Charlie Munger was much more than Buffett's No. 2

CHARLES THOMAS MUNGER, who quit a well-established law career to be Warren E. Buffett's partner and maxim-spouting alter-ego as they transformed a struggling New England textile company into the spectacularly successful investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, died on Tuesday in Santa Barbara, California.

- ANDREW ROSS

He was 99. His death, at a hospital, was announced by Berkshire Hathaway. He had a home in Los Angeles.

Although overshadowed by Buffett, who relished the spotlight, Munger, a billionaire in his own right - Forbes listed his fortune as $2.6 billion this year had far more influence at Berkshire than his title of vice chairman suggested.

Buffett has described him as the originator of Berkshire Hathaway's investing approach.

"The blueprint he gave me was simple: Forget what you know about buying fair businesses at wonderful prices; instead, buy wonderful businesses at fair prices," Buffett once wrote in an annual report. That investing strategy was a revelation for Buffett, who had made his name in the 1950s buying troubled companies at deep discounts.

Munger counselled Buffett that if he wanted to build a large, sustainable company that would outperform other investors, he should buy solid brand-name companies. "He was the architect and I was the general contractor," Buffett said of their relationship.