RIP: Irving Kahn, World’s Oldest Stockbroker

Let’s ring the journalism bell for the following Washington Post obituary lede crafted by Megan McDonough:

The secret to value investing is holding onto underpriced stocks for a long time until they reach their true value. Few people were in a position to follow through as literally as Irving Kahn, who until his death on February 24 at 109 was Wall Street’s oldest stockbroker and presumed to be the world’s oldest active investment professional.

The span of this man’s career was truly staggering, starting with a briefly held entry-level job on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange dating back to right before the 1929 crash. McDonough fills out the item with a nice round-up of previous interview quotes, including this hilarious snippet:

To generate new investment ideas, Kahn said, he read at least two newspapers daily and high-tech scientific journals. “I read no fiction, no mystery stories and no sex novels,” he said in 2010. “So, that leaves a lot of time for science.”

Not to mention a brisk morning and evening walk. Until the age of 102, when weather allowed, Kahn liked to commute from his Upper East Side home to the Kahn Brothers Group, Inc. offices on Madison Avenue by foot. RIP.

[Image via: kahnbrothers.com]
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