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{{Short description|Chinese American investor and businessman (born 1966)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Li (surname 李)|Li]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{for multi|the Olympic slalom canoeist|Li Lu (canoeist)|the Chinese Paralympic athlete|Li Lu (sprinter)}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = Li Lu
| native_name        = 李录
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1966|4|6}}
| birth_place        = [[Tangshan]], Hebei, China
| education          = [[Nanjing University]]<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]], [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]])
| known_for          = Founder and Chairman of [[Himalaya Capital]]
| awards             = [[World Economic Forum]] Global Leader for Tomorrow (2011)
| module = 
{{Chinese
| child = yes
| s = 李录
| t = 李錄 or 李祿
| p = Lǐ Lù
}}
}}

'''Li Lu''' (Chinese: 李录; born April 6, 1966)<ref>{{cite LCAuth |id=n89102584}}</ref> 
is a Chinese-born American value investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of [[Himalaya Capital]]. Prior to immigrating to [[France]] and the United States, he was one of the student leaders of the 1989 [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|Tiananmen Square student protests]]. In 2021, he also co-founded [[The Asian American Foundation]] and serves as its chairman.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-04|title=Asian-American leaders launch US$250 million effort to combat hate|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3132136/asian-american-business-leaders-launch-us250-million-effort|access-date=2021-08-31|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Li Lu was born in April 1966, in [[Tangshan]], China. He was a survivor of 1976 [[Tangshan earthquake]], one of the deadliest in recorded history.<ref name=smithsonian>[https://americanhistory.si.edu/family-voices/individuals/li-lu "Family of Voices - Li Lu,"] Smithsonian, retrieved 25 August 2021.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Olcott |first=Eleanor |date=2023-09-07 |title=No other investor has a life story quite as unbelievable as Li Lu |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5308cd9f-037e-4524-a6d8-7388b3514199 |access-date=2024-04-09 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> During [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[Cultural Revolution]] of the 1960's, his parents were sent to labor camps by the government. As a consequence, he transitioned through multiple orphanages and caretakers as he grew up.<ref name=":0" />

In 1985, he went to [[Nanjing University]], where he majored in physics but later transferred to economics. In 1989, he participated in the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|Tiananmen Square student protests]] and became one of the student leaders. He helped organize the students and participated in a hunger strike. After the crackdown on the movement, he fled the PRC and went to [[France]],<ref>{{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><ref>https://www.lecho.be/entreprises/services-financiers-assurances/li-lu-l-elu-de-warren-buffett/8945955.html</ref> and then New York City at the age of 23, where his grandfather had received his PhD at [[Columbia University]].<ref name="smithsonian" />

In 1990, he published a book about his experience in China titled ''Moving the Mountain: My Life in China.'' The book was the basis of a 1994 feature-film documentary, ''[[Moving the Mountain (1994 film)|Moving the Mountain]]'', produced by [[Trudie Styler]] and directed by [[Michael Apted]], which probed the origins of the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square and the consequences of the movement in the lives of several of the movement's student leaders.<ref>''Moving the Mountain'', directed by Michael Apted (Los Angeles, CA: Hallmark Home Entertainment, 2000), DVD.</ref> The book recounts a symbolic marriage ceremony on May 22, 1989, between Li Lu and his then girlfriend, Zhao Ming, at the Heroes' Monument.<ref name="auto">Li Lu, ''Moving the Mountain'', 174.</ref> Students gathered at the wedding to congratulate the married couple and sang the "Wedding March," which gradually turned into "The Internationale."<ref name="auto1">Li Lu, ''Moving the Mountain'', 173.</ref> Chai Ling quotes Li Lu in her book as saying the marriage was meaningless.<ref>Ling Chai, A Heart for Freedom. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-4143-6246-5}}.</ref>

At Columbia, Li first enrolled in the American Language Program to learn English. He then studied in the School of General Studies and later transferred to [[Columbia College, Columbia University|Columbia College]]. He ended up joining the college, law school and business school over a six-year period.<ref name=smithsonian/> Li Lu was one of the first in Columbia's history to receive three degrees simultaneously: a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in economics, a [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]], and a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/students/organizations/cima/conference/2005/speakers.cfm |title=2005 Columbia Investment Management Conference |publisher=[[Columbia Business School]] |access-date=July 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620120703/http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/students/organizations/cima/conference/2005/speakers.cfm |archive-date=June 20, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==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>

