Forbes Greatest Investing Stories [Hardcover]

Richard Phalon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0471356247 | ISBN-13: 978-0471356240 | Edition: 1

An exciting follow-up to the bestselling Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time
In the tradition of the bestselling Forbes(r) Greatest Business Stories of All Time, Forbes(r) Greatest Investing Stories focuses on profiles of fascinating people who have achieved success in a range of investing arenas. This volume chronicles old-time innovators like Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing; Hetty Green, the Street's first female stock picker; T. Rowe Price, founder of one of the largest mutual fund families; and Georges F. Doriot, the driving force behind the first publicly owned venture firm in the United States. Others featured include such modern-day legends as Tom Bailey, founder of Janus Funds; Marty Whitman, value investor supreme and manager of the Third Avenue Value Fund; and Muriel F. Siebert, the first woman admitted to the New York Stock Exchange. Packed with investing lessons, wisdom and even the story of the swindle of the century, Forbes(r) Greatest Investing Stories makes an engrossing read and a great gift for any investor or market mogul.

Richard Phalon (New York, NY) has been a contributing editor at Forbes since 1980. He covered personal finance, Wall Street, urban affairs, and politics at the New York Times for sixteen years before joining Forbes. He is the author of The Takeover Barons of Wall Street and Your Money: How to Make It Work Harder Than You Do.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Going on the idea that experience is the best teacher, Phalon (a Forbes magazine contributing editor) has rounded up 10 mini-essays profiling the business ideals of some of Wall Street's most successful investors. Each chapter opens with a photo, along with a caption explaining the mogul's claim to fame. The author pays homage to eccentrics (like Hetty Green, a feared stock picker in the late 19th century) and simple geniuses (including George Doriot, whose formula "bet the jockey, not the horse" was his lasting contribution) alike, making this an interesting if not pragmatic guide to investing.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Going on the idea that experience is the best teacher, Phalon (a Forbes magazine contributing editor) has rounded up 10 mini-essays profiling the business ideals of some of Wall Street's most successful investors. Each chapter opens with a photo, along with a caption explaining the mogul's claim to fame. The author pays homage to eccentrics (like Hetty Green, a feared stock picker in the late 19th century) and simple geniuses (including George Doriot, whose formula "bet the jockey, not the horse" was his lasting contribution) alike, making this an interesting if not pragmatic guide to investing. (Publishers Weekly, September 10, 2001)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471356247
• ISBN-13: 978-0471356240
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,985,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History repeats itself..., October 26, 2008

By 

Ilya Grigorik "igrigorik" (San Francisco, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forbes Greatest Investing Stories (Paperback)

Richard Phalon offers a somewhat eclectic array of biographies ranging from Benjamin Graham and Tom Bailey as marquee value investors, to Anthony "Tino" De Angelis who tried to corner the market for soybean oil (in a huge scam), and finishing the book with a discussion of George Doriot's philosophy (founder of the Venture Capital industry, as we know it). Clearly, not every individual qualifies for the 'Greatest Investor' title, but all of them had one thing in common: large amounts of money circulated through their hands.

Perhaps one of the more surprising takeaways from the book is the focus on value investing. The basics of earnings and cash flows, as well as knowing when to take the cash off the table are repeating patterns no matter the industry, time, or place. An insightful read given the current turbulence in the markets - it is somewhat surprising how timeless many of the principles Richard Phalon identified really are.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great lessons, lacking in style, July 6, 2002

By 

obediah (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forbes Greatest Investing Stories (Hardcover)

This book tracks the stories of some of the most successful investors in the history of Wall Street. It contains fundamental lessons and the anecdotes it contains are being repeated throughout the world today. Scandals, overly aggressive accounting, generous executive options, corporate greed, folly all have been well documented in this book and all are manifesting themselves today in the form of Anderson, Enron, Worldcom and so forth.

I like this book because it focuses on fundamentals. The most successful investors invariably focus on value stocks and long term growth. They look for basics such as earnings and cash flows. They look behind the accounting numbers and are not bamboozled by glossy brochures or big name executives. A wise investor would not have been sucked up by the dot com hype. They would have seen the companies for what they were, overpriced flash-in-the-pans.

Whilst this book contains many valuable lessons, the style was dry and at times difficult to get through. So, whilst the book is not an entertaining read, anyone interested in purchasing quality stocks should definitely have a look at this book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Relevant, December 7, 2001

By 

llama1300 (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forbes Greatest Investing Stories (Hardcover)

Reading this reminded me that bad ecomonic news can create terrific opportunities in the market-- the moral of the story of the very first story, which talks about Benjamin Graham and his protoge Warren Buffett! It was eerie how similar the "Investors Beware" chapter about the CUC/HFS International debacle is to what's currently going on with Enron: "If the 'story' behind the stock seems too good to be true, it probably is." A great read -- the author truly seems to love and relish what he's talking about and I learned a ton that heartened my sagging investing confidence (and hopefully my sagging portfolio as well).