What were Charlie Munger's views on fame and reputation in his later years?

Okay, let's talk about the wise old man Charlie Munger and how he viewed "fame" and "reputation" in his later years.

These two terms sound similar, but in Munger's eyes, they were worlds apart. Think of it as the difference between "surface appearance" and "core substance".

Reputation: Your Hard-Currency "Core Substance"

For Munger, reputation is your "core substance", your most essential and valuable asset.

What is it? Reputation isn't about how famous you are on TV or how many fans you have. Reputation is the assessment of you by those who actually deal with you – your family, friends, partners, clients. Do they trust you? Do they find you reliable? Are they willing to entrust important matters to you?
Munger's View: He had a concept called the "Seamless Web of Deserved Trust". It sounds a bit abstract, but the meaning is simple: the entire business world, and even human civilization, is built on the foundation of "trust". A good reputation is your most valuable passport within this vast web.

Imagine going to the market to buy vegetables. There's a vendor who never shortchanges you and always sells fresh produce. Over time, you don't even need to pick; you just let him bag it for you. That's his reputation. This reputation makes his business thrive, allowing him to last longer than vendors who shout promotions all day or use flashy gimmicks.

Munger believed reputation is built slowly, step by step, through a lifetime of honesty, reliability, and keeping your word. It comes very slowly, but its impact is immense. With a good reputation, opportunities come to you, and excellent people want to work with you. This thing is genuine hard currency, the "core substance" that allows you to establish yourself securely.

Fame: Beware the Flashy, Hollow "Bubble"

In contrast to reputation is fame. In Munger's view, this is more like "surface appearance", something superficial and even somewhat dangerous.

What is it? Fame is what people who don't know you think of you. It comes from media coverage, public adulation, and social media buzz. It can skyrocket overnight because you did one thing right, or collapse instantly because of a misunderstanding.
Why was Munger wary of it?
1. It distracts you. When you start caring about "fame", you spend enormous time maintaining this "persona" instead of doing the truly important things that improve yourself.
2. It makes you do foolish things. To maintain fame, people start saying things they don't believe, doing exaggerated things, or even resorting to unscrupulous means for attention, ultimately veering off the right path.
3. It's illusory. Public favor is like the wind; it blows towards you today, but could blow towards someone else tomorrow. Basing your life's happiness on such an unreliable thing is too dangerous.

Munger lived this principle. For a very, very long time, few people outside the core investment world knew who he was. He didn't care in the slightest; he even enjoyed it. He preferred to be a "wealthy nobody" rather than a celebrity chased by the spotlight. He only spoke out when he felt he had wisdom to share, never just to become famous.

Munger's "Operating Manual": How to Build a Good Reputation

Munger didn't just have theory; he gave very practical advice:

Invert.
- Don't always ask: "How can I build a good reputation?"
- Instead, ask: "What would destroy my reputation?"
- The answer is simple: Lying, cheating, breaking promises, taking shortcuts, doing things you yourself find contemptible. As long as you steadfastly avoid these red lines, your reputation won't be bad.
Make Yourself "Deserving".
- This is one of Munger's core life philosophies: "The best way to get something you want is to deserve what you want."
- If you want a "trustworthy" reputation, you must first be a truly trustworthy person. Faking it doesn't last. You need to be honest and upright to your core.
Accumulate Over Time, Avoid Shortcuts.
- Buffett has a famous saying that Munger wholeheartedly agrees with: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."
- So, don't expect to gain everyone's recognition overnight. Be reliable in every small matter. Over time, your reputation will naturally grow, like a snowball rolling downhill.

To Summarize

Simply put, in Munger's later-life philosophy:

Reputation is your own business. It's your internal scorecard, recording whether you are upright and reliable. It's about how you view yourself.

Fame is other people's business. It's the external scorecard, recording how others (especially strangers) view you. It's about what others say about you.

Munger spent his life diligently filling his internal scorecard. He cared about whether, behind closed doors in the quiet of the night, he was still the trustworthy Charlie Munger. As for what outsiders thought, that was merely the occasional, insignificant splash of water from the waves of success.

Hope this explanation helps you better understand this wise man's thinking.