97-year old men aren’t usually known for their bright, effusive manner. If they’ve lived that long, chances are something hurts or isn’t working properly on their body.
The consolation for Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway is the fact that he’s a billionaire. That will take the sting off most common annoyances one would think.
The grumpy old man did something really nice recently that he’s taking a ton of heat on.
He donated $200 million to the University of California Santa Barbara to fund new dormitories.
There was a catch however; Munger insisted that his designs be followed, and he he demanded that the dorm rooms are tiny and windowless in order to encourage students who live there to spend more time outside in common areas where they can hang with other students.
Well, no good deed goes un-criticized.
Munger is getting ripped, and the architect consulting on the project quit to protest the design. Dennis McFadden is the guy who couldn’t work under those conditions, and penned a resignation letter that has some of the details leaking out. Here’s part of what he said.
“The basic concept of Munger Hall as a place for students to live is unsupportable from my perspective as an architect, a parent and a human being.”
Now keep in mind, even though the dorm rooms don’t have windows, the exterior of the building does, which allows natural light to flood the communal spaces.
Munger chose UCSB for the generous donation because his grandson is an alum. Here’s part of what Munger said regarding the controversy behind his $200 million donation.
“You’ve got to get used to the fact that billionaires aren’t the most popular people in our society. I’d rather be a billionaire and not be loved by everybody than not have any money.”
Add comment