99-Year-Old Billionaire Charlie Munger Laid Out 7 Ways To 'Guarantee a Life of Misery' — And None Had Anything To Do With Money

Charlie Munger didn't leave behind a farewell letter, but he didn't need to. The Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman — Warren Buffett's sharp-witted partner for more than four decades — built a legacy out of common sense and clear thinking. Munger, who died in 2023 at age 99, reminded people that intelligence isn't what makes you rich — avoiding stupidity is.

Now, as Buffett just released his final letter to shareholders, reflecting on life, business, and the lessons learned at the top, it's hard not to think of Munger's own version of a farewell message. In a 1986 Harvard School commencement speech titled "How to Guarantee a Life of Misery," Munger offered his tongue-in-cheek guide to failure — a list of seven guaranteed ways to ruin your life, none of which involved money.

Don't Miss:

• Missed Nvidia and Tesla? RAD Intel Could Be the Next AI Powerhouse — Just $0.81 a Share
• Buffett's Secret to Wealth? Private Real Estate—Get Institutional Access Yourself

The talk began as a tribute to "The Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson, who had once told a graduating class he couldn't teach them how to be happy, but he could tell them how to be miserable. Carson's list was short: drugs, envy, and resentment. Munger, always the overachiever, expanded it to seven and gave each one the kind of dry bite that made him a legend.

His first rule for guaranteed misery? Be unreliable. Break promises, miss deadlines, and lose people's trust. "If you will only master this one habit," Munger said, "you will more than counterbalance the combined effect of all your virtues."

Next came refuse to learn from others. He mocked those who insist on "learning everything from their own personal experience," calling it the quickest way to mediocrity. The better move, he said, is to study history and the mistakes of others — or as he famously put it, "Invert, always invert."

Trending: Bill Gates Invests Billions in Green Tech — This Tree-Free Material Could Be the Next Big Breakthrough

Then came quit after failure. Munger, who rebuilt his life after financial loss and personal tragedy, warned that giving up ensures "you will be permanently mired in misery."

His final lesson: avoid objectivity. To Munger, self-criticism was the mark of wisdom. People who refuse to challenge their own beliefs, he said, "process new and disconfirming information so that any original conclusion remains intact." That kind of stubbornness doesn't just ruin investors — it ruins lives.

What makes the speech timeless is how easily it doubles as an investing philosophy. Munger's list of what not to do mirrors the very principles that made Berkshire Hathaway great: discipline, humility, and patience. Buffett built wealth by finding good businesses; Munger helped keep him from making bad decisions.

See Also: Wall Street's $12B Real Estate Manager Is Opening Its Doors to Individual Investors — Without the Crowdfunding Middlemen

While Buffett's final letter closes a historic chapter, Munger's words still read like the manual for surviving it. His message was never about chasing happiness — it was about avoiding self-inflicted misery.

As he told Harvard's Class of 1986, with one last wink of irony: "Gentlemen, may each of you rise high by spending each day of a long life aiming low."

Nearly forty years later, that advice still holds — in life, in investing, and in every place where hubris costs more than money ever could.

Read Next: 7 Million Gamers Already Trust Gameflip With Their Digital Assets — Now You Can Own a Stake in the Platform

Image: Shutterstock