Warren Buffett Reading List: 15 Investing Books Recommended by the Oracle of Omaha
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- Warren Buffett is the fourth wealthiest person in the world and one of the most successful investors of all time. He cites his love fo...
Warren Buffett is the fourth wealthiest person in the world and one of the most successful investors of all time.
He cites his love for reading as the foundation for much of that achievement, and in the 2017 HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett, the then 86-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO claimed to still spend “five or six hours a day reading.”
These days, he uses those hours to read general and financial news publications, along with as numerous as 500 pages of corporate reports each workday.
However, Buffett has read a substantial number of books over his lifetime , most of them related to business, economics and investing (as well as numerous biographies).
Below is a reading list that features some of Buffett’s favorite and most frequently recommended finance and investing texts, listed in chronological order based on original release date.
The books on this list span nearly seven decades, with the first having been published shortly after the onset of the Excellent Depression.
As such, reading each of these recommendations will give you valuable insight into not only Buffett’s personal investing philosophy, but also into the evolution of investing thought and theory over time.
Table of Contents
Toggle#1. Essays in Persuasion
Author: John Maynard KeynesFirst published in: 1931Synopsis: A collection of essays discussing various early-20th-century economic issues and how to solve them.
John Maynard Keynes was a British economist who was largely responsible for the post-WW2 economic order , now known as “Keynesian economics” (which he developed during the Excellent Depression).
Essays in Persuasion is a collection of Keynes’ essays in which he explores the various economic issues of his time.
Keynes covers topics such as post-WW1 European reconstruction, the Excellent Depression, the Russian Revolution, the Gold Standard and laissez-faire economics.
In each essay, Keynes tries to explain what he believed to be the right solution for each economic problem.
Discussing the recommendation in 1989, Buffett told Outstanding Investor Digest, “Reading Keynes will make you smarter about securities and markets, I’m not sure reading most economists would do the same.”
Consider this high praise for an economics book, as both Buffett and his longtime partner Charlie Munger have been critical of the field. Buffett was even quoted as saying:
“I don’t pay any attention to what economists say, frankly, Well, think about it. You have all these economists with 160 IQs that spend their life studying it, can you name me one super-wealthy economist that’s ever made money out of securities? No.”
Why is Keynes an exception? Simply put, he’s one of the 20th-century’s leading economic thinkers and played a crucial role in shaping and building the economic system we have today.
Related Reading: Charlie Munger on mental models - how to use them to make better financial decisions.
#2. Security Analysis
Authors: Benjamin Graham and David DoddFirst published in: 1934Synopsis: An advanced investing text that lays the foundation for the philosophy of value investing. Aimed at finance professionals.
Like Buffett himself, David Dodd was once Benjamin Graham’s student at Columbia University’s business school.
When Dodd became Graham’s colleague as a post-graduate, they co-wrote Security Analysis , a book that went on to become one of the most key investing texts ever published.
As a value investing book, Security Analysis emphasizes the careful analysis of financial statements. In doing so, investors can find stocks that are trading for less than they should be based on their financials.
Buffett learned under Graham as a student at Columbia, and eventually went to work for him in New York. Graham is considered the most influential person in shaping Buffett’s investment philosophy, with the Berkshire chairman claiming that 85% of his investing approach is derived from his former teacher and boss.
This is an advanced textbook on value investing. Graham’s more popular book, The Intelligent Investor, aims to teach the general public about value investing. Security Analysis, on the other hand, is more like an academic textbook , the type you work thoroughly slowly.
As such, for those who are new to investing and want to learn why Graham was so influential for Buffett, start with The Intelligent Investor (which is discussed below).
#3. Where Are the Shoppers’ Yachts?
Author: Fred SchwedSubtitle: Or, a Good Hard Look at Wall Street.First published in: 1940Synopsis: Numerous on Wall Street are out to make themselves rich, not their clients.
Fred Schwed Jr. was not a notable investor of his time, losing everything in the 1929 crash.
However, he used what he learned to write his book: Where Are the Shoppers’ Yachts?
Among other lessons, Schwed shows people that frequently Wall Street’s goal is to generate transactions simply because they can charge you more fees for doing so , a problem that persists to the present day.
Schwed also discusses Wall Street’s incessant pursuit of trying to find meaning among stock cost movements.
In short, the takeaway from this book is that Wall Street isn’t necessarily here to help you. And it’s that idea alone that makes this classic a worthwhile read today.
Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.
R.J. Weiss
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