Charlie Munger Quotes

We will reject interesting opportunities rather than over-leverage our balance sheet.

If I were to spend investor money on nice furnishings and so forth, particularly early on, I might not have it for opportunities that can really grow our business.

That is, many times we're not risking our own money, we're risking somebody else's money, or maybe that someone is going to back stop or downside, but we still get the upside.

For resourceful tech founders, finding capital is rarely a problem; making the best use of it is another story. A few years slinging pepperoni pies and chicken wings - on tiny margins and with minimal investment - might not be the worst fiscal training.

Capital is that part of wealth which is devoted to obtaining further wealth.

We've always been modestly leveraged, and we've never believed in a great deal of leverage on either our private equity business or on our investment banking business. And I think it really goes back to my uncle and dad growing up in the Depression and just seeing what happened to people who were overly levered.

I'm a wealth creator. I'm not interested in saving in the least. While I do spend a lot, I don't spend money like other billionaires. I'm probably quite unusual, albeit I do have some of the significant trappings. But I always try to make my assets work for a living.

People used to think that private equity was basically just a compensation scheme, but it is much more about making companies more efficient.

I haven't been as wild with my money as somebody like me might have been. I've been very safe, very conservative with investments. I don't blow money. I don't have a ton of houses. I know things can go away. I've already had that experience.

With the world changing fast, we needed capital for investments. There's only so much bandwidth in your own balance sheet.

Edelman maintains a very conservative balance sheet. We do small acquisitions. This helps me sleep well at night.

Do not go out first thing after signing a contract and buy assets that are huge compared to the contract signed. Just because you have money for the first time doesn't mean you have to spend it before you know all the ramifications of buying the assets.

What we are doing is increasing our focus on cash flow, return on investment, and value creation.

Most chief executives rise to that position by being good operating managers. Few have extensive experience or training with capital allocation. What CEO wants to return excess cash to shareholders when it could be used to expand his or her empire?

One should never risk one's whole fortune unless supported by one's entire forces.

You should command and demand the tenfold leverage on your dollars when you give it away as well.

You can lose leverage, and it's the only way a smart guy can go broke.

You must take risks, both with your own money or with borrowed money. Risk taking is essential to business growth.

Hedge funds are a very efficient way of managing money. But there are clearly some risks. Hedge funds use credit and credit is a source of instability. Transactions involving credit should be regulated.

The most important word in the world of money is cash flow. The second most important word is leverage.

The principal role of the mutual fund is to serve its investors.

Sometimes, when there's too much traffic clogging up the road you need to take a different route. But following the same path as everyone else can stall your progress in reaching your investment goals too.

People who never had enough thrift and forethought to buy and pay for property in the first place seldom have enough to keep property up after they have gained it in some other way.

What makes small business develop into big business is not spending, but saving and capital accumulation.

The principle of investing is that by use you possess and gain, by disuse you decline and lose.