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Li Lu
Today’s story: Li Lu, the refugee-turned-investor who survived the Tiananmen Square massacre, immigrated to the U.S. with nothing and went on to manage money for Charlie Munger. If you’ve ever felt behind, uncertain, or like the odds are stacked against you, Li Lu might just be the blueprint you didn’t know you needed
What you will learn:
How Li Lu turned political trauma into a lifelong focus.
Why Munger and Buffett see him as the real deal.
Lessons on patience, adversity, and playing the long game.
Quotes that redefine how to think about risk and conviction.
I hope you enjoy it.
Li Lu
When you first hear Li Lu’s name, you might not picture one of the world’s most respected value investors.
You might also not picture a barefoot teenager running through the streets of Changsha, ducking from authorities, organizing student protests under threat of imprisonment.
Or the 23-year-old who survived the Tiananmen Square massacre and fled China, leaving behind his family, his friends, and everything he knew.
But behind that unlikely path is a story of transformation and a mind that would one day impress Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s right-hand man), he’d entrust him with his family’s fortune.
He’s famous for making just a few core investments at a time—long-term, concentrated, high-conviction positions.
His best-known? BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle and battery company.
Li discovered BYD before almost anyone in the West had heard of it. While other investors were chasing buzzier EV startups, Li visited BYD’s factories, met the engineers, grilled the founder Wang Chuanfu, and did what he always does—dug deep where others skim.
At the time, BYD didn’t look sexy. It was scrappy. The tech wasn’t elegant. But Li saw the edge: a founder who could work 16-hour days, a vertically integrated model nobody else had cracked, and regulatory tailwinds that would soon reshape China’s energy landscape. In 2008, he pitched it to Munger. Berkshire invested $232M. That stake is now worth over $7 billion.
And it wasn’t the first time Li bet big on being early.
Back in the early 2000s, he made early investments in rising Asian chip manufacturers like Samsung Electronics, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), and ASE Technology long before these companies became household names in Western investing circles. While the dot-com boom distracted Wall Street with frothy valuations and hype, Li was looking for durable cash flows, strong leadership, and underappreciated moats.
That’s what makes Himalaya Capital (Lu’s company) what it is: a quiet compounder. No flashy logos, no conference stages, no CNBC cameos. Just long-term, fundamental investing at its purest form, run by a man who treats every dollar like it could vanish tomorrow.
Charlie Munger didn’t mince words:
“Li Lu is the only outside manager I’ve ever recommended to Warren.”
That endorsement speaks volumes. But what makes Li special isn’t just his returns; it’s how he sees the world. He once said:
“The best risk control is just to be very selective.”
In an age of endless information and decision fatigue, Li Lu’s greatest strength might be the ability to wait, to do nothing until he finds something worth doing with full force.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Pain is a teacher. Use it.
Li Lu didn’t let trauma define him. He used it to sharpen his priorities and build extraordinary mental resilience. Most investors talk about risk. Li lived it.
Lesson 2: Learn across disciplines.
While many investors specialize in finance alone, Li Lu pursued a triple degree in law, business, and economics—simultaneously—at Columbia University. This breadth of knowledge gives him a uniquely holistic perspective. He doesn’t just understand how a company works; he understands the legal structures around it, the behavioral economics behind its customers, and the macro conditions shaping its future. It’s a multi-lens worldview that lets him spot risks and opportunities others miss.
Lesson 3: Invest in people, not just numbers.
Spreadsheets can tell you a company’s past, but not its future. For that, you need to understand the founder. Li Lu’s most successful investments, like BYD, were anchored in his conviction not just about markets or margins, but about the people running the show. He looks for leaders with long-term vision, technical skill, and unshakable drive, people like Wang Chuanfu, who built BYD from scratch and once slept on a factory floor to meet a deadline.
Lesson 4: Concentrate when it counts.
Li Lu doesn’t believe in owning dozens of stocks to feel “safe.” Instead, he follows the Buffett-Munger philosophy: find a few excellent companies you deeply understand, and go big. His portfolios are famously concentrated, sometimes holding just 3–5 major positions. That takes guts, but also a deep research process that gives him the conviction to stick with his bets through thick and thin.
Lesson 5: Stay invisible, stay focused.
Li Lu avoids noise. No Twitter account. No press tours. No TED Talks. His focus is on the work. In a world obsessed with personal branding and constant updates, his discipline to stay quiet has become his edge. It keeps his mind clear and his attention undivided, essential traits in a profession where distraction is the enemy of insight.
Quotes
On Focus: “You don't need too many ideas to do well. You just need to find a few great ones and be right.”
On Risk: “The ultimate risk control is to know what you’re doing.”
On Conviction: “In life and investing, conviction is more valuable than confidence.”
Speeches and interviews
Book recommendations:
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