I’ve read several biographies of and books by notable investors who started their own investment firms: Howard Marks, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, T. Rowe Price, Mohnish Pabrai, Joel Greenblat, Adam Seessel, and more. They all mention value investing and its founder, Benjamin Graham. Graham was the only boss Buffett ever had, and Buffett still speaks well of his mentor, some 70 years after working for him. All this intrigued me and made me want to learn more about the man so many people hold in high regard. So I read The Einstein of Money, the biography of Benjamin Graham.

After reading this book, I understand why Graham developed the value-investing concepts that have endured for a century. His approach was the result of personal and professional pain. Graham watched his widowed mother struggle to raise her children, which left a deep scar on him. It made him aware of the value of money and motivated him to obtain it so he could have freedom and avoid what he endured as a child. After starting his own Wall Street investment firm, Graham lost substantial money in the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression—so much that his partnership almost went bankrupt and he had to move his family to a cheaper home and generate side income as an expert witness in legal cases to make ends meet. Graham reflected on what went wrong to cause all this pain. This led to insights that shaped his value-investing framework, which he documented in his investing classics Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor.

Graham went on to tremendous professional success, becoming a wealthy and highly respected investor and professor at Columbia and UCLA. But his personal life was filled with highs and lows. The lowest points were the deaths of his two sons. And he was imperfect and dealt with personal challenges, some of which led to marrying three times.

Graham was a brilliant person, and I now understand why so many accomplished investors respect him. His value-investing principles have endured the test of time, shaped the thinking of great investors like Buffett, and led to a cult-like value-investing movement.

I’m glad I read this book, and I want to read The Intelligent Investor too. Anyone interested in learning about the man Warren Buffett names as a major contributor to his success should consider reading The Einstein of Money.