How Li Lu Made His First $1 Million: Mohnish Pabrai on His Extraordinary Journey

Li Lu's Extraordinary Beginnings

• 💡 Li Lu was a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and had to be smuggled out of China.
• 🎓 He received a scholarship to Columbia University and simultaneously pursued three degrees (Law, MBA, undergraduate) while initially not speaking English.
• ✅ He excelled, being near the top of his class in all three degrees, an unprecedented achievement at Columbia University.

From Scholarship to Millionaire

• 💰 Li Lu ingeniously invested the "float" from his college scholarship money, which was provided for rent and expenses several months in advance.
• 📈 By the time he graduated from Columbia after 3-4 years, he had accumulated $1 million from these investments.
• 🌱 This early success demonstrated his ability to generate significant returns from small capital.

Charlie Munger's Endorsement

• 🤝 Charlie Munger, who typically doesn't give money to other managers, found it a "complete no-brainer" to invest with Li Lu.
• 🔍 Munger based his decision on Li Lu's historic record, recognizing him as someone "highly unusual" and destined for success.

Investment Philosophy & Traits

• 🧠 Li Lu is characterized as focused, driven, and a natural leader, comfortable navigating challenging situations like investing in Korea without language proficiency.
• 🎯 The key lesson is to look at a person's or company's track record and history, rather than their stated intentions or projections.
• ✨ Great investors and opportunities are often "anomalies," like Li Lu, Munger, Buffett, and Amazon.