Sir John Templeton

Sir John Templeton was born in Winchester, Tennessee in 1912 and pioneered global contrarian investing through the Templeton Growth Fund, which he founded in 1954. His famous maxim was to invest at "the point of maximum pessimism" — buying assets when others are most fearful. He was among the first Western investors to systematically invest in Japanese equities after World War II, when they were deeply out of favor, generating spectacular returns as Japan industrialized. In 1992, he sold his investment companies to Franklin Resources for approximately $440 million. He subsequently established the Templeton Foundation for philanthropic work. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. His philosophy of searching globally for the best value regardless of geography became the template for international value investing.