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In 1989, Li Lu arrived in the United States after fleeing China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. He spoke little English, had no investing career, no Wall Street resume, and no obvious path in finance. A few years later, he would graduate from Columbia University with three degrees.
A bachelor's degree, a law degree, and an MBA. He would start an investment firm, and eventually, Charlie Munger, one of the most respected investors of his generation, would become his largest investor. That's an extraordinary resume, but the more useful question is, what did Li Lu do that made someone like Munger trust him with his money?
Li Lu's story starts well before investing. He grew up in China during a turbulent period, studied physics, and became involved in student movements of 1989. After the government crackdown, he was amongst those sought by authorities. In his later oral history for the Smithsonian, Li described going into hiding and escaping through a network of people who helped him reach Hong Kong, then France, and eventually New York.
That history matters here because his arrival in America wasn't a neat career pivot. He had to rebuild his life in a place where language, institution, and opportunities were unfamiliar. Li later said he came to Columbia because his grandfather had studied there. At first, he entered Columbia's American language program.
In his recollection, he had a long way to go before he could comfortably understand and study everything in all English. The first challenge wasn't picking stocks. It was getting to the point where he could study at all. Then came the part people often reduce to a headline, three degrees at once. Columbia confirms that Li Lu graduated in 1996 with a BA, a JD, and an MBA.
In his Smithsonian interview, he explained that he entered different joint programs over time and studied across Columbia College, the law school, and the business school over roughly six years. It's remarkable, but it wasn't a trick or a shortcut. It meant taking on several demanding ways of thinking at the same time.
Economics, law, and business. A stock certificate can look simple, but the business behind it often isn't. While at Columbia, Li heard Warren Buffett speak about investing. In a forward he later wrote, Li describes that talk as a turning point. He began studying Buffett and Munger, and the idea of investing shifted for him.
A share was not just a ticker moving on a screen. Now, that distinction sounds basic, but it changes the questions that we ask. Instead of asking, "What will the price do next week?" you ask, "What does the company sell? Why do customers choose it? What could protect from competitors? Can it grow? Are there people running it worthy of your trust?" The answer may still be wrong, but at least you're studying the underlying business.
Now, let's learn a little bit about what built Li Lu's investing approach. Li began investing while he was still a student, according to his own account, and founded Himalaya Capital in 1997. The firm describes its approach as long-term ownership of high-quality companies with strong competitive advantages, room to grow, and trustworthy management.
That is not a guarantee of success. It is a framework for deciding what deserves deeper research. Now comes a moment where a simple conversation changed the entire trajectory of Li Lu's career. After years in his investment journey, Li met Charlie Munger through mutual friends. In Li's account to the Smithsonian, a Thanksgiving gathering turned into a long conversation about business and investing.
The other guests gradually left. Li and Munger kept talking for hours. At the end, Munger suggested that under the right circumstances, he might invest with Li. Li wasn't sure he had heard him correctly. A few months later, Munger became his largest investor. Now, hang on. Let's pause for a second. Munger had spent decades studying businesses and investors.
He did not back Li because he had three diplomas on the wall. The story Li told is about a sustained conversation over how businesses work, and the judgment and character Munger believes he saw in the person across from the table. Now, there's a real lesson here that goes beyond studying the legendary investors.
Our first lesson is building range. Li's education crossed economics, law, and business. That doesn't mean that everyone needs three degrees. It means important decisions often sit between disciplines. A company can look cheap on a spreadsheet and still have legal, competitive, or management problems.
The second is to learn from people whose reasoning you respect. Li has spoken openly about Buffett and Munger's influences, but learning from great investors is not the same as copying their holdings. Their opportunity set, time horizon, and risk tolerance may be completely different from yours. Our third lesson is to treat trust as something you earn.
Munger's investment in Li is powerful because it followed a long conversation and came after Li had already built experience. It wasn't a shortcut around judgment. It was a vote of confidence in it. And our fourth lesson, patience is part of the work. Himalaya Capital describes some of its investment holdings going back many years.
Long-term investing is not simply refusing to sell. It means continuing to understand the businesses and deciding whether the reasons you bought it still hold today. Now, there are limits in this lesson. Li Lu's path is exceptional. His story doesn't prove that a remarkable education guarantees investment success or that a famous investor's confidence make an investment safe.
A concentrated portfolio can still be wrong. A strong business can disappoint and no one can reproduce another investment circumstances exactly. What we can take away from Li Lu's story is a message that's more useful than the promise of easy returns. He arrived in a new country with a steep learning curve.
He studied businesses deeply enough to hold a long conversation with one of the world's largest and greatest investors. And he earned that investor's trust over time. The three degrees make the headline. The deeper story is what he did with the learning. Turn it into judgment, then give that judgment enough time to matter.
So, here's a question for you about the next company that you study. Are you just looking at the stock, or do you truly understand the business? Thanks for tuning in to episode five of lessons in the market with Mr. Multibagger. Follow us on all social media to stay up-to-date.
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