The Death of a Broker

Irving Kahn, the Manhattan money manager whose astounding longevity enabled him to carry firsthand lessons from the Great Depression well into the 21st century, has died. He was 109…

In 1928, working as a clerk at the Wall Street brokerage Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Kahn heard about a trader named Graham who seemed to know how to outperform the market. Kahn visited Graham’s office at the New York Cotton Exchange, and an alliance was born.

“I learned from Ben Graham that one could study financial statements to find stocks that were a ‘dollar selling for 50 cents,’” Kahn told the Telegraph. “He called this the ‘margin of safety’ and it’s still the most important concept related to risk.”

Kahn lived quite an amazing life on Wall Street, working until the week of his death. Along the way, he’d made money in the crash of ’29 and contributed some of the research for Graham and Dodd’s seminal books on value investing. He’s also got one of the best quotes ever in support of keeping banks and investment banks separated (a la Glass-Steagall): “I wouldn’t lend you a dime if I knew you loved to gamble at a casino.”

Read his story at Bloomberg today.

Source:

Irving Kahn, Investor Who Made Money in 1929 Crash, Dies at 109 (Bloomberg)