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Mentor Series: Benjamin Graham
Columbia Business School brought Benjamin Graham to the spotlight. Born on May 9th 1894. 'The father of value investing' saw his childhood life taking a u-turn after his family lost their fortune in the 1907 panic. His family had to endure poverty when his father died prior to the ensuing panic. He had to thus be raised by his mother. This draining series of incidence in succession saw his life being shape in a different direction. That notwithstanding, he persevered and entered the University of Columbia just by the age of 16 and excelled as a student: completing his degree in three and a half years. He then decided to secure a job on Wall Street to help his struggling mother. While in school at Columbia, a scholarship helped sustain him. On Wall Street he excelled. He began practising value investing from his incipient days in trading. Nevertheless, he lost almost all his money in the 1929 crash. Although he is much known for his books: Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor with the former inspired by his investment ruin in 1929. He was mostly noted for his role as a tutor in Columbia. Where some of his students including Warren Buffett his most famous student sat under his tutelage. He also excelled after revamping his private practice with his mutual fund Graham Newmann where Buffett worked later. Benjamin Graham's core philosophy lied in value investing and he was popular for his proposition of a new standard to cap world currencies, rather than the gold standard. His Mr Market analogy explains how the market views investors, speculators and traders and how they should in turn view the market. Ben Graham's life teaches us to rise after any fall and make the best out of and from what we have as educators and as investors.