when he was 96 that he probably would no longer bother trying to cross that particular item off his bucket list.
“Now, if you gave me the opportunity, I would just decline to go…there are things you give up with time,” Munger said.
That said, Munger also spoke of his active lifestyle and social schedule at age 99, saying he preferred to stay busy.
“You’re pretty active,” Price told Munger. “You’ve got a busy social schedule. You’re on Zoom. You have breakfast and lunch.”
Munger replied: “That’s my idea of a proper old age.”
Munger acknowledged the “unfair advantages” he received that allowed him to enjoy his old age.
“I am very good at recognizing unfair advantages, and I got unfair advantages at old age in the way I got an unfair advantage in not old age. And when they came, I just grabbed them. Boom, boom, boom.”
Munger, who spent 46 years at Berkshire Hathaway, died peacefully in a California hospital, the company announced.
While at Berkshire Hathaway, Munger served as vice-chairman alongside CEO Warren Buffett. Price told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” that Munger influenced how chairman and CEO Warren Buffett ran the company, often advising his investments.
“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation,” Buffett said in a statement released by Berkshire Hathaway.
Munger has not spoken much of the actual act of fishing during his decadeslong tenure as an investor. Still, the billionaire has an often-cited piece of advice about how people should approach investing.
“I have a friend who says the first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are,” Munger said in 2017. “The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule. We’ve gotten good at fishing where the fish are.”