”[Buffett and I] Munger said, “They're both smart enough that they've seen their friends who got rich build really fancy homes, and in almost all cases, that person doesn't end up happy, but happy.'' You could say it's going to be toned down,” he said.
Munger said the “basic house” has utility, noting that while a larger home may help entertain more people, that's about it. “It's very expensive and doesn't do much good.”
Another downside to owning a huge mansion is that ostentatious displays of wealth can encourage children to “live grandly” and spoil them, he added. Ta. Mr. Munger had nine children from two marriages, including two step-sons and a son who died of leukemia at age nine.
”[Buffett and I] I thought both were bigger and better homes,” Munger said, adding, “I had a huge number of children, so even that was justified. And I was still the Duke of Westchester. I decided I wasn't going to live my life looking like something. And I was going to avoid that. I did it on purpose…I didn't think it was good for my kids.”
As Mr. Munger implied, Mr. Buffett lives a similar life. The 93-year-old billionaire bought a house in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1958 for $31,500, where he has lived ever since. Buffett's quality of life “would be much worse if that were the case.” [he] I had six or eight houses,” he was quoted as saying at a 2014 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting.
Mr. Munger often preached the benefits of living frugally and gave advice such as “Don't be too jealous'' and “Don't overspend your income.'' In an interview Thursday, he attributed his success and longevity to his long-held vigilance and ability to “avoid all the standard ways of failing.”
“Avoid insanity at all costs,” Munger says. “Insanity is much more common than you think. It's easy to fall into insanity. Avoid it, avoid it, avoid it.”
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