Recently, while organizing investment-related materials, I came across a very interesting phenomenon—those investment celebrities who truly managed to make a fortune all point to the same core logic for success, even though the way they present it may differ.

First, let’s talk about Bernard Baruch. This guy started with $300 in 1897, and by the time of the 1929 stock market crash, he already had tens of millions of dollars in his hands. His most classic line is: “The crowd is always wrong.” This isn’t a new concept, but he really lived by this approach for 94 years, and he made money his entire life. His ten rules may look ordinary, but every single one was forged from experience bought with hard cash.

Then there’s Jesse Livermore. This guy started trading stocks at 15 and is hailed as the world’s greatest trader. His core logic is: don’t make money from the fluctuations of individual stocks—make money from the major swings. Simply put, it’s to follow the trend, and wait for big opportunities. Unfortunately, this gentleman ultimately took his own life due to depression, leaving behind a line: “My whole life was a failure.” That’s a bit heartbreaking, but his *Reminiscences of a Stock Operator* is still considered an investment “Bible” to this day.

Graham is another extreme case. This “Godfather of Wall Street” created the concept of the “margin of safety,” influencing generation after generation of investors, including Buffett. What’s interesting is that before he passed away, he actually changed his stance—saying he no longer believed in fundamental analysis, and instead leaned on the “efficient market” theory. My personal understanding is that he may have realized that psychological factors are more important than fundamentals, but he didn’t get the chance to explain it clearly.

Japan has also had a legend: Kawakami Ginzo. He earned 30 billion Japanese yen from stocks after only graduating from elementary school. His investment rules look pretty simple—eat until you’re 80% full, the Turtle Three Principles, and five investment principles. Yet it was these simple rules that allowed him to survive in the stock market for so long. He himself said: “I’m now left with nothing,” because Japan’s tax system taxed all the money he earned. But that doesn’t affect his legendary status in the investment world.

Looking further ahead, Roy Newberg’s 68-year investment career had not a single year with losses. That record may truly be impossible for anyone to break. Even Buffett had years with losses, but Newberg didn’t. Among Newberg’s ten rules for success, one important point is emphasized: know yourself. This isn’t just empty talk—really, many people don’t know whether they’re actually suited to trading stocks.

Kostolany is the investment celebrity I personally admire the most. This German investment master worked in the stock sea for more than 70 years. His core view is: fundamentals determine the long-term trend, but in the short term, 90% of the price movement is influenced by psychological factors. His famous advice is to go to a pharmacy to buy sleeping pills, and then buy high-quality stocks so you can sleep well for a few years. It sounds like a joke, but that’s exactly his investment philosophy.

Fisher created the growth stock value investing strategy. After Buffett read his book, he went to find him, and later said he was “a combination of 15% Fisher and 85% Graham.” What does that show? It shows that different approaches can all make money—the key is to find what works for you.

Now take a look at Soros. This financial genius’s theory of reflexivity sounds very complicated, but the core idea is: the knowledge/cognition of market participants affects the market itself, and the market in turn affects participants’ knowledge/cognition. In simple terms, it’s a two-way feedback process. The quantum fund he managed achieved average annual returns of over 30%, and in two years it even exceeded 100%.

John Neff, over 31 years, achieved an average annual return rate exceeding the market by more than 3%, a feat unmatched in fund history. His method is straightforward: buy stocks with low price-to-earnings ratios, but make sure the fundamentals are good and the growth rate is high.

We don’t need to say much about Buffett. In his 51 years, there were 50 years of positive growth. His secret to success is broad reading, avoiding negative compounded growth, and sticking to the margin of safety.

William O’Neil’s CANSLIM system integrates fundamental analysis and technical analysis, and it’s believed it can be comparable to Buffett’s approach. Within 26 months, he earned 20 times—setting a record at the time.

Jim Rogers said something I particularly like: “Good opportunities are never that many to begin with, and they never come one after another. In your lifetime, you don’t need many good opportunities—you just need to avoid making too many mistakes.” This is the true essence of investing.

Peter Lynch’s Magellan Fund, over 13 years, reached an average annual compound growth rate of 29%. His most famous view is: “Even ordinary investors can become experts in stock investing.” He especially emphasizes finding investment opportunities from everyday life.

Anthony Bolton is known as “Europe’s Peter Lynch.” The fund he managed achieved an average annual compounded return of 20.4% over 26 years. His stock-picking secret is to be a contrarian investor—when everyone is down on the market, that’s when he buys.

These 18 investment celebrities may use different methods, but they share a few common points: first, they’re especially diligent—no one makes easy money just because of talent; second, they all emphasize the importance of psychological factors; third, they all know how to avoid risk is more important than chasing the highest possible returns; fourth, they all have their own investment philosophy and stick with it long-term.

In the end, what I want to say is: investing doesn’t have an absolute methodology, but it does have absolute principles. Find the approach that fits you, then keep executing—that is the key to success.