Gerald M. Loeb

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Gerald M. Loeb
Born
Gerald Martin Loeb[1]

(1899-07-24)July 24, 1899
San Francisco
DiedApril 13, 1974(1974-04-13) (aged 74)
Occupation(s)Stockbroker, Investment banker
Years active1921–1974
EmployerE.F. Hutton & Co.
Known forWall Street Trader, author

Gerald Martin Loeb (July 24, 1899 – April 13, 1974) was a founding partner of E.F. Hutton & Co., a renowned Wall Street trader and brokerage firm. He was the author of the books The Battle For Investment Survival[2] and The Battle For Stock Market Profits. Loeb promoted a view of the market as too risky to hold stocks for the long term in contrast to well known value investors. He also created the Gerald Loeb Award, given annually for excellence in various categories of financial journalism.[3]

He was married to Rose Lobree Benjamin.

Early life[edit]

Loeb was born to Dahlia H. Levy and Solomon E. Loeb on July 24, 1899, in San Francisco, California.[4][5][6] His brother, Sydney, was born on December 14, 1903.[7][8] Solomon was a wealthy wine merchant from New Orleans.[5][9] Dahlia was the daughter of Herman M. Levy, a wealthy merchant who made his fortune selling goods to miners during the California gold rush and the Comstock Lode silver rush in Nevada.[10][11][12]

Two family tragedies struck Loeb when he was eight years old. First, his maternal grandfather died on June 25, 1908.[12] Then, a week later on the 4th of July, his father was killed in a train collision in downtown Oakland while returning from a day trip to Santa Cruz to make arrangements for an upcoming family vacation there.[11] A local train struck the smoking car of a Southern Pacific Railroad (SPR) train after the SPR train's engineer ignored the stop signal at the intersection of two tracks, killing several people in the car.[11][13] SPR paid Dahlia and her children an $8,000 settlement (equivalent to $270,000 in 2023) split evenly among the three.[14] The deaths of Loeb's father and grandfather made his mother very wealthy.[15]

Loeb was afflicted with polio around the time of his father's death.[1] The disease interfered with his schooling and derailed his ambitions to become an architect.[1][16]

Loeb graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco.[17]

Career and writing[edit]

Loeb began his career in 1921, working in the bond department of a securities firm in San Francisco.[18] He moved to New York in 1924 after joining E. F. Hutton & Co., and became vice-chairman of the board when the company incorporated in 1962.[18]

Although he had largely avoided personal losses, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 greatly affected Loeb's investing style, making him skeptical of holding stocks for the long term. Loeb offered a contrarian investing viewpoint, in books and columns in Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, and Investor Magazine.[3][18] Forbes magazine called Loeb "the most quoted man on Wall Street."[19]

Loeb's first book, The Battle for Investment Survival (1935), sold over 200,000 copies during the Great Depression.[2][3] Loeb updated the book in 1957 and 1965, as it attained the status of a classic financial text. In 1971, Loeb published The Battle for Stock Market Profits as a follow-up to his original book where he depicted the market as a battlefield.[18] Loeb's books are still widely read today and hailed by many as a staple for investment professionals.

Personal life[edit]

Loeb married Rose Lobree Benjamin on April 11, 1947, in San Francisco.[20][21] Rose, the widow of Shanghai real estate developer Maurice Benjamin, was born in 1900 or 1901 in Brentwood, California, to Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Lobree.[22][21][23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Gould, Leslie (June 17, 1958). "Business News". The Weirton Daily Times. Vol. 30, no. 307. p. 4. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Loeb, Gerald (1996). The Battle for Investment Survival. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-13297-7.
  3. ^ a b c "About the Gerald Loeb Awards". UCLA Anderson, School of Management. Archived from the original on 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  4. ^ "Births". San Francisco Chronicle. Vol. LXX, no. 10. July 25, 1899. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Week of Social Doings". San Francisco Chronicle. Vol. LXX, no. 13. July 30, 1899. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Marriage Licenses". The San Francisco Call. Vol. LXXXII, no. 130. October 8, 1897. p. 11.
  7. ^ "Births". San Francisco Chronicle. Vol. LXXVIII, no. 156. December 18, 1903. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Victim's Body Is Taken to New Orleans". Hope Star. Vol. 33, no. 27. November 13, 1931. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Will Tour the World". The San Francisco Call. Vol. LXXXI, no. 63. February 1, 1897. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Notice to Creditors". The Recorder. Vol. XVI, no. 41. San Francisco. August 17, 1908. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c "Ignored Signal Brings Death". San Francisco Examiner. Vol. LXXXIX, no. 5. July 5, 1908. pp. 1, 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b "Mining Pioneer Dies". The San Francisco Call. Vol. CIV, no. 27. June 27, 1908. p. 16.
  13. ^ "Blame for Wreck Placed on Engineer". Oakland Tribune (Last ed.). July 7, 1908. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Damage Suit Compromised". The San Francisco Call. Vol. CIV, no. 158. November 5, 1908. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Rich Widow Not to Wed". The San Francisco Examiner. Vol. XCI, no. 14. July 14, 1909. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Beizer, James (November 8, 1959). "Redding's Gift to Wall Streed". The Harford Courant Magazine. The Hartford Courant. Vol. CXXII (Daily ed.). p. 8.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Dahlie Loeb, of Old S.F. Family". San Francisco Examiner. Vol. CCXVII, no. 11 (Final ed.). July 11, 1962. p. 57 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b c d Boik, John (2004). Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 47–67, "Chapter 3: Gerald M. Loeb". ISBN 0-07-143788-6.
  19. ^ Richard Poe; Warren Buffett (19 March 1999). Krass, Peter (ed.). The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street. John Wiley and Sons. p. 176. ISBN 0-471-29454-3.
  20. ^ "Rose Benjamin Wed April 11". Oakland Tribune. Vol. CXLVI, no. 105 (Home ed.). April 15, 1947. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b "Mrs. Benjamin, Gerald Loeb Wed". The Smart Set Magazine. The San Francisco Examiner. Vol. CLXXXVI, no. 110. April 20, 1947. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Funerals". The San Francisco Examiner. Vol. 113, no. 58 (Final ed.). August 17, 1977. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Pfeiffer, Bruce Brooks (1999). Treasures of Taliesin: Seventy-Seven Unbuilt Designs (2nd ed.). Pomegranate. p. 29.

Further reading[edit]

  • Boik, John (2004). Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 47–67, "Chapter 3: Gerald M. Loeb". ISBN 0-07-143788-6.
  • Loeb, Gerald M. (1960). Loeb's Checklist for Buying Stocks. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-42705-9.
  • Martin, Ralph G. (1965). The Wizard of Wall Street: The Story of Gerald M. Loeb. W. Morrow. p. 192 pages.
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