Here are the top 25 Stock Investor Greats
Below is a list of my top 25 investors in the stock market, spanning retail investors, hedge fund managers, and mutual fund managers. I’ve intentionally excluded individuals I view as manipulative, ruthless, or lacking in integrity. While such figures may be fascinating from a historical or strategic standpoint, I gravitate toward investors who serve as true role models and who don’t sacrifice principles in the pursuit of profit.
- Bernard Baruch (Legendary stockbroker, shrewd investor, and influential statesman) (b. 1870)
- Jesse Livermore (Stock trader known for trading his own funds and lost and made fortunes) (b. 1877)
- Benjamin Graham (Pioneer of value investing and hero of Warren Buffett) (b. 1894)
- Philip Arthur Fisher (Growth stock investor and author of an investing book) (b. 1907)
- John Templeton (Billionaire from managing mutual funds successfully) (b. 1912)
- Ronald Read (Janitor who became wealthy as a retail stock investor) (b. 1921)
- Charlie Munger (Stock investor, businessman, polymath, and partner of Warren Buffett) (b. 1924)
- John “Jack” Bogle (Founder of the S&P 500 Index Fund with trillions in investments) (b. 1929)
- George Soros (Hedge fund manager who made big bets and succeeded several times) (b. 1930)
- Warren Buffett (The wealthiest man on Wall Street, CEO, and majority owner of Berkshire Hathaway) (b. 1930)
- Edward O. Thorp (Extremely intelligent man with success in both gambling and on Wall Street) (b. 1932)
- Jim Simons (Quantum trading hedge fund made Simons insanely wealthy) (b. 1938)
- Herbert Wertheim (Possibly the most successful retail stock investor of the last century) (b. 1939)
- Peter Lynch (Managed mutual funds very successfully and became very wealthy) (b. 1944)
- Richard Dennis (Commodities trader who made hundreds of millions in profits) (b. 1947)
- Ray Dalio (Hedge fund deca-billionaire and author of the great “Principles“) (b. 1949)
- Paul Tudor Jones (Billionaire hedge fund manager, renowned stock trader, and market strategist) (b. 1954)
- Louis Bacon (Billionaire hedge fund manager. Rumored to be exceptionally bright.) (b. 1956)
- David Tepper (Has made all the right moves, it seems, with his hedge fund. Deca-billionaire.) (b. 1957)
- Joel Greenblatt (Author of stock investing books, hedge fund manager, and professor at Columbia) (b. 1957)
- Jeffrey Yass (The king of options trading, who has profited tens of billions) (b. 1958)
- Ted Weschler (Currently working with Buffett to manage funds. An extremely high-level investor) (b. 1962)
- Li Lu (Value investor known for close ties to Charlie Munger and long-term concentrated bets) (b. 1966)
- Michael Platt (UK hedge fund wiz who won more often than he lost, mostly through trading) (b. 1968)
- Michael Burry (A high-stakes investor who made big bets, like The Big Short, and came out on top) (b. 1971)
What fascinates me most about the stock market is that, in a strange way, everyone shares the same arena. Hedge funds with billions under management, seasoned institutional players, and everyday retail investors all step onto the same field, facing the same prices, the same volatility, the same uncertainty.
It’s a rare place where scale doesn’t change the rules, instead only how you play the game.
And the stakes? They’re enormous. Fortunes are made and lost in moments, with decisions that can move billions. That’s what gives the market its electric edge. It’s not just a system as it’s a living, breathing contest of strategy, psychology, and conviction.
In many ways, it is the world’s largest casino, but unlike a casino, the odds aren’t fixed. Skill, patience, and discipline can tilt the balance. And that’s what makes it endlessly compelling.