We all love the story of the dirt-poor person overcoming past adversity and rising to make the big bucks, triumphing over society and all its ills. While today’s millionaires and billionaires do not all share such a romantic background, many have preserved and worked hard to get to where they are today.
So whether you’re just trying to save a few extra dollars or looking to make a sizeable investment in the stock market, take a look at the lives of these eight millionaires who’ve made their money in the stock market:
Benjamin Graham (1894-1976)
He’s been cited as the influencer of Warren Buffet, Irving Kahn, and David Dodd, among others. British-born American professional investor Benjamin Graham is considered as the father of value investing, an investment approach where, in simplistic terms, one buys securities that appear underpriced. Graham taught this approach at Columbia Business School and in his book with Dodd, Security Analysis (1934). His legacy is profound, to say the least.
Philip Fisher (1907-2004)
Philip Fisher is for many considered the father of investing in growth stocks. In 1931 at the age of 24, he started his own investment firm, Fisher & Company. Fisher managed this firm for nearly seven decades, retiring in 1999 at the ripe old age of 91. Most famously, Fisher bought Motorola stock in 1955 and held it until his death in 2004. His legacy also continues through his book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits (1958).
Muriel “Mickie” Siebert (1928-2013)
Mickie Siebert holds several incredible records. The ‘First Woman of Finance’ was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the first woman to head one of its member firms. When she began working, investment firms did not hire women beyond the role of secretaries. Despite this, Siebert obtained entry-level positions and eventually founded brokerage firm Muriel Siebert & Co, getting it registered on the NYSE after numerous rejections.
John “Jack” Bogle (1929-present)
Most well known for his bestselling book Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor (1999), businessman Jack Bogle began his mutual fund company The Vanguard Group after being fired from his job at the Wellington Management Company. Today, Vanguard Group manages approximately $2.0 trillion in assets and much of its success can be attributed to Bogle’s leadership.
Warren Buffet (1930-present)
American business magnate, investor, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffet began investing in 1954 with just over $100. Today, he is worth over $20 billion and consistently named one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. Called the “Wizard of Omaha”, Buffet has accumulated his wealth primarily from investments in media, insurance, and consumer companies.
George Soros (1930-present)
It seems that 1930 was a good year to be born in. Known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England”, Hungarian-American business magnate George Soros has made a profound mark on the investment world, risking $10 billion on a single trade when he shorted the British Pound in 1992. Unlike many other top investors, he does not possess a clearly defined strategy, instead choosing to go with his gut feeling. If it works for him, then great!
Peter Lynch (1944-present)
American businessman and stock investor Peter Lynch has a reputation as being one of the world’s best fund managers, thanks to his management of the Fidelity Magellan Fund for over 13 years. Under his guidance and leadership, assets under management have grown from $20 million to over $14 billion along with an average annual return of 29%. Impressive, to say the least!
Mary Meeker (1959-present)
Mary Meeker is an American venture capitalist and former Wall Street securities analyst who specializes in the Internet and new technologies. A partner at Kleiner Perkin Caufield & Byer, Meeker has been called an internet oracle thanks in part to her piece “The Internet Report” that she wrote for Morgan Stanley in 1995. Since then, Meeker has been involved in many of the big investments and acquisitions of recent times, as well as investing in new investments such as Spotify and Groupon.
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