"Alibaba was my worst investment ever," says Charlie Munger

The Daily Journal of Charlie Munger holds shares of Bank of America and several others.
Berkshire Hathaway generates $ 250 billion in revenue.

Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and friend of Warren Buffett, is one of the oldest billionaires in the world. Munger said he is still a favorite of many big bank stocks even though his firm dropped shares of many top financial institutions.

During the annual meeting of Daily Journal, Munger talked about bank stocks. But, he said, “I might have different ideas than Buffett,” Munger served as the chairman of Daily Journal till 2022 and is still a board member at the Los Angeles-based newspaper. The annual meeting was broadcast live on CNBC.

Daily Journal is quite similar to Berkshire Hathaway. It holds shares of four major global financial giants: Bank of America (BAC), US Bancorp (USB), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Alibaba (BABA), a Chinese e-commerce giant.

Munger expressed that he doesn’t want to sell Daily Journal bank holdings because the leading media outlet purchased numerous stocks during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. And if the company sells its holdings, it may face massive taxes in California on those gains.

He added that it’s not bad for us. We’re not in a normal position. Berkshire Hathaway holds 400,000,000 shares of coca-cola, meaning it owns 9.25% of the total coca-cola company shares.

In chairmanship, Charlie Munger Berkshire Hathaway acquired more than 53 companies such as Duracell, Van Tuyl Group, Oriental Trading Company, and several others. The recent acquisition of Hathaway was Alleghany corporation for $11.6B.

During the annual meeting, Munger was asked about ChatGPT and how it may affect the business of Daily Journal. According to Munger, “ Artificial Intelligence is essential, but there is a lot of crazy hype on the subject.AI will not cure cancer,” he added, “ There’s a lot of nonsense in it too. So I regard it as a mixed blessing.”

When the investment in Alibaba was brought up; in response, Munger noted that investment in Alibaba was “one of the worst mistakes I ever made.” He adds, “I never stopped to think [Alibaba] was still a retailer. It’s going to be a competitive business.”

A question arose in the meeting about why Munger and his business friend Warren Buffett owned shares of BYD, a Chinese e-vehicle manufacturer. He answered, “BYD is so much ahead of Tesla in China it’s almost ridiculous.” Although the per share price of BYD is too high, Berkshire Hathaway is continuously trying to reduce its holdings until now; it has sold $138.9 Million of shares.

Munger wrote a long article for The Wall Street Journal focused on “Why America Should Ban Crypto,” in this informational article, he suggested ways to ban crypto.

Warren Buffett is the fifth richest man on the globe with a $108.9B income annually, and his so-called right-hand Charles Munger is in 1347th position globally with a $2.3B annual income.

On Feb 1, 2023, while talking to Wall Street Journal op-ed, Munger termed, “A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security,” he added “Instead, it’s a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house… The U.S. should enact a new federal law preventing this from happening.”

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing