Benjamin Graham, the Father of Value Investing

Before Warren Buffett was making a name for himself as the Oracle of Omaha, there was another investor who would secure a spot in history for his contributions to the financial world. One of the most prominent investors in history, Benjamin Graham is commonly referred to as the father of value investing. In fact, without him, Buffett may have never become a household name; he was his teacher, after all.

An Historic Legacy

Graham began his career on Wall Street and went on to open successful mutual funds and teach at establishments like Columbia Business School and the University of California. Through his various mutual funds, hedge funds, holding companies, and more, he laid the groundwork for what was to become known as value investing. A businessman at heart, he famously said, “Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike,” meaning investing is much like a business. It’s an effort to maximize your chances of earning a good return and reduce your chances of suffering a major loss.  

He championed the creation of index funds decades before they existed. In addition to Buffett, well-known investors like Charles D. Ellis, Mario Gabelli, Seth Klarman, Howard Marks, John Neff, and Sir John Templeton were all influenced by Graham in some way.

Though some of Benjamin Graham’s concepts around investing have become outdated (he retired from active investing in 1956, after all), most of them still retain relevance. In fact, the two books he wrote on investing are still used as required reading for new investors at firms around the world.

Notable Achievements and Dates

• Security Analysis was published in 1934.
• The Intelligent Investor was published in 1949.
• Published 8 papers across various financial and law journals.
• Made significant contributions to economic theory, including a proposal for global currency as an alternative to the gold standard.
• Died on September 21, 1976 at the age of 82.

For all of his economic philosophies, one impactful concept he believes strongly in was relatively simple: “You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.”