The bet was not a million dollars, the total winning pool was a million dollars. Actual bet was a $320,000 each put into a zero coupon bond that would mature into a million dollars at the end of ten years for the charity. Through agreement, the betting participants then market timed the proceeds selling the zero coupon bond at a peak in bond prices and put all the money into a single stock BRK, resulting in the funds invested outperformed the hedge fund pools, the S&P 500 and BRK during this entire period. They did not invest the proceeds in an index fund, they were in 100% single zero coupon bond and then a single stock. Watching what people actually do with money rather than what they say you should do is much more profitable.
You will note with Warren that he always advocates index funds and never uses them.
I like what I read about Charlie Munger once when he was asked what he was stripped of all his money. I would work to get some money and invest in the best individual stocks I could find and get rich again, I don’t think it would be much of a problem for me.
