Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger walks past a crowd at the annual Berkshire shareholder shopping day in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 3, 2019.
Munger was Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman Reuters / SCOTT MORGAN

Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett to build Berkshire Hathaway, died Tuesday at a California hospital. He was 99.

"Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation," Buffett said in a statement posted on the company's website.

Munger was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and worked at Buffett's grandfather's grocery store as a teenager.

He went to Harvard Law School, worked as a real estate attorney, hedge fund manager and became Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman in 1978.

Forbes estimates Munger's personal wealth at $2.6 billion.