==Philanthropy & other activities==
In May 2021, Li Lu alongside several Asian-American business leaders, including Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo, and Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba, launched [[The Asian American Foundation|The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)]] a nonprofit organization with $125 million in initial commitments from the board. TAAF's mission statement is to serve the 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in three key areas: anti-hate programs, education, and data and research.<ref name="ax">{{cite news |last=Ax |first=Joseph|title=Asian-American business leaders launch $250M effort to fight hate |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-foundation-launches-with-125-mln-business-leaders-combat-anti-asian-hate-2021-05-03/ |access-date=16 August 2021 |publisher=Reuters |date=3 May 2021}}</ref> Li Lu serves as co-founder and chairman of the board of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF).<ref name="taaf">{{cite web |url=https://www.taaf.org/our-team |title=Our Team |website=The Asian American Foundation |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> Since launch, TAAF has raised over $1 billion to support AAPI communities.<ref name="hadero">{{cite news |last=Hadero |first=Haleluya |title=Foundation raises $1 billion to fight anti-Asian hate |url=https://apnews.com/article/philanthropy-government-and-politics-business-99f4fed13cdc9938c4cbd6e156d701bb |access-date=16 August 2021 |publisher=Associated Press |date=20 May 2021}}</ref>

In January 2020, Li Lu co-founded the Guardians of the Angeles Charitable Foundation to combat the global COVID-19 crisis and now serves as Chairman of the Board of the Foundation.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2020/0518/For-US-China-groups-the-adversary-is-COVID-19-not-a-country "For US-China groups, the adversary is COVID-19 – not a country,"] The Christian Science Monitor, 18 May 2020, retrieved 15 September 2021</ref>

In May 2010, Li Lu helped to translate and publish the Chinese version of ''Poor Charlie's Almanack, The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger'' ({{ISBN|978-7-208-08994-5}}) in China and wrote a foreword for the book.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/480-1065538-2749247?ref=DT_BG&uid=480-1065538-2749247&prodid=zjbka03nwz |title=Chinese version of Poor Charlie's Almanack |publisher=Amazon.cn |access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref> In 2020, Li Lu wrote and published a book in China titled ''Civilization, Modernization, Value Investment and China''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Case Study: Li Lu's Investment in Timberland |url=https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1248023/case-study-li-lus-investment-in-timberland- |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.gurufocus.com |language=en}}</ref>

Li Lu currently serves as a trustee of [[Columbia University]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.columbia.edu/news/alexander-navab-and-li-lu-elected-columbia-board-trustees|title=Alexander Navab and Li Lu Elected to Columbia Board of Trustees {{!}} Columbia News|website=news.columbia.edu|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref> and [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Board of Trustees|url=http://www.bot.caltech.edu/trustees|website=www.bot.caltech.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016062450/http://bot.caltech.edu/trustees |archive-date=2021-10-16 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Recognition==
Li Lu was elected to [[The American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2020.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2020|title=New Members|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences}}</ref> He is a past recipient of the [[John Jay Award]] from Columbia College, the Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Award from the Congressional Human Rights Foundation, and the Reebok Human Rights Award. He is featured in the Smithsonian Institute's Family of Voices, a part of the ongoing twenty-year Exhibition, starting in 2017, "Many Voices, One Nation" at the National Museum of American History.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/family-voices/individuals/li-lu|title=Li Lu|date=2017-03-16|website=National Museum of American History|language=en|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>

==Published works==
* ''文明、现代化、价值投资与中国'' (''Civilization, Modernization, Value Investing and China'', 2020) ({{ISBN|9-7-87521-712-59-9}})
* Foreword to the Chinese Edition of ''Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger'' (2010) ({{ISBN|978-7-208-08994-5}})
* ''Moving the Mountain: My Life in China'' ({{ISBN|0-399-13545-6}})

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110583/ Moving the Mountain]'' at the [[Internet Movie Database]]
{{Columbia}}
{{1989 Tiananmen protests}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Lu}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American chairpersons of corporations]]
[[Category:American finance and investment writers]]
[[Category:American financial company founders]]
[[Category:American financiers]]
[[Category:American hedge fund managers]]
[[Category:American investment bankers]]
[[Category:American money managers]]
[[Category:American nonprofit businesspeople]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American venture capitalists]]
[[Category:Berkshire Hathaway people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Hebei]]
[[Category:Chinese dissidents]]
[[Category:Chinese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Chinese political writers]]
[[Category:Columbia Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Committee of 100]]
[[Category:Nanjing University alumni]]
[[Category:1989 Tiananmen Square protesters]]
[[Category:People from Tangshan]]
[[Category:Henry Crown Fellows]]