Warren Buffett's right-hand man doesn't like gold any more than his boss does, Charles Munger told CNBC Friday on the eve of Berkshire Hathway's annual meeting.
"Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939," the Berkshire vice chairman said, "but I think civilized people don’t buy gold, they invest in productive businesses."
Munger, 88, said he loves Berkshire Hathaway's [BRK.A 121950.00 150.00 (+0.12%) ] portfolio of such businesses, which includes, among many others, the Burlington Northern railroad, specialty chemicals firm Lubrizol and Geico insurance.
"We just have a wonderful portfolio in business, if you average them out," Munger said. "By and large they're doing productive, useful work. It’s not outsmarting the computer systems in the trading markets."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47298734
Charlie Munger: "gold is a great thing to sew onto your garments if you're a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939 but civilized people don't buy gold"
...and yet:
David Einhorn: "I will keep a substantial long exposure to gold -- which serves as a Jelly Donut antidote for my portfolio. While I'd love for our leaders to adopt sensible policies that would reduce the tail risks so that I could sell our gold, one nice thing about gold is that it doesn't even have quarterly conference calls
Kyle Bass: "Buying Gold Is Just Buying A Put Against The Idiocy Of The Political Cycle. It's That Simple!"
and Howard Buffett: "I warn you that politicians of both parties will oppose the restoration of gold, although they may outwardly seemingly favor it. Also those elements here and abroad who are getting rich from the continued American inflation will oppose a return to sound money. There is no more important challenge facing us than the restoration of your freedom to secure gold in exchange for the fruits of your labors."
The uncivilized people have spoken, and the winner is...
A Whole Lot Of Uncivilized People Out There... 
