He had several extraordinary characteristics. His speed of thought was so great that most people were puzzled at how he could resolve a complicated question directly after having heard it. His mental training came from his rigorous study of mathematics, particularly geometry, which required close and exact reasoning before accepting or rejecting either a premise or a conclusion.
He had another extraordinary characteristic in the breadth and depth of his memory. This explains why he could read Greek, Latin, Spanish, and German. Even more remarkable, without having studied Spanish formally, he was able to translate a Spanish novel into literary English so professionally that it was accepted by an American publisher.
In his early years, Ben was both a skier and a tennis player. But his real pleasure was to exercise his mind over a wide range of subjects far beyond his specialties in the world of finance. He loved music, especially the major operas, for the wisdom of their lyrics, as well as their melodies. He had a private, but serious hobby of making improvements in the field of plane geometry. He actually patented several versions of a simplified protractor and a circular slide rule.
In sum, Ben Graham was such a rare combination of qualities [that] only those who knew him well over the years can do full justice to presenting the whole man. In the world of finance Ben’s epitaph will be as was Christopher Wren’s in St. Paul’s, “If you seek his monument—look about you.
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A voracious reader, Kahn devours everything except fiction, which adds little value to his search for investment ideas. In addition to reading several newspapers a day, he also reads scientific journals and technology magazines regularly. A close follower of the latest news and trends, he has read thousands of nonfiction books—most of which are heavily marked with his apt comments.
When asked how he has generated investment ideas for so many years, he responds that it is really all about absorbing numerous types of information, from economic news to science, from psychology to annual reports, and from financial journals to history, and then combining them to generate a broad perspective on the future.
He further explained, “Reading about science gives me an open mind! When European scientists discovered uranium and found that it could produce power, people thought they had had too much to drink. Many scientific ideas that sounded unbelievable in the early days of my life have now become reality, so it is important to read science books and to learn about the future.”
When hot ideas fall into his value territory during economic recessions and market corrections, Kahn buys. “Real investors should never feel bearish because the time to buy value is when markets go down!”
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He had another extraordinary characteristic in the breadth and depth of his memory. This explains why he could read Greek, Latin, Spanish, and German. Even more remarkable, without having studied Spanish formally, he was able to translate a Spanish novel into literary English so professionally that it was accepted by an American publisher.
In his early years, Ben was both a skier and a tennis player. But his real pleasure was to exercise his mind over a wide range of subjects far beyond his specialties in the world of finance. He loved music, especially the major operas, for the wisdom of their lyrics, as well as their melodies. He had a private, but serious hobby of making improvements in the field of plane geometry. He actually patented several versions of a simplified protractor and a circular slide rule.
In sum, Ben Graham was such a rare combination of qualities [that] only those who knew him well over the years can do full justice to presenting the whole man. In the world of finance Ben’s epitaph will be as was Christopher Wren’s in St. Paul’s, “If you seek his monument—look about you.
-------------------
A voracious reader, Kahn devours everything except fiction, which adds little value to his search for investment ideas. In addition to reading several newspapers a day, he also reads scientific journals and technology magazines regularly. A close follower of the latest news and trends, he has read thousands of nonfiction books—most of which are heavily marked with his apt comments.
When asked how he has generated investment ideas for so many years, he responds that it is really all about absorbing numerous types of information, from economic news to science, from psychology to annual reports, and from financial journals to history, and then combining them to generate a broad perspective on the future.
He further explained, “Reading about science gives me an open mind! When European scientists discovered uranium and found that it could produce power, people thought they had had too much to drink. Many scientific ideas that sounded unbelievable in the early days of my life have now become reality, so it is important to read science books and to learn about the future.”
When hot ideas fall into his value territory during economic recessions and market corrections, Kahn buys. “Real investors should never feel bearish because the time to buy value is when markets go down!”
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