Today’s stock market is “crazier than the dot-com bubble,” Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) vice chairman C. Munger told the Sohn Hearts & Minds Investment Conference. The valuations we saw in the dot-com era were higher, Munger said and added that overall, I consider this as being even crazier than the dot-com boom which blew up back in 2000.
Many stocks trading at prices that represented 35 times earnings – making it harder for investors to get good returns.
“It is hard to get results which could be called normal results in investing,” Mr Munger said.
Munger on Cryptocurrencies
C. Munger said that cryptocurrencies should never have been invented and China had done the right thing by banning cryptocurrencies. Munger added the purveyors of cryptos were “not thinking about the client, they are just thinking about themselves”. “My country has made the wrong decision (not to ban them),” he said.
Munger on Bezos and Musk
C. Munger described Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos as a very brilliant man. Bezos worked very hard and had a remarkable result, he caught the big internet wave and played it hard. Berkshire Hathaway is a major shareholder in Apple (AAPL).
Munger said that Tesla’s (TSLA) Elon Musk was also very capable, but was overconfident in himself. Elon Musk was “also very able, but he thinks he’s even more able than he is and that’s helped him. You should not underestimate the man who over-estimates himself. It is obvious that some of the extreme successes will come from people who try extreme things because they’re overconfident. And when they succeed, well there you get Elon Musk.”
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) vice chairman prefers Costco as it has the right model and a focus on holding down costs. He predicts that Costco will eventually become a major internet player.
Munger also likes the Chinese electric car company BYD (SEHK: 1211). Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) has been a shareholder in the company that has pioneered the development of electric cars in China. Charlie Munger said. “BYD is one of the best companies in the world.”
