Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life | William Green

From a renowned financial journalist comes a fresh, “engaging” (The New York Times), and profound book that draws on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with many of the world’s super-investors to demonstrate that key insights for building wealth apply to life as well.

Billionaire investors. If we think of them, it’s with a mixture of awe and suspicion. Clearly, they possess a kind of genius—the proverbial Midas Touch. But are the skills they possess transferable? And do they have anything to teach us besides making money?

In Richer, Wiser, Happier, William Green draws on interviews that he’s conducted over twenty-five years with many of the world’s greatest investors. As he discovered, their talents extend well beyond the financial realm. The most successful investors are mavericks and iconoclasts who question conventional wisdom and profit vastly from their ability to think more rationally, rigorously, and objectively. They are master game players who consciously maximize their odds of long-term success in markets and life, while also minimizing any risk of catastrophe. They draw powerful insights from many different fields, are remarkably intuitive about trends, practice fanatical discipline, and have developed a high tolerance for pain. As Green explains, the best investors can teach us not only how to become rich, but how to improve the way we think, reach decisions, assess risk, avoid costly errors, build resilience, and turn uncertainty to our advantage.

Green ushers us into the lives of more than forty super-investors, visiting them in their offices, homes, and even their places of worship—all to share what they have to teach. From Sir John Templeton to Charlie Munger, Jack Bogle to Ed Thorp, Will Danoff to Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Miller to Laura Geritz, Joel Greenblatt to Howard Marks. In explaining how they think and why they win, this “unexpectedly illuminating” (Peter Diamandis) book provides “many nuggets of wisdom” (The Washington Post) that will enrich you both financially and personally.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“SELDOM SINCE JOHN TRAIN’S GREAT THE MONEY MASTERS, PUBLISHED IN 1980, HAS A BOOK PULLED SO MANY COMPELLING IDEAS TOGETHER FROM SO MANY RENOWNED INVESTORS. Based on interviews with dozens of well-known money managers, including Jack Bogle, Peter Lynch, Charlie Munger and Sir John Templeton, Richer, Wiser, Happier argues that good judgment is under continuous bombardment from Wall Street's propaganda machine. The cardinal investment virtues of independence, patience, skepticism and self-control come more easily, argues Mr. Green, when you emulate someone who obviously possesses those same virtues. Then you can cultivate what Mr. Green calls 'intentional disconnection,' forming your own ideas away from the crowd. This takes work, and he shows how."
—Jason Zweig, personal finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal and editor of the revised edition of The Intelligent Investor

“MANY NUGGETS OF WISDOM....offers a smorgasbord of ideas from which you can pick and choose what works for you….Wise words.”
—Bethany McLean, Washington Post  

“ENGAGING WRITING…Throughout the book [Green] underscores the central premise that originality is overrated when it comes to investing… ‘Nothing is more essential than our capacity to survive the most difficult times not only financially but emotionally.’”
—New York Times

“UNEXPECTEDLY ILLUMINATING…Those who finish this book will find, to their delight, that they’re smarter about much more than money.”
—Peter H. Diamandis, MD, author of the New York Times bestsellers Abundance and Bold

“BREATHTAKING… This book not only teaches you how to invest, it teaches you how to think.” 
—Rolf Dobelli, author of the million-copy bestseller The Art of Thinking Clearly 

“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS I’VE EVER READ… If I'd had Richer, Wiser, Happier when I started investing it would have saved me twenty years of reading and studying.” 
—Phil Town, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rule #1

“BRILLIANT…packed with powerful insights from the world’s most successful investors…. Read Richer, Wiser, Happier and take its invaluable lessons to heart.” 
—Tony Robbins, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Money: Master the Game

“CAPTIVATING…offers pragmatic ideas to ponder, reflect on, and live by." 
—Daniel Goleman, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence

“EXTRAORDINARY… a compelling meditation on ideas, and on the profound subjects of risk, resilience, and success.” 
—Jon Gertner, author of the New York Times bestseller The Idea Factory

“WONDERFUL… a profound, eloquent, and much-needed call for a reassessment of how we build our portfolios and live our lives."  
—Stig Brodersen, Cofounder of The Investor's Podcast Network and host of the podcast "We Study Billionaires”

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED… a thoroughly engaging book that is brimming with unique insights into investing and life.” 
—John Mihaljevic, Chairman of MOI Global and author of The Manual of Ideas 

"SUPERB... does a wonderful job of showing how to consistently stack the odds in your favor, both in markets and life, by dramatically improving the way you think and reach decisions.”
—Annie Duke, professional poker champion and bestselling author of Thinking in Bets and How to Decide 

About the Author

William Green has written for many publications in the US and Europe, including Time, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, The New Yorker, The Spectator (London), and The Economist. He edited the Asian edition of Time while living in Hong Kong, then moved to London to edit the European, Middle Eastern, and African editions of Time. As an editor and coauthor, he has collaborated on several books, including Guy Spier’s much-praised memoir, The Education of a Value Investor. Born and raised in London, Green studied English literature at Oxford University and received a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. He lives in New York with his wife and their two children.