Li Lu: The Only Investor Charlie Munger Ever Trusted (Full Story)

Discover the story of Li Lu, the only investor Charlie Munger trusted. Learn how he built Himalaya Capital and mastered the art of value investing.

From his early days as a student activist to managing billions, we break down Li Lu’s venture capital secrets, his BYD success, and his key failures.

00:00 - The Refugee who became a Billionaire
00:37 - Early Life: Born into the Cultural Revolution
01:46 - The 1976 Tangshan Earthquake: A lesson in fragility
02:33 - Finding Economics and the road to activism
03:30 - Tiananmen Square (1989) and the escape to America
05:07 - Arriving in NYC: 3 Degrees at Columbia in 6 years
06:29 - The lecture that changed everything: Meeting Warren Buffett
07:52 - First Investment: Borrowing $300k for Russian Oil
09:36 - Building Himalaya Capital and early struggles
10:24 - The pivot to Long-Only investing
11:11 - Discovering BYD: The investment of a lifetime
12:42 - Thanksgiving 2003: Meeting Charlie Munger
14:11 - Restructuring Himalaya Capital under Munger’s mentorship
15:41 - Extraordinary Returns: 29% CAGR vs. the S&P 500
16:16 - Introducing Munger and Buffett to BYD
18:29 - The Secret Weapon: Patience and holding through 80% drops
19:25 - Investing in Kweichow Moutai
20:03 - The 3 Foundations of Li Lu’s Investment Philosophy
21:31 - The Research Process: "Accurate and Complete Information"
22:45 - Extreme Concentration: Why fewer than 10 stocks?
23:38 - The Baseball Analogy: Waiting for the "Fat Pitch"
25:06 - The Edge: Bridging East and West
26:28 - Temperament: Why 50% drawdowns don't scare him
28:04 - Circle of Competence: Avoiding the Dotcom and Crypto bubbles
29:22 - Why he turned down managing Berkshire Hathaway’s money
30:52 - Current Portfolio Deep Dive: Alphabet, BofA, and PDD
32:41 - Handling Failures and Learning from Mistakes
33:33 - Philanthropy: The Asian-American Foundation
34:52 - Li Lu’s Books and Intellectual Legacy
35:45 - The Power of Integration: History, Psychology, and Investing
37:13 - Advice for starting over today
38:10 - Why character and temperament win
40:04 - The 10-year Predictability Rule

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