Editing Li Lu (section)

==Investment career==
{{Main|Himalaya Capital}}
Li was inspired to get into investment after hearing [[Warren Buffett]], a Columbia alumnus, give a lecture at Columbia in 1993. As detailed in the Foreword to the Chinese Edition of ''[[Poor Charlie's Almanack|Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger]]'', Li Lu found Buffett's lecture on the principles of investing in the stock market "concise, logical and convincing."<ref name="foreword">Louis Li, [https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5ef3c7300432b40ed865991a/5ef3c7300432b4440a659983_Li%20Lu%20-%20Foreword%20to%20Chinese%20Edition%20of%20PCA%20(English%20translation).pdf "Foreword,"] ''Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger'', Chinese Edition, retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref> Shortly thereafter, Li Lu began investing in stocks while a student at Columbia University.<ref name="pulliam">{{cite news |last1=Pulliam |first1=Susan |title=From Tiananmen Square to Possible Buffett Successor |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703977004575393180048272028 |accessdate=19 August 2021 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=30 July 2010}}</ref>

He began his career in investment banking as a corporate finance associate at [[Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette]] in 1996. In 1997, he founded [[Himalaya Capital]], known for its disciplined and value-oriented approach to investing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://asiasociety.org/files/uploads/467files/Li%20Lu%20bio%20012115.pdf|title=Asia Society|last=Li|first=Lu|date=2012|access-date=May 4, 2016}}</ref>

[[Charlie Munger]], vice-chairman of [[Berkshire Hathaway]] and a long-time partner of the legendary investor [[Warren Buffett]], was one of the investors of his fund, and a "mentor and good friend" (in Li Lu's own words).<ref>[http://www.iceo.com.cn/ttiao/2010/0521/194188.shtml Li Lu's Foreword for the Chinese version of Poor Charlie's Almanack] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524125802/http://www.iceo.com.cn/ttiao/2010/0521/194188.shtml |date=May 24, 2010 }}</ref> Li Lu met Charlie Munger on Thanksgiving 2003 and they had been lifetime friends.  Munger has stated that Li Lu is the only outside manager he has ever invested with and has described him as the "Chinese Warren Buffett."<ref name="reuters">Jonathan Stempel, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dailyjournal-munger/charlie-munger-targets-active-managers-elon-musk-praises-china-idUSKCN1Q32V7 "Charlie Munger targets active managers, Elon Musk; praises China,"] Reuters, 14 February 2019.</ref>

Li Lu's investing mantra is "accurate and complete information," including understanding the character of a CEO by visiting his local church and speaking to his neighbors.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Value Investment Institute|date=September 1, 2010|title=Buffett-ites or Bluff-it-ites?|url=http://www.valueinstitute.org/imgdir/docs/6624_Buffett-ites_or_Bluff-it-ites.pdf|journal=Value Investment Institute|access-date=July 5, 2016|archive-date=November 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103194910/http://www.valueinstitute.org/imgdir/docs/6624_Buffett-ites_or_Bluff-it-ites.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref> He believes the most important thing in investing is intellectual honesty, recognizing that there is always a possibility that "you don't know that you don't know."<ref name="GD">{{cite magazine |date=Spring 2013 |title=Li Lu — Know What You Don't Know |url=https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/valueinvesting/sites/valueinvesting/files/files/Graham%20%26%20Doddsville%20-%20Issue%2018%20-%20Spring%202013_0.pdf |access-date=2021-09-23 |magazine=Graham & Doddsville |publisher=Columbia Business School |location=New York}}</ref> According to a 2021 interview by Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Greenwald, Li Lu's investment strategy attempts to identify and invest in long-term compounders, focusing on the nature of a business' competition "such that one could predict the outcome in 10 years, even with all the up and downs in the macro environment" which he says is the most important.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latticeworkinvesting.com/2021/04/13/li-lu-value-investing-in-china-full-transcript/ |title=Li Lu: Value Investing in China, Full Transcript|first=Richard|last=Lewis|work=Latticework Investing|date=April 13, 2021|access-date=September 25, 2021}}</ref>

Li Lu has been known as the man who introduced the Chinese battery and electric car maker [[BYD Company]] to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. He is an informal advisor to BYD. His investment partnership owns about 2.5% of BYD.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/04/13/buffetts-chinese-electric-car-company/ |title=Buffett's Chinese electric car company |publisher=Marcgunther.com |date=April 13, 2009 |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-date=May 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520205555/http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/04/13/buffetts-chinese-electric-car-company/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Li was rumored to be the front runner to manage a large portion of [[Berkshire Hathaway]]'s investment portfolio once Warren Buffett steps down. A report in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' quoted Charlie Munger as saying he regards it as "a foregone conclusion" that Li Lu would be one of Berkshire's top investment officials after Warren Buffett retires. This was also hinted several times in some conversations with Buffett.<ref name="pulliam"/> In 2010, it was revealed that Li Lu had withdrawn himself from consideration for the job.<ref name="ovide">{{cite news |last1=Ovide |first1=Shira |title=Todd Combs: For Buffett, Is Good Help Hard to Find? |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DLB-28098 |accessdate=19 August 2021 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=26 October 2020}}</ref>