# Mohnish Pabrai

#entity #person

## Summary

Investor cited as the central case study in [[2026-06-15-how-to-get-rich-cloning]] and the namesake of the "Pabrai method" behind [[cloning-over-originality]]. Presented as living proof that shameless, total, multi-source cloning — not originality — is the fast path to mastery.

## Current Understanding

Per the source (claims as presented, not independently verified here):

- **Cloned Warren Buffett wholesale** after reading, at Heathrow, that Buffett returned 31%/yr for 40+ years: read every letter, watched every interview, attended the Berkshire annual meeting 20+ years, copied the morning routine, business structure, 5–6 hrs daily reading, and working alone. Outcome ~**$154M**.
- **Guru dakshina:** in 2007 paid **$650,000** for a charity lunch with Buffett, framed as the Hindu gift to a teacher when education is complete.
- **Multi-source cloning:** Buffett for investing, **Charlie Munger** for thinking, **Benjamin Graham** for principles, philosophers for life decisions — originality emerged from stacking proven systems nobody else combined the same way.
- **"10,000% or nothing"** — sampling single ideas is tasting, not cloning.

Buffett, Munger, and Graham appear here only as the sources Pabrai cloned; they are recorded on this page rather than as separate entities.

## Evidence

- Case study, figures, and the multi-source method — [[2026-06-15-how-to-get-rich-cloning]]

## Related Pages

- [[cloning-over-originality]] — the concept he anchors
- [[methodology-as-moat]] — the tension between a cloned method and a defensible one
- [[2026-06-15-how-to-get-rich-cloning]] — source

## Contradictions / Uncertainty

- All figures (31%/40yr Buffett return, ~$154M, $650k lunch) are stated by an advocacy video without citation. Broadly consistent with public accounts of Pabrai, but treat as claimed, not verified in this vault.
- The video is the only source; the framing is deliberately motivational.

## Next Questions

- Would a primary Pabrai source (his book/letters/talks) confirm the "clone the boring parts" emphasis, or is that the video creator's gloss?
- Does the cloning thesis survive in a field (unlike investing) where the cloned combination becomes public the moment you sell it? See [[cloning-over-originality]].