Berkshire's Charlie Munger Says Not Buying Google Was a Mistake

(Bloomberg) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s profits earned betting on Apple Inc. may atone for missing out on other technology giants, Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said.

Munger said he gives himself a pass for not predicting Amazon.com Inc.’s ascent, since Jeff Bezos is a “miracle worker.” But he decreed that not buying shares of Google was a big mistake.

“We just sat there sucking our thumbs,” Munger, who spent much of the company’s Q&A session nibbling on peanut brittle, said about not buying Google. “We’re ashamed.”

Berkshire is probably up more than $10 billion on its Apple investment after that company’s shares jumped 20 percent in the first quarter.

Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett said an investment made by one of his deputies in Amazon last quarter doesn’t depart from the value investing approach he’s used in his long career.

To contact the reporters on this story: Katherine Chiglinsky in New York at kchiglinsky@bloomberg.net;Hannah Levitt in New York at hlevitt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Matthew G. Miller

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