Charlie Munger, who was Warren Buffett’s right-hand man at Berkshire, dies at 99 By Reuters

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -Warren Buffett’s trusted confidante Charlie Munger died on Tuesday at age 99, leaving a void at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) that investors said would be impossible to fill despite the conglomerate’s well-established succession plan.

Berkshire said Munger died peacefully at a hospital in California, where he lived. No cause was given. Munger would have turned 100 on Jan. 1.

“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Buffett, Berkshire’s 93-year-old chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

The death of Munger, a Berkshire vice chairman since 1978, marks an end of an era in corporate America and investing.

Alongside Buffett, Munger was respected and adored by investors around the world, many of whom flocked to Berkshire’s annual shareholder weekends in Omaha, Nebraska, to hear the duo’s folksy wisdom on investing and life.

Though Munger was not involved in Berkshire’s day-to-day operations, his…