At the Daily Journal Annual Meeting in 2019, 95-year-old Charlie Munger, then the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, was asked why his longtime associate, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett, was "so much richer" than him. Munger's response, delivered in his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, is one to remember.

What Happened: Towards the end of the two-hour-long meeting, an audience member asked Munger, "In spite of being partners for so long, why is Warren so much richer than you?" With a faint smile, Munger replied: "Well, he got an earlier start," before adding, "he was probably a little smarter," and "worked harder." Munger dismissed the idea of any complex analysis, saying, "There's not a lot of reasons."

Taking a pause, Munger joked, "Why was Albert Einstein poorer than I was?" suggesting that raw intellect alone does not always lead to extraordinary financial achievements.

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Why It Matters: Buffett and Munger first met in the 1950s, introduced by a doctor couple over dinner. Munger started his career as a lawyer, but later made his fortune by investing.

Despite the vast difference in their fortunes, Munger and Buffett's partnership is the stuff of legend in the world of business. Together, they molded Berkshire into a mammoth holding company with a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion.

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