Charlie Munger's $88 million investment in Li Lu grew into roughly $400 million, validating the late Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman's rare decision to entrust his family fortune to an outside manager. Munger, who died in 2023 at age 99, met Li at a Thanksgiving dinner in 2003 and was struck by his capitalist aptitude rather than his dramatic backstory.

Li, who fled China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and earned degrees at Columbia, launched Himalaya Capital in 2004 with Munger's backing. The investment grew four- to fivefold over two decades, with Munger calling the returns 'unholy good.' At the 2018 Daily Journal annual meeting, Munger emphasized how unusual this trust was, stating he had given money to only one outside manager in his life: Li.

Li's investment strategy focused on Chinese markets where competition was thinner and opportunities larger. His early bet on Kweichow Moutai at four to five times earnings and investment in BYD in 2002 proved transformative. The BYD stake later influenced Berkshire's $230 million purchase of a 10% stake in 2008. For Munger, the decision wasn't about geography but judgment—he believed Li thought independently and would stay rational when others wouldn't.