‘They Deteriorate So Much You Almost Don’t Miss Them’: Charlie Munger, Who Lived to 99, Said There’s Not So Much Agony When Someone Really Old Dies

Growing old comes with a strange trade-off. The longer someone lives, the more time there is for love, loss, and the slow realization that even the people who once seemed invincible eventually grow frail. Late billionaire investor Charlie Munger understood that reality well, and he didn’t dress it up.

“A long life has many disappointments and agonies in it,” Munger said during a 2017 interview about family, loss and the ups and downs of life. 

The Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman, who died at 99 in 2023, had experienced devastating losses long before reaching old age. His reflections offered a stark look at grief, the pain of watching loved ones suffer, and the difficult acceptance that comes with living long enough to lose them.

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The Losses That Stay With You

Munger described watching his sister die of Parkinson’s disease at just 64, a loss he remembered as particularly painful.

“I watched a sister die a horrible death of Parkinson’s disease, dying young — 64,” Munger said in the interview.

He also spoke about losing his first son to leukemia, describing the experience as a slow, agonizing ordeal.

“I lost my first son to leukemia. Miserable, slow death,” Munger said. “And at the end, he kind of knew it was coming. I’d been lying to him all along. It was just so awkward, and it was just pure agony.”

His words captured a different kind of grief, one that comes not only with losing someone but also with knowing what lies ahead and trying to protect them from that knowledge.

Why Old Age Changes Grief

Munger made a distinction between losing someone young and losing someone who has lived a long life.

“And you have some of those agonies that are gonna happen. There’s not so much agony when somebody’s really old dies,” Munger said. “You know, they deteriorate so much, you almost don’t miss them. Which I’m doing a good job of.”

It was a striking observation, especially from someone who had spent decades thinking about human behavior, risk, and the realities people would rather avoid. His point wasn’t that losing an elderly loved one is painless. Rather, he was describing how a long decline can change the experience of loss, sometimes allowing grief to begin before death itself.

The remarks came while discussing his wife, Nancy, whom he had married after both had been previously divorced. They shared 52 years of marriage before she died in 2010.

Taking Life As It Comes

Munger did not suggest that people could avoid suffering or find a formula that made loss easier. His advice was simpler.

“But no, I think you just take the hardships as they come. You take the blessings as they come,” Munger said. “You have fun out of figuring out the puzzles as best you can.”

That outlook echoed the practical thinking he brought to investing. Life, like the markets, offers no guarantee that events will unfold as hoped. Some hardships cannot be prevented, and some losses cannot be repaired.

Munger lived to 99, but longevity did not spare him from grief. His reflections offered a reminder that a long life can hold both profound sorrow and extraordinary blessings, sometimes at the same time.

On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.