Charles Munger Jr., billionaire’s son behind ‘No on Prop. 50’ says he’s fighting gerrymandering – not helping Trump

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Television screens across California are flooded with campaign ads for Proposition 50, the Nov. 4 special election that could reshape the state’s congressional districts.

But behind many of the “No on 50” ads is one man writing the biggest checks: Charles Munger Jr.

The son of the late billionaire investor Charles Munger – longtime vice chairman of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway – Munger Jr. is largely a private figure. Yet this week, the physicist-turned-political activist stepped back into the spotlight – speaking publicly for the first time about why he’s poured more than $30 million into defeating Prop. 50.

“It’s one of the things I think I bring to the table,” he said. “Besides a wallet.”

In a rare press briefing on Wednesday, Munger explained how he stumbled into politics two decades ago, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first tried to change California’s political system by taking the redistricting powers out of the hands of state legislators.

MORE: Prop 50: Schwarzenegger urges voters to reject ballot proposal on redrawn congressional maps

In Schwarzenegger’s campaigns to establish California’s independent redistricting commission, Munger spent about $14 million total.

“Once I learned that that was a problem, I inherited money, I said to myself, well, this is something the geek can do,” he told reporters in a Zoom press conference.

In the years since, he has largely been out of the political limelight, but said he is involving himself again to fight for “ordinary” voters.

“I’m standing up for their chance,” Munger said. “The accidents of life put me in a position where I can understand what’s wrong with the political system. And I could figure out how to how to fix it. It’s been demonstrated to work twice in this troubled country.”

“The ordinary person who wants to make the government work for them… they can walk the precincts, they can ring the doorbell, they can call their neighbors and they can vote, but they can’t break the gerrymander,” he added.

California Democrats pushing to redraw maps mid-decade could net them at least five new U.S. House seats, which Gov. Gavin Newsom said is designed to offset a new Texas gerrymander that aims to shore up Republicans five seats.

MORE: Democrats, Republicans introduce bills to ban mid-decade redistricting nationwide

“I loathe Texas gerrymandering. I loathe mid-decade gerrymandering,” he said. “It was a national outrage, but the way to beat it is not to become like it.”

Newsom’s “Yes on 50” campaign argues Prop. 50 is about ensuring California isn’t outmaneuvered by Republican-led states like Texas.

One of the campaign’s TV spots accuses Munger of “spending millions to help Trump rig the election.”

Munger rejects that characterization.

“If you ask anyone who knows me whether they would describe me as a MAGA anything,” he said, “they would say, ‘Who are you talking about?'”

Prop. 50 has quickly become one of the most expensive ballot fights in the nation – and one that could shape the balance of power in Congress.

MORE: New poll: California Latinos split on Prop. 50 as campaigns ramp up outreach

“We need to ensure that the 2026 midterm elections are conducted on a fair playing field,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Wednesday at a pro-Prop. 50 rally. “We can’t sit quietly while they steal congressional seats, rig the next election, and ruin our democracy.”

Munger, meanwhile, warns that dismantling California’s independent system would erase the country’s best example of fair mapmaking.

“If you tear down the only model in the United States where redistricting reform is universally acknowledged to be both fair and effective, then there is no refuge,” he said.

With early voting now underway, both sides are racing to convince Californians which version of “fairness” they believe in.

Munger told ABC7 News he’s open to helping on a federal level if Congress ever considers a nationwide ban on gerrymandering. He points to his 2015 work in Arizona, where he fought to preserve that state’s independent redistricting system, as proof of his bipartisan bona fides.

“If my phone rung saying, ‘we need you in Washington to represent the reform in California so we can do it,’ I would have saluted and said, ‘okay, I’m here,'” he said.