'Civilized People Don't Buy Gold': Berkshire's Munger

Warren Buffett's right-hand man doesn't like gold as his boss does, Charles Munger told CNBC Friday on the eve of Berkshire Hathway's annual meeting.

"Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939," the Berkshire vice chairman said, "but I think civilized people don’t buy gold, they invest in productive businesses."

Munger, 88, said he loves Berkshire Hathaway's [BRK.A 121950.00 150.00 (+0.12%) ] portfolio of such businesses, which includes, among many others, the Burlington Northern railroad, specialty chemicals firm Lubrizol and Geico insurance.

"We just have a wonderful portfolio in business, if you average them out," Munger said. "By and large they're doing productive, useful work. It’s not outsmarting the computer systems in the trading markets."

gold

What do you guys think about this article? Is it the other side trying to persuade the masses into buying into a paper currency backed by nothing and controlled by one of the most corrupt groups on the planet, the federal reserve??? With the recent surges in buying gold, this could easily just be msm trying to balance the scale and dissuade the masses from driving up the price of gold, so that those in the know, can begin their big purchases at a lower price...

i think it's an attempt to up stock market prices, nothing more.

by the way, it's funny when he was listing off different companies owned by Berkshire Hathway, because if you look into them, they own BOTH coke AND pepsi. i suppose letting people know that the biggest two competitors are actually the same thing would be dangerous.

I think he's right.He's just 12 years too late to be accurate with his little chunk of wisdom.

People DID go out and start new business, expand existing ones and generally go all out to make themselves all the money they could. Life was pretty good.......indeed it was.

Then Bush came.....it all changed.

Then Obama came....and it may never get better again!

I don't care if it's Snoopy coming to town next in a Bi-Plane. Just fix the friggen system and we can all be "civilized" again. It's not like anyone LIKES tying mortgage and car payments up with chunks of metal that don't actually DO anything.

It doesnt matter. If and when TSHF happens, Gold sliver and dollars will be worthless. Food, clothing, bullets, things of this nature will be the true currency of the future. I would much rather be the village wine maker than the village goldsmith. Reminds me; need to pick up a pallet of toilet paper at Sam's. Can you imagine what that would be worth in a post apocalyptic.

Originally posted by David134
It doesnt matter. If and when TSHF happens, Gold sliver and dollars will be worthless. Food, clothing, bullets, things of this nature will be the true currency of the future. I would much rather be the village wine maker than the village goldsmith. Reminds me; need to pick up a pallet of toilet paper at Sam's. Can you imagine what that would be worth in a post apocalyptic.

We all know that in an apocalypse it will be too late to spend gold and having a meal will be more important and if this apocalypse continues for the rest of our lives food will always be fought over and only basic survival will have value. If this total disruption ends then there will be trade again and a regional wine maker will either wish to invest their excess produced value in other local businesses with an associated risk and a return or just safely save it for later spending, a choice which does matter now and will exist in the future (unless we have the lifetime of mad max future ahead).

This choice being made by the world today is to hold money over unproductive and risky investments, except that when the SHTF all currency will lose it's moneyness. Food, clothing, bullets, things of this nature have some moneyness in them and will have after SHTF but so will gold, in fact gold has the most moneyness associated with it of any item ever seen in nature. I'll be your goldsmith and you can make my wine, deal! (unless it's mad max, then it's just who of us has the most bullets)

Gold has been a storer of value for 3,000+ years & don't think that is going to change in the next 3,000 years.

Many empires & paper curreny's have come & gone but gold has outlasted them all - plus I heard the aliens like it ; )

Peace