Billionaire investor Charlie Munger on Wednesday acknowledged worldwide “tension” over wealth inequality but said critics of the ultra-rich are “motivated by envy.”
“It is the nature of our species that we look around us at other people and are envious of them if they have more than we do,” added Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B). “That envy has always been a big problem.”
Munger, 98, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance’s Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer ahead of the annual shareholders meeting at the Daily Journal, where Munger serves as chairman.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10 wealthiest people in the world have more than doubled their fortunes, according to a study released by Oxfam last month. Their collective wealth has increased from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion over that span, the study found.
Meanwhile, inequality contributes to the deaths of about 21,300 people each day, Oxfam estimated. The advocacy group pointed to the role that the wealth divide plays in dire threats faced by low-income people, such as a lack of health care or food.
Today, Berkshire Hathaway owns over 60 companies, like Geico and Dairy Queen, plus minority stakes in Apple (AAPL) and many others. Munger holds a net worth of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.
The remarks from Munger are the latest in a series of comments on wealth inequality.
At the most recent Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, in May, Munger declared progressive Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) the victor in the nation’s political fight over income inequality. The hot economy and loose monetary policy would end up narrowing the nation’s wealth gap, Munger predicted.
“With everything boomed up so high and interest rates so low, what’s going to happen is the millennial generation is going to have a hell of a time getting rich compared to our generation,” Munger says.
“The difference between the rich and the poor in the generation that’s rising is going to be a lot less,” he adds. “So Bernie has won.”
The remarks from Munger about Sanders contrasted with critical comments Munger made in 2019 about two other progressive leaders: Queens Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Munger questioned the severity of income and wealth inequality, belittling the intelligence of politicians like Ocasio-Cortez and Warren who have drawn attention to the issue.
“I don’t think [Ocasio-Cortez] knows who Adam Smith was,” Munger said. “The people screaming about it are idiots. It’s going to go away by itself.”
Speaking to Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, Munger struck a pessimistic tone about the fate of the wealth gap.
“Of course, it will never go away, as long as you have human beings,” he says. “In my personal life, I have banished envy and I recommend that banishment to everybody else.”
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