The Davis Dynasty: Fifty Years of Successful Investing on Wall Street

Few books are as clear and invaluable as this one.Thank you very much for writing it and for sharing so much wisdom.Strongly recommended for any serious long term investor.

I personally don't care for dry investment books. I read for entertainment. This book provides a great combination as it is a biography of a family steeped in money management and also gives tips of how they were able to grow their fortune.The book traces the investment history of Shelby Davis to his son to his grandsons. Shelby had family money through his wife and starts investing shortly after the crash in '29. Like many people, I assumed the market has been a somewhat continual climb with some setbacks. This books traces the history showing the many periods of lackluster stock value growth and how most Americans shunned the stock market for bonds. Quite a difference from today.The original Shelby was a miserly value investor who never spent an extra dime. His investment hits were insurance stocks when no one liked that industry and some prudent investments in Japan, also mainly in the insurance industry. By leaving these investments to compound for years, Shelby built a great fortune. But the hidden engine behind this vast growth was the use of margin to leverage his returns. The original Shelby eventually grew his fortune to over a billion dollars in value.Shelby's son Shelby did not work with his father until late in his life but eventually became a money manager of some renown also. His philosophy was similar but different and his large money winners tended to be from other industries. The book ends with the sons of Shelby Jr. taking over their father's money management firm and establishing their own identity.Along this 70 year history, you will learn about the markets and the different stages of development over the years. A significant amount of time is spent in the 60s and 70s as both of the Shelby's were investing at that time. I strongly recommend this book if you have interest in the market and its history.

A quick read, more like a history than an investing book, but interesting with a few nuggets.Good for a plane ride

The story of the greatest investor nobody's ever heard of. Of course, serious students of investing and finance have probably heard at least something of Shelby Davis, or at least the fund started by his son that bears the family name. This book, however, brings to life the story of an obscure figure in American business. Born in 1909, Shelby Cullom Davis' upbringing and life spans the gulf between the America of an earlier time and the modern era. He was decidedly WASP in origin and mindset, preoccupied with climbing the social ladder and reaping its rewards. At the same time, the frugal and often bitter Davis amassed a truly staggering fortune."The Davis Dynasty" is a fascinating read for anyone interested in investing. It's not just a story about one man's life and career; it is also a story of the business climate and stock market in the second half of the twentieth century, from the lows of the late '40s to the computer-boom of the '60s, the volatile market of the '70s to the dot-com mania of the late '90s. Throughout, the author takes care to explain Davis' methods and results and in doing so makes the case for several investing principles, such as specialization, value-investing and holding for long periods of time, through up markets and down.

Great book, I downloaded to my kindle. I'm a big fan of bio's on real estate developers and value investors. Shelby Sr and Jr are incredible models to follow and the book goes into their methodology. Like all great investors, they adhere to a strict value investor model like Graham, Buffett, Klarman, Greenblatt and others. I am really inspired by Davis (Sr) and love the principles he preached and lived. What a role model, I can relate as if I knew the man. My grandfather would always say, "You need to save that money" and towards the end of his life, he would say, "You need to invest that money." I can imagine Davis (Sr) saying the second part. This is both entertaining and full of wisdom. High marks!!!

This book is listed as Elementary Reading for the [...] Hidden Gems Newsletter. It provides great historical reading about the Davis family. Before the reading the book I had no idea who the Davis family was. I did not even realize we have the Davis Fund as a choice in our 401k at work. The fund has proven returns and been around for years. This was a great book to read for any beginning investor.

This book is about The Davis strategy - the result of five decades of trial, error, and refinement, that worked its way through father, son and grandsons, and each generation tweaked it and tuned it to fit the era. The 10 basic tenets remain the same: avoid cheap stocks; avoid expensive stocks; buy moderately priced stocks in companies that grow moderately fast; wait until the price is right; don't fight progress; invest in a theme; let your winners ride; bet on superior management; ignore the rear-view mirror; stay the course.This book is both a biography and the analytical work devoted to the stock market. If you like such a blend, I would recommend the books by Roger Lowenstein: "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist", "When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" and "While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis". The books by Roger Lowenstein are much better than "The Davis Dynasty" in terms of the depths of the analysis, as well as when it comes to liveliness and variety.In addition to this book, I can also recommend my favorite title on investing "The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't" by Kenneth L. Fisher.

Great book, entertaining and full of investing knowledge for the beginning to advanced investor. Short book and a good source of investment history in modern times

An excellent multi-generational biography with a surprisingly poignant moment in the latter chapters of a son learning of his father's long sought after respect in the most perfect way - the dissection of his portfolio.

Must read for people who want to build long term wealth for self and their families

This is not a "how to" book on investing and doesn't delve into the intricacies of analyzing stocks, but it shows you how you can buy (at reasonable prices) boring companies that consistently make profits and ride those stocks for decades. I'd never heard of Davis - following 3 generations of successful investors from the same family (who used similar techniques) was really interesting. Well written.

I love reading about of great investors. This book is part biography and part investment philosophy of Shelby Davis who was highly successful stock investor. The author is fine writer indeed. Very enjoyable read. This book will help you become better investor if you follow the investment philosophy used by Shelby Davis, the great value investor who was contemporary and friend of venerable Ben Graham. You also need to adopt his investing mindset and character though.Good book on great investor. Inspiring. Educational. Useful if you understand and then apply the principles. I highly recommend this book to any serious investor.

The book covers history of a Davis family which has produced three generations of successful investors on Wall Street. The grandfather started investing at the age of 38 and finally left around USD 900 Million to the next generations and charities. The son created his own asset management company which has over forty years of impressive investment record. The grandson joined the grandfather and then father to continue the stellar investment performance. The book is written in a semi fiction form, an easy read with treasure of investment wisdom. The commentary by John Rothchild is a bonus. The reader will learn the art of long term investing as practiced by three generations successfully.