Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett to build Berkshire Hathaway, died Tuesday at a California hospital. He was 99.
"Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation," Buffett said in a statement posted on the company's website.
Munger was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and worked at Buffett's grandfather's grocery store as a teenager.
He went to Harvard Law School, worked as a real estate attorney, hedge fund manager and became Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman in 1978.
Forbes estimates Munger's personal wealth at $2.6 billion.
