Edgar Wachenheim III

Edgar Wachenheim III
Born	1937 New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Investor, author
Known for	CEO and chairman of Greenhaven Associates
Notable work	Common Stocks and Common Sense

Edgar Wachenheim III (born 1937) is a prominent American investor who serves as CEO and chairman of Greenhaven Associates. He launched the investment firm in 1987 as a division of Central National-Gottesman and has maintained the CEO role since its inception. As of January 2024, Greenhaven managed assets totaling $9.3 billion. According to CNBC, the firm achieved an approximate average annual pre-fee return of 19% between 1988 and 2017.

Wachenheim is the author of Common Stocks and Common Sense (2016), with a revised edition published in 2022. His investment philosophy centers on a primarily contrarian and value-driven strategy, emphasizing long-term investment perspectives.

Early life and career

Born in 1937 in New York City, Wachenheim is the son of Edgar Wachenheim Jr. and Betty Lewis Wachenheim, and was raised in New Rochelle, New York. He attended MIT for two years before earning his degree from Williams College in 1959. Following a stint at IBM, he pursued an MBA at Harvard Business School from 1964 to 1966. Thereafter, he joined Goldman Sachs as a securities analyst.

In 1969, Wachenheim entered the investment division of Central National-Gottesman (CNG), which was then under the leadership of his in-laws, guided by Arthur Ross. Upon Ross’s retirement in 1979, Wachenheim assumed leadership of the investment division. In 1987, when the investment unit separated from CNG, he founded Greenhaven Associates, based in Purchase, New York. Initially, Greenhaven managed only CNG’s and family assets but later expanded its services to include wealthy families, university endowments, and nonprofit organizations. The firm’s assets under management increased from $300 million in 1991 to $1 billion by 1998, $2.7 billion in 2004, and currently approach $11 billion.

In July 2018, Wachenheim was featured in an interview with Jim Cramer at CNBC’s "Delivering Alpha" investor conference held by CNBC and Institutional Investor.

Besides his CEO duties at Greenhaven, Wachenheim holds the position of vice chairman on Central National-Gottesman’s board and has served on boards of various publicly traded companies.

Common Stocks and Common Sense

Wachenheim authored Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value Investor, released by Wiley in April 2016. The book presents his value investing methodology focused on identifying undervalued common stocks with minimal risk of permanent capital loss. His target annual returns range from 15% to 20%, usually maintaining positions for several years until anticipated appreciation occurs. He prioritizes protecting against downside risk and believes that even if his investment thesis fails, the market’s historical average return between 9% and 10% provides some buffer. Wachenheim also contributed a chapter to the 2017 publication Harriman's New Book of Investing Rules, and issued a second edition of his own book in 2022.

Non-profit work and philanthropy

Wachenheim has been active on multiple nonprofit boards, including serving as president of Rye Country Day School and as a member of the Skidmore College board from 1993 through 2001—where three of his children were students. He also fulfilled roles as vice-chair and chair of Skidmore’s investment committee until 2003. At his alma mater, Williams College, the latest science facility carries his name.

He is a life trustee at the New York Public Library, where the Trustees Room honors him; he has chaired both its executive committee and investment committee. From 2017 to 2022, Wachenheim led the board of PBS affiliate WNET, joining its board a year prior and succeeding James S. Tisch. Currently, he serves on the board of trustees for New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. His additional board affiliations include the UJA-Federation of New York, the New York Foundation (1990–1999), and the Arthur Ross Foundation.

Together with his spouse, Wachenheim founded the "Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation," which reported assets amounting to $438 million in 2022. This foundation primarily supports cultural and educational organizations such as Williams College, Skidmore College, the Museum of Modern Art, WNET, and the New York Public Library.

Personal life

Since June 6, 1962, Wachenheim has been married to Sue Wachenheim (born Wallach), and the couple resides in Rye, New York. Together, they are parents to four children and have six grandchildren.

External links

• Greenhaven Associates Inc SEC filings
• Public Disclosure for Investment Adviser