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Charlie Munger was a billionaire who stubbornly refused to look like one, writes Barchart.

Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, who died in late 2023 at the age of 99, spent his life following a simple philosophy: keep your money invested in assets rather than spend it trying to impress other people.

Buffett once joked that Munger’s idea of the perfect trip was a bus with air conditioning, and that he would only upgrade to more comfortable transportation if there was a discount. So perhaps it comes as little surprise that he had similarly strong feelings about the world’s most iconic Swiss watches.

“Just to Get Robbed?”

Speaking at the annual Daily Journal meeting in February 2022, Munger reflected on the nature of envy and the strange habit people have of feeling poorer simply because someone else owns something more expensive.

Having grown up during the Great Depression, when living standards were dramatically lower, Munger noted that by 2022 the standard of living had risen roughly sixfold. Yet people remained dissatisfied. By his own account, he had long ago “conquered envy.”

“I don’t give a damn about anybody. I don’t care who has what, but it drives other people crazy,” he said.

He then turned to the subject of conspicuous spending among the wealthy and singled out the most recognizable luxury watch in the world.

“Think about the conspicuous consumption of the rich. Who the hell needs a real Rolex just to get robbed for it?” Munger said.

“Nevertheless, everybody wants to make some conspicuous expenditure, and that’s what drives the demand in modern capitalist society. My advice to the young is: don’t go there. To hell with the status symbols. I don’t think there’s any happiness in them.”

$17,000 on the Wrist vs. the Power of Compound Interest

Munger made those remarks at the height of the Rolex frenzy in early 2022. Official retail prices for popular models were already in the thousands of dollars, while the secondary market was even more extreme. In March 2022, the average transaction price for a pre-owned Rolex reached $17,206, while coveted sports models such as the Submariner and Daytona were commanding astronomical prices.

Munger’s point was simple: why?

He never argued that buying a Rolex was inherently a financial mistake. If someone genuinely loves watchmaking, that is one thing. But if the purchase is made simply because the person next door owns one, the economics start to look considerably less appealing.

Luxury watches have one obvious advantage: they are expensive, recognizable and loudly announce their price whenever the owner pulls out a phone to check the time. For Munger, that was precisely the problem.

Capitalism is structured in a way that constantly fuels the consumer arms race: you see your neighbor with something new, you buy it, and a minute later discover that someone else has an even more expensive version. The finish line keeps moving.

Citing psychologist Steven Pinker, Munger highlighted the paradox of the modern world: material living standards continue to improve year after year, yet people somehow seem to become less satisfied.

Munger and Buffett built their fortunes on a fundamentally different approach. They identified great companies, owned them and allowed their capital to compound for decades.

Neither man needed a gold watch on his wrist to prove his wealth to the world.

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