Stripe cofounder says Gen Z will need two college majors to compete thanks to AI—and investing legend Charlie Munger called it first

As AI takes over the routine tasks once designed to post-grad talent, leaders and young workers alike are questioning the value of a college degree. However, Stripe cofounder John Collison believes that going to school and doubling up on disciplines with two majors is the best way to stand out in the AI era—and the advice has long been echoed by business leaders, like the late legendary investor Charlie Munger. “If you understand software and understand finance—or if you understand software and understand marketing—you now can go massively improve the entire marketing funnel for your company,” Collison said on the TBPN podcast. “One person can do what would have taken 20 people dredging through all these systems.” The president of the $159 billion fintech company believes that double majors will have a leg up in leading successful careers. Young professionals can best market themselves by having a wide array of skills—adapability that’s key in an ever-changing workplace upended by AI. And Collison’s advice had been passed down by generations of business moguls. Warren Buffett’s business partner, Charlie Munger, has long promoted the power of ‘multidisciplinary thinking’ Munger—who was one of Warren Buffett’s closest business confidants, leading as Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman for decades—also promoted the power of drawing upon multiple disciplines of study. Throughout his decades-long career, the Wall Street icon lived through several technology transformations. But the core skill of cross-disciplinary expertise has never lost its luster. “Charlie Munger talked about the importance of being multidisciplinary,” Collison continued. “He thinks getting a functional understanding of many disciplines is not that hard. You can just go read the books now or you can talk to your AI about it,” he added. “I think multidisciplinary thinkers are going to do incredibly well.” The leaders who say broad thinkers have the edge in