Billionaire value investor and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, taking inspiration from Walter Lippmann’s quote, said that the ‘Father of Value Investing’ — Benjamin Graham — was such a man who plants trees for other men to sit under.
“Ben Graham was far more than an author or a teacher. More than any other man except my father, he influenced my life,” said Warren Buffett. “He was the kind of man who planted trees that others would sit under.”
Buffett referred to this old proverb to describe his mentor, Benjamin Graham, whose teachings have convinced Buffett to say that one does not need too much excellence to make wealth in the stock markets.
What was the original quote?
The original quote, if over the years internet has preserved it correctly, was by Walter Lippmann, an American author and reporter born in 1889 and gained popularity by coining the concept of “Cold War.”
“Yet this corporate being, though so insubstantial to our senses, binds, in Burkes words, a man to his country with ties which though light as air, are as strong as links of iron. That is why young men die in battle for their country’s sake and why old men plant trees they will never sit under,” said Walter Lippmann.
Benjamin Graham, who is also considered to be the “Father of Security Analysis”, did not just teach investing; he built a framework for people to be patient, risk-aware, and anchored.
Buffett’s key lessons learnt from Graham
Warren Buffett, in his 2018 letter to shareholders, said that Graham’s teachings asserted that he never listens to economists, as there is not a single economist who became super wealthy by investing in securities, he had once remarked.
Over the years, Buffett has praised Benjamin Graham, who was not just a good teacher, investor and mentor but also a generous person at the same time.
“Walter Lippmann spoke of men who plant trees that other men will sit under. Ben Graham was such a man,” said Warren Buffett has written about Graham.
Mint reported earlier that Benjamin Graham was one of the rare breeds of people who achieved great success without the narrow mental activity that concentrates all efforts on a single end. Graham’s success was a byproduct of an intellect whose breadth was quite wide.
“When I worked with him, Ben told me: Don’t worry too much about making money. It will change how your wife lives but not how you live. You and I will still wear the same clothes and eat at the same cafeteria, so relax,” said Buffett.