Munger's "list of mistakes": Bitcoin is shit, Jack Ma is too arrogant, Elon Musk is crazy.

Charlie Munger has commented on both Bitcoin and Elon Musk. Looking back today, some of his comments may have been right, some wrong, and some of his reflections on the mistakes may not be accurate (for example, he attributed his failed investment in Alibaba to the fact that it was a damn retailer); some of his comments still need further verification.

The following is a summary:

Munger's assessment of Bitcoin:

• Munger stated, "Bitcoin is stupid, evil, and makes you feel like a fool."

• • "In my life, I try to avoid things that are stupid, and evil, and make me look bad in comparison to someone else, and bitcoin does all three."

• Munger stated, "Bitcoin is very likely to go to zero, and it has also undermined the integrity of the Federal Reserve and the national monetary system."

• • "It's stupid because it's very likely to go to zero, and it's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve System and national currency system, which we desperately need to maintain its integrity and government control and so on."

• Munger said, "The Chinese leaders wisely banned Bitcoin, while we, who consider ourselves civilized, are more foolish than the Chinese leaders."

• • "He was smart enough to ban bitcoin in China, and with all our presumed advantages of civilization, we are a lot dumber than the communist leader in China."

• Munger said, "Bitcoin is disgusting and runs counter to the interests of civilization."

• • "Bitcoin is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization."

• Munger said, "Trading cryptocurrency is disgusting, like trading feces."

• • "It's like somebody else is trading turds and you decide, 'I can't be left out'."

• Munger also drew an analogy: "If you could make money trading the brains of newly acquired babies, would you do it? Bitcoin is almost equally abhorrent."

• • "Imagine if you could profit from trading freshly harvested baby brains. You wouldn't engage in that, would you? It's an abhorrent idea. To me, Bitcoin is nearly as objectionable. I see it as a mix of insanity and immorality. Those promoting it are a disgrace."

• Munger said, "I am ashamed that my country allows crypto garbage. It is worthless, insane, and absolutely harmful."

• • "I'm not proud of my country for allowing this crap — well, I call it crypto shit. It's worthless, it's crazy, it's not good, it ..."

Munger's assessment of Musk:

• Munger said, "I will not buy his stock, nor will I short him."

• • "I wouldn't buy his stock, nor would I short it."

• Munger on Musk: "He is a genius, but overconfident. Never underestimate someone who overestimates himself."

• • "Never underestimate the man who overestimates himself."

Munger's assessment of Alibaba:

• Munger said, "I think investing in Alibaba was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made."

• • "I regard Alibaba as one of the biggest mistakes I ever made."

• Munger said, "I was attracted by their position in the Chinese internet sector and didn't realize that they were essentially a damn retailer. The internet industry is very competitive, and it's not a cake for everyone."

• • "I got charmed by their position in the Chinese internet; I didn't stop to realize they're still a goddamn retailer. It's going to be a competitive business, the internet — it's not going to be a cakewalk for everybody."

• Munger criticized Jack Ma for being "very arrogant" in dealing with the Chinese government, and called his public criticism of regulators "very foolish."

• • "Jack Ma was — made mistakes in dealing with the Chinese government. I think he was very arrogant for publicly taking shots at Chinese regulators. Pretty stupid, it's like poking a bear in the nose with a sharp stick. It's not smart. And Jack Ma got way out of line by popping off the way he did to the Chinese government. And of course it hurt Alibaba."

• Munger admitted that he constantly reflected on his mistakes after investing in Alibaba: "I keep reminding myself of the mistakes I've made because I think it's good for me."

• • "I keep rubbing my own nose in my own mistakes like I'm doing now because I think it's good for myself."

This further tells us that everyone should become an independent thinker. Blindly believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all.