Guy Spier Net Worth (2023): How Does He Make Money?

What is Guy Spier’s Net Worth?

Guy Spier, a Swiss investor and author of “The Value Investor’s Education,” has an estimated net worth of $350 million. He manages the Aquamarine Fund, which also holds assets worth $350 million. In 2008, he and Mohnish Pabrai donated $650,100 for a charity dinner with Warren Buffett.

Spier uses checklists as a key part of his investment approach, a concept featured in Atul Gawande’s 2009 book, “The Checklist Manifesto.”

Here’s the breakdown of his net worth:

Name:	Guy Spier
Net Worth:	$350 Million
Annual Income:	$10 Million
Source of Wealth:	Investor, Aquamarine Fund, Author

How Did Guy Spier Get Started?

Guy Spier’s career path began in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He had early educational experiences in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tehran, Iran, before studying at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he initially pursued law. In 1986, he switched to studying politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE), excelling particularly in economics and graduating with top honors.

Spier also enriched his education with summer courses at Harvard and studies in Heidelberg. His practical experience included an internship at Creditanstalt in London. In 1990, he faced a pivotal choice between Harvard’s Joint Business and Economics PhD program and an MBA. He opted for the latter, completing it in 1993, alongside future prominent figures like Mark Pincus, Chris Hohn, and Sherry Coutu at Harvard Business School.

How Does Guy Spier Build His Wealth Today?

Guy Spier’s path to wealth began with his early career choices. From 1988 to 1990, he worked at Braxton Associates, a strategy consulting firm later acquired by Deloitte Consulting. There, he advised British and European companies on their strategies related to the European Common Market, primarily in London and Paris. He also completed an internship at the European Commission’s Future Studies Unit in Brussels.

While studying at Harvard Business School, Spier received job offers from prestigious firms like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan but opted for a lesser-known firm, DH Blair, where he served as vice president. His role involved seeking funding opportunities for technology startups, an experience he later likened to the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” However, he quickly realized this wasn’t the right fit for him.

After leaving investment banking, Spier founded the Aquamarine Fund, which he modeled after Warren Buffett’s investment partnerships from the 1950s. He continues to manage the fund, which had $300 million in assets under management as of June 2021.

Spier adheres closely to Warren Buffett’s principles of value investing and capital allocation. However, he acknowledges that value investing has evolved over time, with fewer opportunities due to its popularity. As a result, successful value investors like Spier must explore unconventional avenues.

Spier no longer focuses on activism but aims to grow money for his shareholders without unnecessary conflicts. He emphasizes integrity and humility in financial management and co-authored a paper in 2008 titled “Bonuses, Rating Agencies, and the Credit Crisis” with Peter Sinclair and Tom Skinner.

He advocates against charging management fees for professional investment management and believes Switzerland should strive for excellence in private banking.

In 2003, Spier faced investigations alongside prominent investors for short-selling companies like Farmer Mac, MBIA, and Allied Capital during the financial crisis of the late 2000s.

Spier’s book, published in 2014, details his Wall Street struggles and transformation into a value investor, translated into several languages.

He also engaged in legal proceedings related to Horsehead Corporation’s bankruptcy in Delaware.

Spier likens stock picking to “drinking in bars” in a 2019 YouTube interview.

In 2020, he hosted a panel discussion on “The Future of Smart Investing” and participates in the annual investment conference VALUEx in Klosters, featuring notable attendees.

Spier occasionally appears as a financial commentator in the media.

Read More: How to Make Money from Investments

Guy Spier Quotes

“when your consciousness or mental attitude shifts, remarkable things begin to happen. That shift is the ultimate business tool and life tool.”

 

“We like to think that we change our environment, but the truth is that it changes us. So we have to be extraordinarily careful to choose the right environment—to work with, and even socialize with, the right people. Ideally, we should stick close to people who are better than us so that we can become more like them.”

 

“This became my own goal: not to be Warren Buffett, but to become a more authentic version of myself. As he had taught me, the path to true success is through authenticity.”

 

“our environment is much stronger than our intellect. Remarkably few investors—either amateur or professional—truly understand this critical point.”

 

“As I’ve come to discover, investing is about much more than money. So as your wealth grows, I hope you will also come to realize that the money is largely irrelevant. And what you will want to do with the bulk of your wealth is give it back to society.”

 

“tiny differences matter in investing—a pursuit where small structural changes can add up to big differences in returns over time. Long-term compounding is an investor’s best friend, so why get in its way? There’s a huge benefit to getting these seemingly minor details”