Famous Investors

If you aspire to become a stock market investor, it pays to look at some of the most famous and successful investors of the past and present.

Here are a few of the best:
 

John Paulson

Paulson is the Chairman of hedge fund Paulson Co and number 78 on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. Paulson predicted the market falls of 2008 and his hedge fund returned 19% in the first nine months of that year, following producing one of the best performances in the industry during 2007 as well. By November 2008 Paulson Co managed over $35 billion, making them one of the ten largest hedge funds managers.

Warren Buffett

CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970 and now nearing 80 years old, Warren Buffett , nicknamed the Sage of Omaha is regarded as the king of stock market investors. Buffett is the leading advocate of value investing. This involves buying shares that are undervalued when subjected to fundamental analysis. Buffett is quoted as saying if a business does well, the stock generally follows. Voted in 1999 the Investor of the Century, Buffett is 2nd on the Forbes 400 list

George Soros

Born in Hungary in 1930 (the same year Warren Buffett was born), Soros has lived in the US since 1956. The investment fund he founded, The Quantum Fund, is one of the most successful in history, achieving an annual return in excess of 30% over a 30 year period. 29th on the Forbes 400 list, Soros once said about stock markets; the idea that you can actually predict what's going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.

Peter Lynch

During the thirteen years (18977 to 1990) Peter Lynch managed the Magellan Fund, it grew from $20 million in assets to over $14 billion and achieved annual returns of over 29%. He worked for Fidelity Investments from 1966 until his retirement. His investment philosophy is best summed up by his mantra Invest in what you know.

Carl Icahn

The 43rd richest man in the world in early 009, Icahn began his Wall Street carer in 1961 and formed Icahn Co in 1968, focusing on risk arbitrage and options trading. An aggressive investor, he has taken substantial or controlling positions in many companies over his career, including: Nabisco, Texaco, Western Union, Marvel Comics, Motorola and Time Warner. He looks for poorly run companies, trading below their true value, aiming to take profits when the companies are turned around.

You can check out the thoughts and strategies of the best investors on sharewise on the Investors' Ranking page and see some of their tips on the sharewise Stocks pages.