2015: How can someone build a network without going to a top business school?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hello, Mr. Munger and Mr. Buffett. Nirav Patel from Haverhill, Massachusetts.

What advice would you give to someone who’s trying to network with influential people but doesn’t have access to the alumni network of a top business school?

CHARLIE MUNGER: Let me take that one. I think you should do the best you can — (Laughter)

— playing the hand you’ve got.

WARREN BUFFETT: Charlie is very Old Testament on this. (Laughter)

He didn’t get much past Genesis. (Laughter)

Was his question that he didn’t have a lot of associations because of —?

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, he’d like to have you help him —

WARREN BUFFETT: — tap into —

CHARLIE MUNGER: — tap — do well without business school training. I never had any business school training, why should you have any? (Laughter)

WARREN BUFFETT: And actually, I would say the business school training, particularly in investments, was a handicap about 20 years ago when they were preaching efficient market theory because essentially they told you it didn’t do any good to try and figure out what a company was worth because the market had a price perfectly already. Imagine paying, you know, 30 or $40,000 a year to hear that. (Laughter)

CHARLIE MUNGER: You were very lucky to avoid a lot that you’ve avoided. (Laughter)

WARREN BUFFETT: How do you feel about your law school training, Charlie, while we’re on it? (Laughter)

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well I have a son-in-law who recently explained how modern profit-obsessed law school — law firms — work. He said it’s like a pie eating contest, and if you win, you get to eat a lot more pie. (Laughter)