Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing'

Value investing is the strategy of buying assets you believe are worth more than their current price

Famed investor Warren Buffett is known for building his empire with this strategy, which he learned from his mentor Benjamin Graham.

Value investing seeks to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth

Value investing specifically focuses on fundamentals like earnings, assets, and price-to-earnings ratios. In contrast, growth investing targets companies with rapid future potential, often trading at higher valuations. Both strategies offer unique paths to returns.

Warren Buffett’s investing advice includes never paying too high a price for any investment

Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and his investing philosophies are highly regarded and practiced around the world. His advice also includes investing in productive assets (like stocks, bonds, and real estate) and imagining what could go wrong before thinking about how much money you could make.

Warren Buffett began investing at 11 years old

He then bought his first property at 14 years old. From studying under the “father of value investing” to revitalizing a textile company into the largest holding company in the world, Buffett’s career is one of great financial success.

One of Warren Buffett’s investing principles is investing in well-managed companies

The "Founders" podcast reviews biographies of the world’s top entrepreneurs, and this episode explores a 2012 book about Warren Buffett. The episode includes Buffett's advice on becoming a better business manager and investor.

Warren Buffett first started investing in Geico in 1951

Buffett is known for his large collection of insurance investments, and Geico is no exception. This is partly due to investments from his mentor Benjamin Graham and a private, impromptu meeting with the company’s future CEO.

Eleven of modern history's greatest investors

The greatest investors have all made a fortune off of their success and, in many cases, have helped millions of others achieve similar returns. Read about the lives and approaches of Carl Icahn, Warren Buffett, George Soros, and more.

Warren Buffett is considered one of the most successful investors in history

Buffett is the former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a local resident of Omaha, Nebraska, and a billionaire. People often refer to him as the "Oracle of Omaha."

Jim Simons, mathematician turned government codebreaker turned trader, revolutionized quantitative investing

The late Jim Simons is remembered as one of the most successful (and profitable) hedge fund managers of all time. He went from physically gathering microfilm on commodities pricing decades ago to overseeing a firm that led Wall Street in daily trading volume.

Charlie Munger was Warren Buffett's right-hand man, serving as vice-chair at Berkshire Hathaway until his death in 2023.

Warren Buffett has said not investing in Google or Amazon early enough was a mistake on his part

After avoiding investing in tech stocks during the dot-com boom, Buffett's stance on investing in tech was widely criticized. Buffett later shared his thoughts on why he regrets not investing early enough.

'Founder mode' is the idea that founders should take a hands-on approach to running their businesses

In 2024, Y Combinator Cofounder Paul Graham wrote a viral manifesto of sorts about a strategy he calls "founder mode." It's the opposite of what Graham calls "manager mode," which allows founders to hire executives who he says ultimately run the company into the ground.

Read how Vanguard's founder used the S&P 500 to revolutionize retail investing

John Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, created a fund that tracked the S&P 500 in 1976. That fund created an unprecedented opportunity for individual retail investors, brought down fees across the board, and popularized the belief that passive, low-cost index fund investments would outperform actively managed portfolios long-term.

'Founder mode' is the idea that startup founders should take a hands-on approach to running their businesses

In 2024, Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham popularized the idea of "founder mode" when he wrote a viral manifesto in response to a talk that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky gave about leadership styles. Graham positioned the concept of founder mode as the opposite of manager mode—when founders hire executives and middle managers to run their companies and make decisions that Graham says are better left to founders.

Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham keeps a public archive of his insightful essays

In addition to cofounding Y Combinator and other companies before it, Paul Graham is a prolific writer and artist. He chronicled many of his thoughts while building Y Combinator in a series of dozens of candid essays, all of which you can read in an online archive.

In the early 2000s, Warren Buffett invested $1M in an index fund to show that passively managed investments would outperform hedge funds—making the point that actively managed funds are not worth the management fees they charge.

Warren Buffett's advice for middle-class investors includes "pay yourself first"

Warren Buffett might not be part of the middle class himself (he's one of the richest people in the world), but he still knows a thing or two about everyday personal finance tips. This article chronicles his six best pieces of advice for the middle class.

