Charlie Munger
“When I know where I’m going to die, I’ll never go there” — Duan Yongping’s most frequently quoted line
👤 Brief Introduction
芒格 (Charlie Munger, 1924-2023) was Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and 巴菲特’s long-time partner. 段永平 was deeply influenced by Munger, especially Munger’s thinking about “what NOT to do,” which became an important source for Duan Yongping’s Stop Doing List. Duan Yongping said “Among the people I know, I’ve only met two who truly believe in their bones that ‘buying stocks means buying companies’ — 巴菲特 and 芒格.”
💡 Munger’s Core Philosophy (Duan Yongping’s Perspective)
1. “Know where you’re going to die, then never go there” — The essence of Stop Doing List
This is 段永平’s most frequently quoted Munger saying. What Munger meant is: it’s more important to know what NOT to do than to know what to do. “For example: Munger knew shorting would cause big problems, so he doesn’t short. He knew margin would lead to bankruptcy, so he doesn’t use margin.” (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2011-01-14)
2. “Rationality is most important” — In harmony with Duan Yongping’s 平常心
“Munger says rationality is most important; I say 平常心 (ordinary mindset) is most important — seems like these two are the same thing.” Duan Yongping believes Munger’s “rationality” and his own “ordinary mindset” are essentially the same — both refer to maintaining clarity and not being swayed by emotions when facing market fluctuations, temptations, and pressures. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2010-05-30)
3. “Long-term effort to avoid doing stupid things yields far more than trying to do clever things”
Munger said: “We’ve long made an effort to avoid doing stupid things, so our returns have been far greater than those who try hard to do clever things.” Duan Yongping commented: “The difference between petty cleverness and great wisdom; this also means persisting in not doing wrong things.” (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2012-06-26)
4. You only need to seize a few opportunities in life — An extremely patient investment philosophy
Munger said: “Our experience often validates a long-held belief: as long as you’re prepared, seize a few opportunities in life, take swift appropriate action, do simple and logical things, your wealth will grow enormously over a lifetime.” Duan Yongping deeply agreed, saying “In these 4 years, the ‘Great Dao’ has only truly acted once — Apple; before that was GE.” (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2012-07-17)
5. “EBITDA is bullshit” — Clear-headed understanding of financial metrics
Munger explicitly stated that EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is bullshit. Duan Yongping quoted and agreed: “Even Munger says EBITDA is bullshit — what reference value does bullshit have?” — This reflects Munger’s criticism of financial metrics that obscure true cash flows. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2015-12-02)
6. Genuine value investors under 40 are rare
Munger said he had never seen a value investor under 40. Duan Yongping explained: “What Munger meant by ‘never seeing value investors under 40’ probably isn’t that people automatically become value investors at age 40, but rather that they’re quite rare.” — True 价值投资 requires years of experience and accumulation, not just reading a few books. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2010-09-06)
📖 Munger’s Mistakes and Growth
Munger wasn’t perfect from the start. In the 1970s, he had major problems from using margin (leverage). The partnership fund he managed lost 31.9% in 1973 and another 31.5% in 1974 — losing over half its value in two years and nearly being wiped out.
Duan Yongping said: “Munger might really be psychologically resilient. Legend has it he lost most of his fortune within two years because of margin (probably in the 70s). Hence the saying about only needing to get rich once. Munger could count as someone who got rich one-and-a-half times.”
Buffett also once said (discussing long-term capital fund bankruptcy): “If I were to write a book, the title would be ‘Why Smart People Do Stupid Things.’ My partner says that book would be his autobiography.” (Note: Here “partner” refers to Munger.)
This experience gave Munger deep understanding of what “know where you’re going to die, then never go there” truly means — he learned his most important lessons from his own mistakes. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2010-07-09)
🔗 Munger’s Influence on Duan Yongping
Munger’s influence on Duan Yongping manifests on three levels:
- Source of Stop Doing List: Munger’s saying “know where you’re going to die, then never go there” was an important intellectual source for Duan Yongping establishing his Stop Doing List. BBK’s corporate Stop Doing List (no OEM business, no interest-bearing loans, etc.) represents concrete practice of this philosophy.
