The twenty-first century will probably go down in history as not just as the second Industrial Revolution but also the Age of Capitalism. It is not the digital revolution that has governed this age nor the information age nor Artificial Intelligence. It is the rapid rise of a handful of men, especially in Silicon Valley, to gain an obscene amount of wealth. Before them too, there had been a handful of men who had achieved financial wealth. Two notable names stand out — Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger. They are almost like gurus to the younger and dare I say, brasher generation of capitalists. And as happens with many of the business book narratives, these successes seem to be confined to the USA but many others, equally wealthy in other countries, are overlooked. Nevertheless, it is these two men who have been legendary in forming (or at least we are led to believe) much of the capitalist successes in the USA. They have helped build businesses, revived floundering ones, engaged in acquisition and mergers, expanded their businesses with a sure footedness and yet, given away much of it too.

For decades, once a year, these two billionaires and very good friends, would gather at the Berkshire Hathaway AGM and field questions from the floor. These were inevitably lively discussions but held behind closed doors. Only those in attendance benefitted. In 2018, Berkshire released the archives of the meetings going back to 1994. Equities analyst and finance writer, Alex Morris, waded through many hours of footage, covering 31 years and more than 1700 questions. Buffett & Munger Unscripted is a distilled version of his research. It is published by Harriman House/ Pan Macmillan India.

Here is an example of the two billionaires talking about capitalism:

It is no wonder that nuggets of these conversations are perpetually being circulated on the internet. Not a day goes by when the pearls of wisdom shared by Buffett and Munger are shared on various social media platforms. Whether you believe them or not, you cannot deny the wisdom in much of what they have to say.

Buffett & Munger Unscripted is a book that will rapidly become the go-to book on financial wisdom, much like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett’s teacher and guru at Columbia Business School. Buffett & Munger Unscripted imparts sound advice and it will not go out of fashion irrespective of the kinds of market shifts and geopolitical formations that will take place in this century. It is here to stay.

28 July 2025