Sublime

The Intelligent Investor boiled Graham’s philosophy down to three words—“margin of safety.”24 An investor, he said, ought to insist on a gap—a big gap—between the price he was willing to pay and his estimate of what a stock was worth.

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Picking a stock depended not on the whim of the crowd, but on the facts. And Buffett took this to heart, partly because he saw Graham in idealized terms—as a “hero,” like his father.39 Graham had a similar effect on others.