Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger Shows a Golden Touch

Following Warren Buffett’s investing moves is an obsession for many stock market players seeking to emulate the billionaire’s exceptional returns. Some investors and money managers also keep a careful eye on the activity of Buffett sidekick Charles Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman. Of special interest lately has been Munger’s success investing the cash of Daily Journal—publisher of 10 newspapers and California Lawyer magazine—where Munger, who owns 3.7 percent of the stock, serves as chairman.

By diving into stocks amid the market panic of 2009, Munger reaped millions in paper profits for Daily Journal. The investment gains, applauded by Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in May, have helped triple Daily Journal’s own share price. While Munger’s specific picks remain a mystery, a bet on Wells Fargo probably fueled the gains, according to shareholders who have heard Munger, 89, discuss the investments at the company’s annual meetings. “Here’s a guy who’s in his mid-80s at the time, sitting around with cash at the Daily Journal for a decade, and all of a sudden hits the bottom perfect,” says Steve Check, an investment manager based in Costa Mesa, Calif., who has attended the publisher’s meetings since 2004.