RIP Louis Rukeyser, 1933 - 2006

When I was younger and dumber and first stumbled into the investing world about 12 years ago, I thought of Mr. Rukeyser as a goofy and amiable pumper of all things bullish. My oh-so-worldly view did not perceive the wisdom that was the basis of his optimism. Yeah, the dollar may be down, interest rates will rise, recessions will be there however, HOWEVER, there ARE businesses and stocks and methods of staying invested that will provide the little guy, you and me, an opportunity to provide for our families. And perhaps, if we are prudent, we can scrape together the "screw you" money we need.
Those who follow the markets, CNBC, Peter Lynch, Martin Zweig, owe a great debt to Mr. Rukeyser.
I hope he rests in peace.
Jim Grant, formerly of Barrons' currently of Forbes and his own newsletter, is a far, far better writer than me. Here is his obituary.