When a 99-year-old says that "cryptocrapo" is for "idiots" and banning it isn't a bad idea, many might think it's an "Old man yells at the cloud" moment.
But this really happened on Wednesday, and the near-centenarian was Charlie Munger, a vice president at Berkshire Hathaway and one of the most successful investors of all time. So his opinion on what he also calls "crypto-shit" carries some weight regardless of his age.
munger once described Bitcoin as "disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization" and revisited the issue when asked during the annual meeting of shareholders of the Daily Journal Corporation, a US publisher he chairs.
As Munger's views are highly sought after, the meeting is now transmitted .
Register Tuned in to hear Munger say, "You can't think of anything on Earth that has done more good to the human race than currency. National currencies were absolutely necessary to turn man from a successful ape." [into] human civilization because it allowed all these convenient exchanges".
The semiconductor industry is very peculiar: with each new generation of chips you throw in all the money you previously earned
"So if someone says I'm going to create something to replace the national currency, it's like saying I'm going to replace the national air. It's stupid, it's not even a bit stupid, it's enormously stupid, and of course it's very dangerous."
"Governments were totally wrong to allow it and of course I am not proud of my country for allowing this crap."
"The guy who made the right decision about this is the Chinese leader [who] took a look at crypto and says 'Not in my China'. Well, there is no crypto in China, he is right and we are wrong."
Speaking of China, Munger offered his opinion that the prospects of the Middle Kingdom invading Taiwan have greatly diminished since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. By Munger's estimate, China felt that the invasion of Russia would be successful, but changed its assumptions after the successful defense of Ukraine.
"I think it's off the table ... for a long, long time," he said, and that makes investment in China more attractive.
It also means concerns that China could disrupt global semiconductor supply chains are reduced. But Munger doesn't like semiconductors because they require too much capital.
"The semiconductor industry is a very peculiar industry: you have to take all the money you've made, and with each new generation of chips you throw away all the money you made before, so it's a mandatory investment of everything... to stay in the game". ," he said.
"Naturally, I hate a business like that. At Berkshire we like to have a lot of surplus money coming in that we can do something else with."
When asked about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), which has just delivered Berkshire Hathaway a quick and tidy wins โ Munger said he thinks the company "may be a good buy at these prices."
Munger was also asked what he thought of Elon Musk's leadership of Twitter, particularly in reference to his attitude towards content moderation.
"Elon Musk is a very talented but also a quirky man, so I'm not buying him, and I'm not selling him short. I'm just saying he's a very unusual person," Munger said, before praising his role at Tesla. on the market leader in electric vehicles and calling it a "genius." But Munger later cited the Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD as a challenger and an example of how "tough" capitalism is for its players.
Munger returned to that theme of competition by citing the now very old example of Kodak being lost and destroyed by digital photography.
But he also made the case that his approach to investing and life is valid on the grounds that he has never exercised regularly "except when the Army Air Corps made me exercise."
"For the first 99 years I've gotten by without any exercise at all," he added, and when asked, said he has no plans to change that.
Maybe it's an old man yelling at a cloud after all. ยฎ
