Burton G. Malkiel

Burton G. Malkiel, a Princeton economics professor, has become one of the most influential figures in the world of finance through his books on investing and stock markets. His 1973 classic, “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” is one of the best-known works on investing and has become one of the most influential books of modern financial philosophy.

Malkiel was born in 1935 in the Bronx, New York, and he grew up in the midst of the Great Depression and World War II. He studied economics and mathematics at Harvard, where he graduated with honors in 1956. He then attended the London School of Economics and received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1962.

Malkiel has held faculty positions at Princeton and Harvard, and after a career as a professor in the 1970s, he took on the role of Charles E. Landis professor of Economics at Princeton University in 1980. Malkiel has served as an advisory economist for several financial organizations and corporations, such as the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Brookings Institution, Vanguard, and Goldman Sachs.

Malkiel's passion for financial education began in the early 1960s, when he wrote the first edition of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.” In his book, Malkiel advocates the efficient market hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests that security prices are determined by random factors and that they reflect the collective wisdom of all existing market participants. This book has been called "the most authoritative guide to the world of investment," and it remains a classic to this day. It has been translated into at least fourteen languages, and over the years, Malkiel has revised the book five times.

The second edition of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” released in 1975, was met with great success. Malkiel also wrote “The Elements of Investing” – his second book – which was released in 2000 and is considered by many to be a prequel to “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.” His other works include “A Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds for Canadians,” “The Random Walk Guide to Investing: 10 Rules for Financial Success,” “The Wars of Wall Street,” and “The Global Guide to Real Estate Investing.”

In addition to these titles, Malkiel has had a long and successful career as a journalist, having written for numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Money Magazine. He was named co-editor of the annual “Andover Review of Financial Markets” in 1981 and served as the chief investment strategist for the Weiss Research Center at Princeton from 1999 to 2002.

Malkiel's influence on finance is displayed through his countless awards and recognition. He has received multiple honorary doctorates from universities including Princeton, St. Joseph's University, and Baruch College. He is also a past recipient of the “Outstanding Achievement in Finance Award” from the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois.

Malkiel's books offer guidance and knowledge to novice investors, and his work has earned him a place in the hearts of many of today's investors. He is well-known for his commitment to helping people better understand the stock market and make wise financial decisions. Malkiel's works are still cited today, and they have had and continue to have a profound impact on the world of finance.