Benjamin Graham.
by Benjamin Graham — Founder of value investing · The Intelligent Investor (1949)
Father of value investing. Author of Security Analysis (1934) and The Intelligent Investor (1949). Warren Buffett's professor at Columbia Business School and the foundational influence on his investment philosophy.
About Benjamin Graham
Benjamin Graham (1894-1976) is the founding figure of value investing. His two seminal books — Security Analysis (1934, co-written with David Dodd) and The Intelligent Investor (1949) — defined the analytical framework for buying securities at a margin of safety below intrinsic value.
Graham taught at Columbia Business School from 1928 until 1955, where his students included Warren Buffett, Walter Schloss, and a generation of investors who would go on to manage some of the most successful funds in financial history. Buffett, who took Graham's class in 1950-51, has consistently called The Intelligent Investor 'by far the best book on investing ever written.'
Graham's central contribution was the distinction between investment (purchase at a price meaningfully below conservatively-estimated intrinsic value, with margin of safety) and speculation (price-chasing without regard to value). His 'Mr. Market' allegory — depicting the market as a manic-depressive business partner whose mood swings create opportunity for disciplined investors — remains one of the most quoted pedagogical frameworks in investing literature.
