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Charles Munger, Jr.
| Charles Munger Jr. | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Spirit of Democracy |
| Role: | Chair |
| Location: | Palo Alto, Calif. |
| Affiliation: | Republican |
| Education: | • University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D., atomic physics, 1987) |
| Website: | Official website |
Charles T. Munger Jr. is an experimental physicist and political donor based in California. He is the son of Charles Munger Sr., who was a business partner of Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway.
Munger has been active in ballot measure campaigns, contributing funds to both support and oppose them in California. In 2025, Munger established a political action committee, No on Prop 50 - Protect Voters First, to oppose Proposition 50.[1] Proposition 50 was designed to allow the state to use a new, legislature-drawn congressional district map for 2026 through 2030. Click here to read more about Proposition 50.
Munger contributed to the campaigns for Proposition 11 (2008), which created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, and Proposition 20 (2010), which transferred congressional redistricting from the legislature to the commission.
Biography
Charles T. Munger Jr. earned a Ph.D. in atomic physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. He was an experimental physicist and worked at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.[2][3][4]
From 2003 to 2007, Munger served on the Curriculum Development and Materials Commission for the California Board of Education. He chaired the Mathematics Subject Matter Committee and Science Subject Matter Committee.[2][3]
As of 2025, Munger was a registered Republican. He served as chairperson of the Santa Clara County Republican Party from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University from 2013 to 2017.[5] Form 2013 to 2019, he was chairperson of the California Republican Party's Initiatives Committee. He was also a board member of The Lincoln Club of Northern California.[2][3]
Munger founded the organizations Spirit of Democracy, a political action committee, and Better Voting Methods.[6][7] According to Spirit of Democracy, "Most of the funding for Spirit of Democracy is provided by its chairman, Charles T. Munger Jr., who is responsible for selecting candidates and approving every independent expenditures done on their behalf, including television, radio and direct mail."[6]
Work and activities
Spirit of Democracy
Charles T. Munger Jr. founded the Spirit of Democracy California in 2012. A statement on the Spirit of Democracy California website states that the organization is a political action committee (PAC) that is "working to elect candidates who are committed to building an effective, efficient, functioning government that solves problems and treats tax money with respect."[8]
Munger also funded the Spirit of Democracy America "to provide independent expenditure support for candidates in... selected congressional districts."[9] As of 2025, Munger provides the majority of the funding to Spirit of Democracy.
The Spirit of Democracy website listed 28 candidates for elections between 2012 and 2024 that the Spirit of Democracy California supported. Additionally, it listed 10 candidates for elections between 2012 and 2024 that Spirit of Democracy America supported.
Support for Carly Fiorina's presidential campaign, 2016
In June 2015, Munger contributed $100,000 to C.A.R.L.Y for America, the political action committee founded to support Carly Fiorina's 2016 presidential campaign.
Spending on California ballot initiative campaigns
Redistricting initiatives
Between 2005 and 2025, Munger contributed to six redistricting-related ballot measures, supporting four and opposing two.
As of September 2025, his combined cash and in-kind contributions to these measures totaled $44.4 million. Munger contributed the most to Proposition 50 in 2025; as of September 2025, he had donated $30.1 million in cash contributions to the measure.
Munger explained his focus on redistricting in a 2010 interview with The New York Times, saying, "I would’ve been very welcome in Republican circles if I decided to go chuck 10 million in a bunch of races up and down the state to fight for Republican control of Congress. It isn’t a worthy ambition compared to doing this."[10] Similarly, Munger told Bloomberg, "I’m doing this to try to ensure voters have fair districts where representatives will compete for offices. Elected politicians are picking the voters, voters aren’t picking their representatives."[11]
| Year | Measure | Amount Contributed | Position | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Proposition 77 | $120,000 | Support | Defeated |
| 2008 | Proposition 11 | $1.4 million[12] | Support | Approved |
| 2010 | Proposition 20 | $12.2 million[13] | Support | Approved |
| 2010 | Proposition 27 | $12.2 million[13] | Oppose | Defeated |
| 2012 | Proposition 40 | $599,102 | Support | Approved |
| 2025 | Proposition 50 | $30.1 million | Oppose | On the ballot |
Other ballot measures
California Proposition 54, Public Display of Legislative Bills Prior to Vote (2016)
- See also: Proposition 54 (2016)
On November 16, 2015, Munger, along with two other co-sponsors, submitted a petition for an initiative, which became Proposition 54. The initiative prohibited the legislature from passing any bill until it had been in print and published on the internet for 72 hours before the vote.
Munger contributed 98% of the campaign's total funds. He contributed $10.7 million in in-kind contributions to support the initiative.
In the 2016 election, 65.4% of California voters approved Proposition 54.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
See also
- What is an influencer?
- Redistricting in California
- California Proposition 20, Congressional Redistricting Initiative (2010)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cal-Access, "Protect Voters First, Sponsored by Hold Politicians Accountable," accessed August 15, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Spirit of Democracy, "About Charles T. Munger Jr.," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Better Voting Methods, "Founder," accessed September 2, 2025
- ↑ California Watch, "The Rainmakers: California's top political donors, 2001-2011," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ Hoover Institution, "Board of Overseers," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Spirit of Democracy, "About the Spirit of Democracy," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ Better Voting Methods, "Our Purpose," accessed September 2, 2025
- ↑ Spirit of Democracy California, "Home," accessed September 16, 2025
- ↑ Spirit of Democracy America, "About the Spirit of Democracy," accessed September 16, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "Tackling Redistricting With Money and Zeal," October 7, 2010
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Berkshire Billionaire's Son Battles Soros on California Ballot," October 15, 2010
- ↑ Contributions above one million dollars are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 For the 2010 election, Munger contributed a total of $12.2 million to both support Proposition 20 and oppose Proposition 27. For more information on how Ballotpedia calculates campaign finance contributions, click here.
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