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What makes some one an influential investor?

I like to think of the most influential investors as those who strive to teach an audience. It’s not just about how much wealth they have accumulated. Many investors go out of their way to help others find success.

Another concept I wanted to mention is something I’ve used to learn everything I have about investing. Instead of trying to create something new, I started reading about every highly rated investor I could find.

Too often people think they have to invent something from scratch to be successful. The truth is you can be successful from learning from the mistakes of others.

When I first started investing and opened my first brokerage account, I didn’t know what I was doing. I made some mistakes but luckily I didn’t have much money to invest with. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I asked myself who’s the best at doing this and how can I learn from them? Why would I try and create my own strategy when theirs someone else who has already mastered it?

This is why you’ll find plenty of Warren Buffett quotes on my website.

I believe that learning from someone else’s mistakes and pursuing what they have already figured out is smart. With that said, here are not only the best investors I’ve studied but some of the best teachers as well:

Buffett is arguably the single greatest investor of our time. It’s hard to argue against as he has built a fortune surpassing 100 billion dollars.

Not to mention he has already donated a large sum of money. Warren is also on the giving pledge. This document is a list of names that have agreed to donate almost all of their fortune during their life or in their will.

What makes Warren the most influential investor is his ability to teach others.

I have learned so much just from paying attention to the short quotes he is known for. Any investor can find insight in his sayings when you stop and think about it. He is best known for his first rule of investing: “Don’t lose money”. Also his second rule: “Remember rule number 1”. Someone might read this and just think that it is meant to be a joke. The truth here is that Buffett is telling us not to sell a stock when we get fearful.

2. Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham could easily be regarded as the most influential investor of all time.

Known as the father of value investing, Ben Graham was a professor at Colombia University. He started the concept of value investing with his principles known as a margin of safety, intrinsic value and the difference between buying an investment and a speculative vehicle. He first mentioned these in his classic book, The Intelligent Investor-The Definitive Book on Value Investing.

Here, Graham laid the groundwork for what many of us, including Warren Buffett, would use to buy investments.

Without this publication, it is quite possible that investors like Buffett may have never amassed the fortune that they have today.

His classic phrase of a true investment is still widely used: “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return”.

3. Charlie Munger

Most people know Charlie as being the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett. As Warren’s partner, he is also the mastermind behind a lot of the investments the firm has made.

Charlie has probably had a larger impact on the growth of Berkshire Hathaway than most people know. It was Charlie that got Warren to understand the concept of buying a great business at a fair price rather than a fair business at a great price.

Thus, it was Charlie who really pushed the principle of buying a business that was highly valuable. The best thing about buying a great business is that the compounding never stops. The competitive advantage that Charlie saw in these companies is what allowed them to continue to grow.

Some other interesting facts on Charlie is that he dropped out of the University of Michigan to join the army. Later, he graduated from Harvard Law without an undergraduate degree.

He also was a real estate attorney for some time before eventually teaming up with Warren. The two have spent the last several decades running one of the largest companies in the world. Berkshire Hathaway has grown too over a $700 Billion dollar market capitalization at its peak.

4. Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is the founder of the largest hedge fund in the world. He started Bridgewater Associates in 1975 and it has ballooned into one of the most well known firms of our time.

What makes him worthy of this list is his knowledge of the global economic system. On a global scale, I cannot think of anyone else that has a better general understanding. You can watch one of his videos here, how the economic machine works.

In Ray’s book, Principles: Life and Work, he talked about using algorithms to help his firm avoid market declines like in 2008. He was able to use information about commodity’s, future contracts, interest rates and other factors about the global financial system in these algorithms.

Rays hedge fund was one of only few to avoid the devastation that took place during the Great Recession. According to his book, not only did the firm avoid losing money, it actually was positive in 2008.

The best reason Ray is a top influential investor is his devotion to his list of principles. Also talked about in the book mentioned above, Ray has used a list of principles he has created to help him not only at home but at work when he was building his company.

One example of Ray’s principles is simply, “be radically open minded”. This is one I’ve read from him several times. It is a simple principle but one that can be applied to everyone. It is essential in the investment world if one is going to avoid being biased.

5. Mohnish Pabrai

Mohnish Pabrai is a disciple of Warren Buffett and a well known value investor. He has adopted the buy and hold strategy and earned exceptional returns over the years.

After starting his own company, Mohnish came across a book on Warren Buffett and discovered his teachings on value investing. Since then, he sold his business to start his own investment firm.

What makes Mohnish essential to this list is his commitment to the value investing principles. He has the unique personality filled with patience and competence that is vital to building wealth. If you want to learn more about value investing principles, you should read this.

According to CNBC, he and Guy Spier listed below, once bid six figures just to have lunch with Warren.

6. Guy Spier

Guy Spier is best known for his book, The Education of a Value Investor.

In his book, he talks about getting started in his career as an investor. He started at a firm called D.H. Blair and speaks of the dishonest behavior he dealt with. It was instances like these that brought about the importance of having high ethical standards.

Since his start, he is now the manager of the Aquamarine Fund.

Guy is one of the most influential investors and should be known for his caring personality and philanthropy.

Other examples of his high morality come from his book mentioned above. He states that he has written three thank you notes to random followers for years. In summary, Guy believes it is a way of giving back to people.

There are many influential investors around the world. Who are some people that have influenced your behavior?