- Iron rule of “no shorting, no margin”: Duan Yongping said “Our company basically has no loans… same with investment — no margin!” — This comes directly from Munger’s teachings. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2016-11-10)
- Conviction in 价值投资: Duan Yongping said “Among the people I know, I’ve only met two who truly believe in their bones that ‘buying stocks means buying companies’ — Buffett and Munger.” — Munger is an important pillar of Duan Yongping’s value investing faith. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2012-04-27)
💬 Original Quotes
“When I know where I’m going to die, I’ll never go there.” — Munger (Duan Yongping’s favorite quote, Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2011-01-14)
“No shorting, no margin, and dying becomes much harder.” — Munger (quoted by Duan Yongping, Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2001)
“We’ve long made an effort to avoid doing stupid things, so our returns have been far greater than those who try hard to do clever things.” — Munger (quoted by Duan Yongping, Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2012-06-26)
“Munger says rationality is most important; I say ordinary mindset is most important — seems like these two are the same thing.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2010-05-30)
“Elon Musk is a proven genius, his IQ might be 190, but he thinks it’s 250. But run a company, you must be rational!” — Munger (quoted by Duan Yongping, Source: Stanford SDL dialogue, 2018-09-30)
“Even Munger says EBITDA is bullshit — what reference value does bullshit have?” — Duan Yongping (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2015-12-02)
“Among the people I know, I’ve only met two who truly believe in their bones that ‘buying stocks means buying companies’ — Buffett and Munger. Everyone else (including myself) is more or less influenced by the market.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2012-04-27)
🔗 Related Notes
Related Concepts Stop Doing List · 平常心 · 能力圈 · 价值投资 · 买股票就是买公司 Related People 段永平 · 巴菲特 Related Topics 段永平谈巴菲特篇精选
芒格
“当我知道自己会死在哪里，就永远不去那儿”——段永平最喜欢引用的一句话
👤 人物简介
芒格（Charlie Munger，1924-2023），伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司副董事长，巴菲特的长期搭档。段永平深受芒格影响，尤其是芒格关于”不做什么”的思想，成为段永平Stop Doing List的重要来源。段永平说”我认识的人里面，我觉得骨子里绝对认同’买股票就是买公司’这一点的人我就见过两个——巴菲特和芒格”。
💡 芒格的核心思想（段永平视角）
1. “知道自己会死在哪里，就永远不去那儿”——Stop Doing List的精髓
这是段永平最喜欢引用的芒格名言。芒格的意思是：比起知道该做什么，更重要的是知道不该做什么。“比如：芒格知道做空会出大问题，所以就不做空。知道用margin会破产就不用margin。“（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2011-01-14）
2. “理性最重要”——与段永平平常心的异曲同工
“芒格说理性最重要，我说平常心最重要，好像这俩是一个东西。“段永平认为芒格的”理性”和自己的”平常心”在本质上是一致的——都是指在面对市场波动、诱惑和压力时，能够保持清醒、不被情绪左右。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2010-05-30）
3. “长期努力保持不做傻事，收获比努力做聪明事的人要多得多”
芒格说：“我们长期努力保持不做傻事，所以我们的收获比那些努力做聪明事的人要多得多。“段永平批注：“小聪明和大智慧的差别，也是坚持不做不对的事情的意思。“（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2012-06-26）
4. 一生只需要抓住几个机会——极度耐心的投资哲学
芒格说：“我们的经验往往会验证一个长久以来的观念：只要做好准备，在人生中抓住几个机会，迅速地采取适当的行动，去做简单而合乎逻辑的事情，这辈子的财富就会得到极大的增长。“段永平深以为然，他说”大道这4年里只真正出手了一次，就是苹果，上一次出手是GE”。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2012-07-17）
5. “EBITDA是狗屎”——对财务指标的清醒认识
芒格曾明确说过EBITDA（息税折旧摊销前利润）是狗屎。段永平引用并认同：“芒格都说ebitda是狗屎咯，狗屎的参考价值是什么？“——这体现了芒格对那些掩盖真实现金流的财务指标的批判。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2015-12-02）
6. 40岁以下罕见真正的价值投资者
芒格说没见过40岁以下的价值投资者。段永平解释：“芒格讲没见过40岁以下的价值投资者的意思大概不是人到40岁就自动成为价值投资者，而是说比较罕见的意思吧。“——真正的价值投资需要多年的经历和积累，不是看几本书就能做到的。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2010-09-06）
📖 芒格的错误与成长
芒格并非一开始就完美。他在70年代曾因使用margin（杠杆）出过大问题，管理的合伙基金1973年亏31.9%，1974年又亏31.5%，两年亏损超过一半，差点就出局了。
段永平说：“芒格也许真的心理素质好，传说曾经因为用margin两年内亏掉大部分身价（大概70年代的时候）。所以有了只需要富一次的说法。芒格大概可以算富过一次半的人了。”
巴菲特也曾说过（谈长期资金管理基金破产）：“如果我要写本书的话，书名就是’为什么聪明人净干蠢事’。我的合伙人说那本书就是他的自传。“（注：这里合伙人指的是芒格。）
这段经历让芒格深刻理解了”知道自己会死在哪里，就永远不去那儿”的真正含义——他从自己的错误中学到了最重要的东西。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2010-07-09）
🔗 芒格对段永平的影响
芒格的思想对段永平的影响体现在三个层面：
- Stop Doing List的来源：芒格”知道自己会死在哪里，就永远不去那儿”这句话，是段永平建立Stop Doing List的重要思想来源。步步高公司的Stop Doing List（不代工、不借有息贷款等）都是这一思想的具体实践。
- “不做空、不用margin”的铁律：段永平说”我们公司是基本没有贷款的……投资也一样，不用margin！“——这直接来自芒格的教诲。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2016-11-10）
- 对价值投资的坚信：段永平说”我认识的人里面，骨子里绝对认同’买股票就是买公司’这一点的人我就见过两个——巴菲特和芒格”——芒格是段永平价值投资信仰的重要支柱。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2012-04-27）
💬 原文金句
“当我知道自己会死在哪里时，就永远不去那儿。” — 芒格（段永平最喜欢引用的一句话，来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2011-01-14）
“不做空、不margin，想死就变得较难了。” — 芒格（段永平引用，来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2001年）
“我们长期努力保持不做傻事，所以我们的收获比那些努力做聪明事的人要多得多。” — 芒格（段永平引用，来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2012-06-26）
“芒格说理性最重要，我说平常心最重要，好像这俩是一个东西。” — 段永平（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2010-05-30）
“马斯克是个被证明了的天才，他的IQ可能是190，但他自己认为他是250。但是run a company, you must be rational（经营一家公司，你必须要理性！）。” — 芒格（段永平引用，来源：斯坦福SDL对话，2018-09-30）
“芒格都说ebitda是狗屎咯，狗屎的参考价值是什么？” — 段永平（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2015-12-02）
“我认识的人里面，骨子里绝对认同’买股票就是买公司’这一点的人我就见过两个——巴菲特和芒格。其他所有人（包括我本人在内）或多或少都受市场影响。” — 段永平（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇), 2012-04-27）
🔗 相关笔记
相关概念 Stop Doing List · 平常心 · 能力圈 · 价值投资 · 买股票就是买公司 相关人物 段永平 · 巴菲特 相关主题 段永平谈巴菲特篇精选