Who Is Benjamin Graham?

By Scott Levine – Updated Sep 2, 2025 at 5:07 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Graham prioritized capital preservation, promoting investments in underpriced, high-quality stocks.
He valued stocks using P/E and P/B ratios, favoring mature companies with consistent dividends.
Graham's teachings, including the "margin of safety," influence investors like Warren Buffett.

If you've heard of value investing or Warren Buffett, there's a good possibility you've also heard of Benjamin Graham. He was a writer, teacher, and investor who rose to prominence in the mid-20th century.

His principles, described in two groundbreaking books, established the practice of value investing. Learning about Graham's background and the key tenets of his investment approach can provide investors with useful insights that can help fortify their own investing strategies.

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Investor sits in front of multiple screens showing investing charts and data. — Image source: Getty Images.

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An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.
Security Analysis, by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd

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About the Author

Scott Levine is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, industrials, technology, and materials. He is also a high school English teacher and a small business owner. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, a master’s degree in secondary education from Adelphi University, and an advanced certificate in school building leadership from CUNY Queens College. A crossword puzzle enthusiast, he has solved more than 3,100 New York Times puzzles with a 97% solve rate.

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