Billionaire Charlie Munger Said Don’t Marry the Best—Marry the Best One You Can Actually Get. ‘I’m Afraid That’s A Rule Of Life.’

Some advice ages like milk. Charlie Munger‘s didn’t A few years before his death in late 2023, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman offered a brutally clear-eyed perspective on love, life, and investing—and managed to tie all three together in under 30 seconds.

At the 2017 Daily Journal shareholder meeting, Munger was asked about how Berkshire’s investment strategy had shifted over the years. His answer, as usual, cut through the noise. “We used to shoot fish in a barrel,” he said. “But it was so easy, we didn’t want to shoot fish while they were moving, so we waited until they slowed down and then we shot them with a shotgun.”

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But the good old days were long gone. Investing had changed. The edges were smaller. The bets were trickier. “We’re adapting reasonably to a business that’s gotten much more difficult,” Munger said. “I don’t think we have a cinch. I think we have the odds a little bit in our favor. We have to live on the advantages we can get.”

Then came the kicker: “I used to say you have to marry the best person who will have you. I’m afraid that’s a rule of life. You have to get by in life on the best advantage you can get.”

That wasn’t some offhand dating tip. It was Munger’s entire worldview. Take what’s available, what’s real, what will actually have you—and make the most of it. Whether it’s stocks, software, or spouses, perfection is a fantasy. Leverage is real.

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Warren Buffett, his longtime business partner and closest friend, has echoed similar themes in his own way. In the 2017 HBO documentary, “Becoming Warren Buffett,” he said his late wife Susie was one of the two defining moments of his life. “What happened with me would not have happened without her,” he said. “She believed in me. She put me together. I would not only have turned out to be the person I turned out to be, but I would not have been as successful in business without that.”

That same year, in a conversation with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Buffett reiterated the importance of choosing the right partner. “You want to associate with people who are the kind of person you’d like to be,” he said. “And the most important person by far in that respect is your spouse.”

Buffett has also said, with characteristic mischief, that one of the secrets to a long-lasting marriage is “low expectations.” In a Fortune interview in 2015, he remarked, “If you want a marriage to last, look for someone with low expectations.” It was meant as tongue-in-cheek wisdom—but like most things Buffett says, it was rooted in experience.

Between them, Munger and Buffett spent a combined 134 years married. Munger was married to his first wife, Nancy Huggins, for eight years until her death in 1953, then to his second wife, Nancy Barry, for 54 more. Buffett was married to Susan Thompson for 52 years, then to Astrid Menks for over 20 and counting.

When two men with that kind of history talk about the importance of choosing a life partner, it’s not theoretical. They knew firsthand how the right person could sharpen your thinking, calm your storms, or pull you back from the brink. A long marriage isn’t just companionship — it’s a compounding force. Choose poorly, and it can drag you down. Choose well, and it can carry you further than you’d ever get alone.

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This article Billionaire Charlie Munger Said Don't Marry the Best—Marry the Best One You Can Actually Get. 'I'm Afraid That's A Rule Of Life.' originally appeared on Benzinga.com