YC was partly inspired by an investor named Julian Weber

Y Combinator Cofounder Paul Graham’s former professor’s husband Julian Weber provided $10K in seed funding to Graham’s previous startup, Viaweb in its early days. In exchange, Weber received 10% of the company. Weber’s involvement inspired Graham to start a program where investors were more involved with the companies they contributed seed funding to.

Warren Buffett turned a struggling textile mill into Berkshire Hathaway

With Class A shares trading at over $700K per share, Berkshire Hathaway's high stock price reflects Buffett's decades of long-term investing, major acquisitions, and a philosophy that has reshaped modern finance.

Warren Buffett has been criticized for avoiding investing in tech stocks during the 1990s dot-com boom, as he wasn't confident in the future growth of the tech industry.

Warren Buffett retired at the age of 95

Buffett said that he would pull back from his day-to-day role leading Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. This long-form retrospective on his career paints him as an increasingly unique American role model.

Read the financial advice America's founding fathers gave, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.

Warren Buffett wrote a letter on why a seller should sell his business to his firm

In Berkshire Hathaway's 1990 Annual Letter, Warren Buffett included an edited version of a letter he sent to a man who indicated he might want to sell his family business. This short letter is a masterclass in selling and differentiating your product from the competition.

The dot-com stock bubble taught Howard Marks about markets

Annual investment letters from Howard Marks, the billionaire cofounder of top distressed debt shop Oaktree Capital Management, are required reading on Wall Street. The prolific writer and investor explains the distinction between the folly of trying to time the market and the necessity of paying attention to market cycles. The difference makes all the difference in returns.

Watch Ray Dalio break down his 'holy grail' investment strategy

As a hedge fund manager, Dalio's investment strategy relies on insulating investments from economic downturns. To do this, Dalio attempts to diversify investments as much as possible while considering the correlation between industries and markets.

Listen to Ray Dalio break down his most valuable principles in life and work

Dalio's now-famous principles started out as a collection of rules the finance behemoth set for himself. Since then, the list has expanded, becoming required reading for all Bridgewater Associates employees. In 2017, Dalio published an expanded version of these rules called "Principles: Life & Work," which has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

Warren Buffett plays about 12 hours of bridge a week with Bill Gates

Known for being one of the most frugal billionaires alive, Buffett never spends more than $3.17 on breakfast (opting for either McDonald’s or Oreos). He also has New York Times front pages detailing horrible days on Wall Street hanging on his walls.

American Express is one of Warren Buffett's top stocks

Buffett's long investment in American Express is indicative of his highly principled investment strategy. Buffett often invested in longstanding businesses with strong core products and services. As of 2025, Buffett owned around 20% of all American Express stock, and his investment in American Express made up around 16% of his portfolio.

Track Warren Buffett’s real-time net worth

Buffett is worth many, many billions of dollars. As a self-made billionaire, he is the eighth-richest man in the world, and his real-time net worth changes daily.

Warren Buffett once referred to David Ogilvy as a genius

Buffett also owned stock in Ogilvy & Mather, David Ogilvy's advertising agency. This podcast episode dives into an overview of one of Ogilvy's best-selling books, "Confessions of an Advertising Man," which he wrote in part to grow his agency business.

In 1965, Warren Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway, a failing textile company

After buying bulks of its stock, Buffett then flipped Berkshire Hathaway into the most successful and largest holding company in the world, which owns companies like Geico, Duracell, and Fruit of the Loom.

Hear a finance professor answer questions about investing

From stocks and index funds to gold, a business professor at Duke University answers questions from the internet about investing.

Active investors try to 'beat' the stock market's performance

There are two primary types of investment strategies that professional investors use: active investing and passive investing. While active investors try to "beat" the stock market's performance, passive investors have a bit more faith in the system.

Former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is among the world's most generous philanthropists, having given away more than $68B.

How to make a billion dollars, with Brad Jacobs

Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur who has launched eight billion-dollar enterprises during his storied financial career. With companies focused in energy, waste, and more, Jacobs has stuck to a roll-up playbook of consolidating small players into one conglomerate within an industry, a common tactic of similar private equity firms. This podcast from Founders summarizes Jacobs' book detailing his approach.

