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Li Lu: From Tiananmen Square to Wall Street's Most Trusted Investor
A deep dive into Li Lu's story — Himalaya Capital Management, United States.
Li Lu's journey from Tiananmen Square to managing Charlie Munger's fortune is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of investing.
In the spring of 1989, Li Lu was a physics student at Nanjing University when the pro-democracy movement swept through China's campuses. He traveled to Beijing and became one of the student leaders in Tiananmen Square. When the Chinese government sent tanks to clear the square on June 4, 1989, Li Lu was there.
He escaped China as a refugee, arriving in the United States with nothing — no money, no connections, no English. He applied to Columbia University and was admitted. Then, in a feat of academic determination that defies belief, he simultaneously pursued three graduate degrees: a BA in economics, a JD from Columbia Law School, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
The turning point came when he attended a guest lecture by Warren Buffett. Li Lu has described the experience as transformative — Buffett's framework for thinking about businesses as ownership stakes, not ticker symbols, clicked immediately. Here was an approach to capital allocation that was rational, principled, and grounded in understanding rather than prediction.
Li Lu dove into the writings of Benjamin Graham, Buffett, and Munger. He eventually met Munger personally, and the two formed an extraordinary intellectual bond. Munger saw in Li Lu not just a skilled investor but a kindred spirit — someone who combined deep analytical ability with iron temperament and moral clarity.
When Munger decided to entrust his family fortune to an outside manager, he chose Li Lu. The results validated his judgment spectacularly. Li Lu's Himalaya Capital grew to manage $14 billion, and Munger's original investment grew roughly 400%.
Perhaps the most telling detail: when asked about successors at Berkshire Hathaway, Munger suggested Li Lu as someone who could manage the entire operation. From refugee to potential Berkshire Hathaway CEO consideration — a trajectory that nobody could have predicted and nobody will ever replicate.
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