One of my favorite recent discoveries is Ronald Read. Wikipedia describes him as an “American philanthropist, investor, janitor, and gas station attendant,” which you certainly don’t see very often. He amassed a small fortune simply by buying stocks, reinvesting the dividends, and sticking with his picks for many years. As the Wall Street Journal reports:

Mr. Read didn’t always hit home runs. His portfolio included shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings, the financial firm that collapsed in 2008, for example. But he was willing to stick with his picks for many, many years.