Benjamin Graham: The Father of Investing

Ben Graham is a stock trader who wrote numerous books in investment, earning him the title “Father of Investing.”

Graham was born in London as Benjamin Grossbaum in 1894. His family migrated to the US when he was just one year old. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Columbia University. He worked with Newburger, Henderson and Loeb as a Wall Street researcher. Later, he became a partner and earned an annual salary of $500,000.

Graham and a stock broker named Jerome Newman formed a partnership in 1926. But a stock market crash in 1929 almost left Graham broke. Graham and Newman sold even their personal assets to help the partnership survive. The partnership continued until his retirement 1956. The venture never again experience losses. In fact, the partnership returned 17% to its investors.

Graham’s investment books included “Security Analysis” which Graham wrote with David Dodd in 1934, and “Intelligent Investor,” which Graham wrote in 1949 and was known as the Bible of investing. Both books have never gone out of printing.