Read about the 'gatekeeper' of the stock market, former index chair at S&P Global

David Blitzer, the former index chair at S&P Global, earned the nickname "gatekeeper" of the stock market after helping decide which companies made it into the S&P 500 for 24 years. Blitzer became a legend in the world of indexing and has a reputation for being even-tempered and always wearing a bow tie.

Largely considered to be the inspiration for Gordon Gekko in the movie 'Wall Street,' Ivan Boesky was one of the most high-profile white-collar criminals and faced a $100M fine for insider trading in 1986.

Time magazine named Ray Dalio one of the 100 most influential people in 2012

Dalio's profile, written by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, praised Dalio for his investment strategy and his deep understanding of economics, if unorthodox at times. Volcker particularly appreciated Dalio's support for the Federal Reserve's handling of the 2008 financial crisis. Dalio and Volcker were longtime friends—Dalio has referred to Volcker as "the most principled man" he knows.

The Wall Street Journal compiled the best parts of Warren Buffett's annual letters

Over the years, Buffett has quoted Yogi Berra and Mae West, as well as country songs and the Bible. Many turn to his letters as a source of inspiration and wisdom.

Joseph Kennedy Sr., President John F. Kennedy's father, became the first chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission in 1934.

Ray Dalio started his career as a golf caddy in Long Island

When Dalio was 12 years old, he worked as a golf caddy at the Links Golf Club. That's where he heard about the stock market for the first time and decided to invest in Northeast Airlines—the only stock he knew that was selling for less than $5 a share. Dalio ended up tripling his profit and became fascinated with the stock market—ultimately laying the foundation for his legendary career as a hedge fund manager.

Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle created the first index fund, the Vanguard 500, in 1976—but the fund didn't take off until the 1990s.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos emphasizes worrying about customers rather than competition

In a 1999 shareholder letter, Bezos wrote, "I constantly remind our employees to be afraid, to wake up every morning terrified. Our customers have made our business what it is, and we consider them to be loyal to us – right up until the second that someone else offers them a better service." Motivated by fear, the entrepreneur advocates consistent innovation, experimentation, and improvement to create a better customer experience.

The Yale model of investment allocation, explained

College endowment managers long held to the traditional allocation of 60% domestic stocks and 40% bonds. But Yale’s David Swensen developed a new approach: deprioritizing low-risk fixed income and liquid assets in favor of alternative investments to leverage endowments' long-term investment horizons and capture the “liquidity premium.”

Buffett is known for being extremely generous with his fortune

So generous that in 2010 he pledged to donate 99% of his money. He said this money “can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.” This letter is Buffett’s philanthropic pledge, which details his commitment to giving and how luck and privilege helped him accumulate so much money.

Dow Theory laid the groundwork for modern market analysis

Developed by Charles Dow in the late 19th century, Dow Theory argued that markets move in trends. Its principles—confirmation, trends and volume—still influence technical analysis today.

Read Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters from 1977 on

Each year, Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder letters are eagerly anticipated by employees and Buffett fans alike. A resource lists every single letter from 1977 and is great for anyone seeking a peek behind the curtain into Buffett’s brain through years of stock market booms and busts.

Peter Tuchman, who has worked on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange for over four decades and ranks among the most famous traders in history, is known as the 'Einstein of Wall Street.'

Meet Frederick Terman: Stanford University professor and the 'Father of Silicon Valley'

Stanford University professor Frederick Terman used to encourage his students to start their own tech companies. His advice led to the creation of Hewlett-Packard. He also established the Stanford Research Park, which helped develop many successful tech companies today. Terman is often called the "Father of Silicon Valley," because his ideology directly shaped the region's development.

The man who championed the ‘case method’ for higher ed later found it insensitive

The "case method" style of education is core to most MBA programs across the country. Recent research posits that Wallace Donham’s (who is credited with establishing the method as a force at Harvard Business School in the 1920s) views on the method changed in later years.