What Does the Spoon in the Matrix Movie Have To Do With Value Investing?

Part III - The father that isn't

Yesterday, we talked about how, mysteriously, the phrase “value investing” didn’t make its way into the subtitle of The Intelligent Investor, the seminal work of Ben Graham, until after he had died. 

Why do you think that is? It is quite strange, especially since Graham is known for being the “Father of Value Investing.” Considering that fact, when you combine that with the current edition of the book containing “Value Investing” in the subtitle, it’s not unreasonable at all to assume that the phrase “value investing” would have been part of the subtitle all along. 

Our detective work has proven that was not the case at all. Assumptions are a dangerous thing, even when they seem quite reasonable. 

One might be inclined to dismiss the importance of this. “Who cares if it has not been in the subtitle originally,” you might say. “He is still the ‘Father of Value Investing.’ Perhaps Graham didn’t pick the most appropriate subtitle for the book; that was done by a marketing guru. Surely, though, he must have used the phrase “value investing” in The Intelligent Investor many times.”

So let’s play a guessing game. Here is our question:

How many times do you think Ben Graham, the “Father or Value Investing,” used the phrase “value investing” in The Intelligent Investor?