Warren Buffett-widely considered the most successful investor of all time-has repeatedly acknowledged Benjamin Graham as the primary influence on his investment approach. Indeed, there is a direct line between the record-shattering investing performance of Buffett (and other value investors) and Graham's life. In six books and dozens of papers, Graham-known as the "Dean of Wall Street"-left an extensive account of an investing system that, as Buffett can attest, actually works! This biography of Benjamin Graham, the first written with access to his posthumously published memoirs, explains Graham's most essential wealth-creation concepts while telling the colorful story of his amazing business career and his multifaceted, unconventional personal life. The author distills the best from Graham's extensive published works and draws from personal interviews he conducted with Warren Buffett, Charles Brandes, and many other top US and global value investors, as well as Graham's surviving children and friends. Warren Buffett once said, "No one ever became poor by reading Graham." Find out for yourself by reading Carlen's lively account of Benjamin Graham's fascinating life and time-tested techniques for generating wealth. ""Far from enough has been written about Benjamin Graham, who thoroughly debunked the efficient market hypothesis decades before it was formulated. The Einstein of Money provides a lucid introduction to Graham and his ideas, and as such does investors a real service. Its message is an essential one." -HOWARD MARKS, chairman, Oaktree Capital Management“Benjamin Graham's teachings have stood the test of time. Joe Carlen is wise to recognize this and direct his attention and ours to my mentor's teachings and life story.”-IRVING KAHN, CFA, chairman of Kahn Brothers Group, Inc.“This well-researched book has some wonderful additional personal items about the father of value investing. It also includes a good discussion of the important basic principles of investing as put forth by Benjamin Graham.”-CHARLES H. BRANDES, chairman, Brandes Investment Partners, LP“I am heartened by Joe Carlen's book about my namesake, Benjamin Graham. It reminds me that one cannot be an ‘intelligent investor' without understanding Graham's work.”-THOMAS GRAHAM KAHN, CFA, president of Kahn Brothers Group, Inc. Joe Carlen is the cofounder and lead market analyst at Know Thy Market, LLC. He is the coauthor (with Banana Boat® founder Robert Bell) of the business biography From Lifeguard to Sun King , which was included on the Wall Street Journal business book bestseller list. THE EINSTEIN OF MONEY The Life and Timeless Financial Wisdom of Benjamin Graham By Joe Carlen Prometheus Books Copyright © 2012 Joe Carlen All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61614-557-6 Contents Acknowledgments..................................................................7Introduction.....................................................................9Chapter 1. Losing It All.........................................................17Chapter 2. The Margin of Safety..................................................35Chapter 3. Top of the Class......................................................57Chapter 4. Numbers Don't (Usually) Lie...........................................79Chapter 5. The Original Security Analyst.........................................99Chapter 6. All or Nothing—Investors as Business Owners.....................121Chapter 7. Dizzying Heights and Shuddering Depths................................141Chapter 8. The Folly of "Mr. Market".............................................163Chapter 9. New Beginnings........................................................181Chapter 10. Keynes, Hayek, and Graham?...........................................199Chapter 11. An Eager Young Student from Omaha....................................221Chapter 12. Disciples of Value...................................................241Chapter 13. Stranger Than Fiction................................................261Chapter 14. The Ethics of Money..................................................281Chapter 15. Of Perpetual Value...................................................301Appendix.........................................................................317Glossary.........................................................................321Notes............................................................................323Index............................................................................359 Chapter One LOSING IT ALL Benjamin Grossbaum was born in London, England, in 1894, toward the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. Grossbaum was his legal surname until his family "Americanized" it to Graham roughly twenty-three years later (for the sake of clarity and consistency, our subject will generally be referred to as Graham throughout the book). His father, Isaac, was born in Britain and was proud of his