Warren Buffett has said that people should read 500 pages a day if they want to compound knowledge at a very high rate. Along the same lines, Bill Gates reads at least one book a week to help satisfy his immense curiosity.
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The Philosophical Investor's Blog
The Discipline of Lee Kuan Yew – Transforming Wealth Into Well Being
by 
Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
On my recent trip, I visited 10 countries in Africa and Asia. My last destination was Singapore. I had been there in 1999 and remember how impressed I was with the city-state then and departed this time even more so. Singapore became an independent state after being kicked out of the Malaysian Federation in 1965.
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Tariffs & The Wisdom of Grover Cleveland
by Gary Carmell
Gary CarmellThe tariff debate and controversy seems to be escalating and has been leading to tremendous stock market volatility. Whenever there is such a heated topic that catalyzes strong emotions I like to take a step back and find ways to drown out the cacophony. One of the ways I do this is to ignore today and look to history to see what I can learn from the past.
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Courage & Choosing Life – The Legacy of Nelson Mandela
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We need to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those, who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly. Our answer must consist,
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Into Africa – My Safari in Africa
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I recently returned from a vacation that took me to 10 countries in Africa and Asia. Over the next few weeks, I will write about some of my observations and lessons learned from such an interesting and educational adventure.
For this week,
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The Ever Growing Importance of Ideas
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
As property values have escalated greatly in major cities, particularly with a tech orientation, I ask myself if secondary markets make more sense as the cost of living is cheaper and yields are initially higher. The tradeoff historically has been far less growth potential and lower appreciation.
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Long-Term Thinking & Timeless Principles for Successful Investing
by Gary Carmell
Gary CarmellWe are coming up on our 2018 Annual Investor Meeting. This week’s blog is a look back at my 2017 speech focusing on the principles that have served CWS well over the years. You can enjoy the video and or read the highlights below. Here’s a modified transcript of my keynote:
Each year we do an annual report and this year the cover is timeless principles the artwork shows some of the parables that cover these timeless principles of long-term thinking.
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The Compounding of Intelligence – Is Wealth The Key?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
One of the conventional narratives in our capitalist society is that the wealthy and most successful people are often the brightest and hard-working. I think what this fails to take into consideration is the nature versus nurture debate. People often think of intelligence as being innate and not very changeable.
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When One Thinks of Disruptors – FDR or Tech Titans?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
When one thinks of disruptors it’s not surprising to think of modern tech titans like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Reed Hastings, Peter Thiel, Bill Gates, Marc Benioff, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, etc. I was reading an interview with the great American writer Philip Roth in the New York Times and he referenced books that he has recently read and what triggered his interest in them.
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Fake News – The Reality Is Not What You Think
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I recently completed Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow and it is a wonderful read about the fascinating life and times of John D. Rockefeller. Ida Tarbell, one of the great muckraking writers and profilers who gained her fame while writing for McClure’s was personally impacted by Standard Oil’s brash business tactics.
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