Seven Legendary Investors Who Redefined the Best Investors of All Time — And What They Can Teach You

As Charlie Munger once said, the most successful people aren’t necessarily the smartest — they’re the ones who never stop learning. If you want to become a better investor, learning from history’s greatest minds is the fastest shortcut.

The Titans: Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger

Warren Buffett stands as perhaps the most iconic figure in investing history. Since taking over Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, he’s transformed it into an $880 billion empire, achieving a 19.8% annual return compared to the S&P 500’s 10.2% over nearly 60 years. His golden rule? Stay in your circle of competence. Don’t chase industries you don’t understand.

Charlie Munger, Buffett’s decades-long partner, was equally brilliant. During his independent management period (1962-1975), he also achieved a 19.8% annual return. Munger taught Buffett that buying excellent businesses at fair prices beats mediocre businesses at bargain prices — a philosophy that shaped modern value investing.

The Value Investing Revolutionaries

Seth Klarman remains less known to mainstream investors, yet his Baupost fund has delivered approximately 20% annual returns since 1983. His cornerstone concept — margin of safety — suggests buying assets below their intrinsic value. This principle, so fundamental he titled his book after it, separates amateur traders from serious investors.

Hetty Green, born in 1834, proved that disciplined investing spans centuries. Once America’s wealthiest woman, she grew her $5-7 million inheritance into roughly $100 million through shrewd investing and extreme frugality. Her timeless mantra: “Buy cheap and sell dear, act with thrift and shrewdness, and be persistent.”

John Neff delivered equally impressive results through different methods. Managing Vanguard’s Windsor Fund for 31 years (1964-1995), he more than doubled S&P 500 returns by hunting undervalued stocks with low price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields.

Modern Masters and Game Changers

Joel Greenblatt democratized investing through his “magic formula” — a strategy to buy above-average companies at below-average prices. When he ran Gotham Capital hedge fund, it grew at a stunning 40% annual rate over 20+ years.

Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard and architect of index funds, revolutionized investing entirely. He proved that 92% of large-cap mutual funds failed to beat the S&P 500 over 15 years. His low-fee index funds eliminated the need to become a stock-picking genius — a gift that transformed retirement planning for millions.

The Universal Truth

Whether you follow the concentrated genius of Buffett, the margin-of-safety philosophy of Klarman, or the passive wisdom of Bogle, these best investors of all time share one trait: they learned relentlessly and stuck to their principles. The more you study their methods, the better equipped you’ll be to build real wealth.