Charlie Munger once said finfluencers ‘mislead you on purpose’ — here’s the wealth-building plan he recommended instead

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Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger attended the BYD M6 launch conference in Beijing.
Frederick J. Brown/Getty

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Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, the late Charlie Munger, was known for being outspoken when talking to shareholders.

Whether talking about creating wealth or expressing skepticism about cryptocurrencies, Munger often speaks his mind.

At his company Daily Journal’s 2019 shareholder meeting, Munger shared some choice words about day trading influencers(1). Simply put, he doesn’t like social media experts teaching inexperienced investors how to trade stocks.

“If you take the modern world as an example, where people are trying to teach you how to get into stocks and actively trade, well, I think that’s roughly equivalent to trying to trick a bunch of young people into starting to use heroin,” he said. “How stupid.”

Here’s why the legendary investor is “tired” of get-rich-quick gurus.

Financial literacy continues to be an issue across the country. According to a 2025 Gallup Poll, 42% of Americans ages 18 to 29 seek financial advice on social media(2).

Survey results from the 2025 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index found that only 48% of adults were able to answer more than half of the index’s financial questions correctly(3).

Munger believes it would be foolish for those who are already wealthy to make more money by “encouraging people to get rich through trading.”

“have [also] He said to shareholders, people on TV said, ‘I have this book that will teach you how to make 300% profit every year, and all you have to do is pay shipping. ‘I’m tired of them deliberately misleading you. I don’t think it’s right that we intentionally mislead people. “

For those who don’t understand the risks, taking bad financial advice can have very real consequences.

Rather than trusting the random advice of a day trader with a huge Instagram following, find an advisor with whom you can develop a direct relationship. But finding the right financial professional to work with can feel overwhelming — and it should be — trusting anyone with your money is a big deal.

Advisor.com exists to bridge this gap and help you find the best advisor for your specific needs.

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Their free service will provide you with a curated list of the best options from thousands of databases, ensuring you find a financial advisor you can trust.

Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to see if they are a good fit for you.

There is no shortage of financial advice shared online. Yet while social media personalities trumpet high-risk investing trends like cryptocurrencies and meme stocks, Buffett and Munger have long advocated simple, passive investing.

They have long believed that most investors would have trouble beating the market, making index funds a compelling option for ordinary people. In fact, the S&P 500 has averaged annual returns of over 14% over the past 10 years (4).

This low-risk, passive investing strategy only requires patience and time.

By contrast, 98.6% of actively managed domestic equity funds underperformed the S&P 500 equal-weighted index from 2003 to 2023(5). This may be one of the reasons why Buffett is a strong supporter of the index.

“I recommend the S&P 500 Index Fund to people and have done so for a long time, but I have never recommended Berkshire to anyone,” Buffett said at the 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “I think a person who knows nothing about stocks should buy the S&P 500 Index (6).”

By consistently investing small amounts in index funds, you can take advantage of the wisdom of Munger and Buffett’s advice.

Platforms like Acorns make it easy for you to start investing in the index funds they recommend.

Acorns is an automated investing app that rounds your purchases to the nearest dollar and automatically invests the difference, helping you build your investing muscle.

Acorns offers a range of ETFs, including the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) and iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR).

Sign up now and for a limited time, you can get a $20 bonus investment to jump-start your portfolio.

“Investing is about finding a few great companies and then sitting back and waiting,” Munger told shareholders at a Berkshire Hathaway meeting in 2000(7).

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Of course, finding these few great companies is easier said than done — but it’s important to avoid relying on questionable stock picks shared by finance bros on TikTok.

This is where Moby can help. Moby provides expert research and advice to help you identify strong long-term investments.

Over four years, their recommendations have outperformed the S&P 500 by an average of nearly 12% across nearly 400 stocks. They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee.

Moby’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and cryptocurrency reports delivered directly to you. Their research keeps you abreast of market changes and helps take the guesswork behind stock and ETF selection.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

Real estate may be another investment worth adding to your portfolio. Although Munger is notoriously skeptical of certain real estate investments, Berkshire Hathaway has made several large real estate investments over the years.

For example, according to a 2025 Realtor report, Berkshire Hathaway invested nearly $1 billion in two homebuilding companies, Lennar and DR Horton(8). Munger and Buffett’s companies appear to be banking on growing demand for housing in the United States.

If you want to take advantage of the real estate market without buying a home, there are some solid options.

Platforms like Arrived allow you to invest in rental homes and vacation rental stocks without the responsibilities of home ownership. Arrived handles property management, tenant turnover and maintenance.

Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to add rental properties to your portfolio, no matter your current income.

To get started, simply browse a selection of homes, each reviewed for their appreciation and income potential.

Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you want to purchase and start investing with as little as $100.

Another way to take advantage of real estate is to invest in multifamily rentals. One of the benefits of this marketplace is that it offers protection through multiple rent payments – so if any one tenant is late or chooses to move out, you can still earn income from the other tenants.

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If you are interested in multifamily rentals, you may consider investing in Lightstone DIRECT, a new investment platform from Lightstone Group. Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States, with more than 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.

Because they eliminate intermediaries (brokers and crowdfunding middlemen), accredited investors investing at least $100,000 have direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This simplified model helps reduce expenses while increasing transparency and control.

Through Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily transactions with a true partner, Lightstone, who invests a minimum of 20% of its own capital in each product. All investment opportunities at Lightstone undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone principals, including founder David Lichtenstein.

How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to evaluate your investment opportunity. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to start investing.

Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles, with a historical net internal rate of return of 27.6% on realized investments since 2004 and a historical net equity multiple of 2.54x. All told, Lightstone manages $12 billion in assets — including industrial and commercial real estate.

So even if multifamily rentals don’t interest you, Lightstone may still serve you well as an investment vehicle in other real estate verticals.

Start investing with Lightstone DIRECT today with experienced professionals.

We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reports. For more information, see our Editorial Ethics and Guidelines.

CNBC (1); Gallup (2); GFLEC (3); S&P (4, 5); Buffett Online (6); Investor Profiles (7); Realtors (8)

This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.

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