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greeting a chattering gaggle of children and grandchildren. A
flaxen-haired three-year-old says "Hi Grandad, hi Grandad," and when
Charlotte fails to get Charlie's attention, she simply takes his hand and
quietly walks beside him. Minutes later Charlie begins talking to the little
girl, as if he'd known all along that she was there. Charlotte glows, clearly
pleased that her strategy paid off. This is a big family, and competing for
the attention of the patriarch is a common occurrence.
    Daughter-in-law Sarah calls from the kitchen, "Charlie, Warren
called. Call him back."
    "Okay," shouts Charlie, but instead of going to the telephone, he
gives directions to his sons and to the houseman, Felipe Velasquez, as to
where various pieces of luggage (including an unwieldy bag of fishing
rods) are to be deposited.
    Felipe holds up a sturdy, plastic bait box that had been checked as
luggage on the Munger's three-leg flight from visiting friends in Maine to
Bemidji, the nearest airport to the Munger family lake houses in Northern
Minnesota. "Look," Felipe grins with delight. "Not dented!" The box holds a collection of newfangled lures that Charlie Munger, a certified billionaire, ordered from a television fishing show.

    When the fuss and flutter of his arrival at the Cass Lake retreat settles, Charlie goes to the only telephone in the house, which hangs on the
wall in the kitchen. There a gang of adult children (led by Sarah who is a
professional chef) is preparing dinner for the thirty family members and
friends on hand. A preteen granddaughter, Mary Margot, solemnly peels
carrots, alert for any mention of a fishing trip. Mary is smitten with fishing and is restless to check out the lake with her grandfather.
    Charlie glances around the kitchen, as if calculating the odds of carrying on a reasonably private conversation with his pal and business partner, the second richest man in the world, the Sage of Securities, Warren
Buffett. Nancy Munger comes to her husband's rescue. "It's a walk-around
phone Charlie. Just take it wherever you want and dial the number." As if
unconvinced that the phone has enough range to work outside or from an
upstairs bedroom, Charlie goes just around the corner into the living
room and punches in the telephone number that he knows by heart. Pandemonium continues in the rest of the house as Charlie plops down in a
lumpy upholstered chair to chat with Warren.
    "Mumble, mumble, mumble."
    Silence.
    "Mumble, mumble."
    Silence.
    "So it's the price that bothers you?" asks Charlie.
    Silence.
    "If you wait, I think you'll get your price."
    Silence. "Okay." Click.
    Though Charlie Munger's story begins in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 1, 1924, he clearly considers Star Island home. It is the place where
he has knotted a rope between his past, present, and future. The summer cottage has brought the family together during sad times, extremely
busy times, and especially later as the children grew up, scattered
around the world, and created families of their own. Charlie's grandparents vacationed there, his parents vacationed there, and over the years,
this collection of cabins on the small island in the middle of Cass
Lake, Minnesota, has become the family seat for Munger's eight children, fifteen grandchildren, and an assortment of aunts, uncles, nieces,
nephews, and cousins.
    The Munger family that gathers at the island each summer is an amalgamation of his, hers, and theirs. Charlie has two daughters from his first
marriage-Molly and Wendy. His wife Nancy has two sons from her first marriage-Hal and David Borthwick. Charlie and Nancy have four
children together-Charles Jr., Emilie, Barry, and Philip. All are married
with children now, except Philip, who is a graduate student in New
York City.

    We all think the island is central to the family," said Wendy Munger.
Star Island is the sort of community that is difficult to form in today's hectic urban centers. "If you've got a hole in the