Charlie Munger worked 12-hour shifts at a grocery store to earn $2

In 1959, Charlie Munger met his future business partner Warren Buffett at a dinner party in their hometown of Omaha. (File photo)

Charlie Munger, whose net worth was around $2.6 billion, started his career by working at a grocery store for 12 hours a day for $2. The deputy to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett died on Tuesday just a month shy of his 100th birthday.

Munger used to work as a clerk at Buffett & Son, an upscale grocery store run by Warren Buffett’s grandfather. But Munger never met the younger Buffett during their youth, LA Times reported. And he was ambitious.

As a child, the young Munger showed an aptitude for business when he began to rear hamsters to trade with other kids.

After high school, he enrolled at the University of Michigan but had to join the army during World War 2. Although he lacked a bachelor’s degree, Munger decided to apply to Harvard Law School in 1946. He was accepted after a family friend intervened and he ended up graduating with distinction. Munger then bagged his first law job at Wright & Garrett in Los Angeles.

In 1959, Charlie Munger met his future business partner Warren Buffett at a dinner party in their hometown of Omaha. Buffett, who was seven years his junior, cheekily told Munger that “law was fine as a hobby,” but that he could do better for himself as an investor, the Washington Post reported.

In two decades, Munger would go on to become Buffett's chief lieutenant at Berkshire Hathaway and attained a net worth of about $2.6 billion until his death, according to Forbes.

Thanks to Munger's advice and presence, Warren Buffett became one of the richest people in the world, and his company's value expanded to around $785 billion.

Read more: When Charlie Munger said his fans are ‘mostly nerds in China or India’