Irving Kahn: Value Investor at 107 Years Old

Imagine working 5 days a week even when you are 107, almost 40 years past most people’s retirement age. That is Irving Kahn, the value investor and stock picker who works not because he has to but because he loves his work so much.

This is quite akin to Warren Buffett, who often says he ‘tap dances’ to work everyday. It is no coincidence that both have built very impressive investment track records over time.

As Charlie Munger quips in his USC Law School Commencement Address, you need to have an ‘intense interest’ in a particular subject if you want to excel in it. Success and mastery in investing requires an intense interest and willingness to spend your entire life learning as much as you can, particularly about businesses and competitive dynamics.

Irving Kahn was also a student of Benjamin Graham – one of the few investors still alive today who worked directly for this legendary father of value investing. Graham taught the ‘net-net’ approach to investing and employed a statistical approach to fish out bargains in the stock market. Irving Kahn and Warren Buffett both started out with the Graham approach when they first started investing.

Read more in Jason Zweig’s WSJ column here: The Intelligent Investor: Irving Kahn The 107-Year-Old Stock Picker.

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