Berkshire Hathaway’s Munger Steps Down as Daily Journal Chairman, Donates $1 Million in Stocks

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Nati Harnik/AP/Shutterstock (6245153a)Charles Munger This May 7, 2012 photo shows Charles Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, during an interview in Omaha, Neb.
Nati Harnik/AP/Shutterstock / Nati Harnik/AP/Shutterstock

Charlie Munger — better known as Warren Buffet’s right-hand man, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman and billionaire investor — announced he will step down as chairman of the Daily Journal Corp.

“Charles Munger will relinquish the chairman title, but will continue serving as a director, and as such will continue to pay particular attention to matters with which he has been involved in the past, including the company’s securities portfolio,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing March 28.

The company also announced that the company’s Board of Directors “has accepted Mr. Munger’s gracious offer to gift to the company $1 million worth of his personal Daily Journal stock for the company to use as the basis for a new equity incentive plan,” according to the filing.

“I want for this gift to reflect the confidence I have in the existing team and Steven’s new leadership,” 98-year-old Munger said. “The courts in the United States and around the world carry out incredibly important work that is crucial to civilization. Our company is proud of the work we do to help those courts and the legal system as a whole be more informed, more efficient and more accessible.”

Daily Journal Corp. publishes newspapers and websites covering California and Arizona, and produces several specialized information services.

Munger, known for his outspoken views, notably on cryptos, doubled down on his disdain for them, calling them a “venereal disease,” at the Daily Journal Corp.’s annual meeting, which was held virtually on Feb. 16, as GOBankingRates previously reported.

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“I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt,” he said according to a transcript of the meeting.

“Some people think it’s modernity, and they welcome a currency that’s so useful in extortions, kidnappings, tax evasion, and so on. And, of course, the envy… everybody has to create their own new currency. I think that’s crazy, too. I’m not having it. I wish it had been banned immediately.”

The Daily Journal Corp. also announced that Gerald Salzman stepped down as CEO, retiring after more than 44 years at the company.

Steven Myhill-Jones will succeed Salzman as CEO.

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