Civilized People Don’t Buy Gold

Early depiction of an uncivilized gold miner

Warren Buffett’s right-hand man doesn’t like gold any more than his boss does, Charles Munger told CNBC Friday on the eve of Berkshire Hathway’s annual meeting.

“Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939,” the Berkshire vice chairman said, “but I think civilized people don’t buy gold, they invest in productive businesses.”

So why would Mr. Munger make such a statement? Here is the answer from Zerohedge.com:

While Charlie Munger has so far to comment on the 24K content of made in the basement tribalware, he and his partner have made quite a few other statements on items ranging far and wide, during the annual Berkshire Omaha convention, which year after year represents the annual pilgrimage for thousands to a crony capitalist Mecca, and which with the passage of time, has become increasingly more irrelevant. Why? Because with a $58 billion bet (on $37.8 billion in cash and equivalents) that asset prices will go higher, it is rather clear on what side of the ‘bail out’ argument, and its ‘all in’ fallback: central planning, Warren Buffett sits.

From the just released 10-Q:

To anyone who has sat through one or more of these spectacles in the past, the “less than dynamic duo” will not tell anything they don’t already know, and even on the recently sensitive topic of ‘succession’ expect virtually no additioanl clarity.

What is the reality of investors who by this definition are uncivilized?

As people prepare for the worldwide economic collapse, the above graph clearly shows two considerations that we must recognize:

1. People are buying gold in large volumes.

2. People are buying physical gold: paper gold and gold ETFs are understood to be as good an investment as our fast depreciating fiat currency. 

David DeGerolamo

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