30,000 Won to 17 Million Won... The Book Published 32 Years Ago by a Value Investing Giant

Seth Klarman's 1991 Work 'Margin of Safety'
Value Soars... "Hard to Find"

There is a book that seemed ordinary but became an investment legend in itself. An investment-related book that cost 30,000 won about 30 years ago has recently been traded for tens of millions of won, attracting attention.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 16th (local time), the value of the book Margin of Safety, published in 1991, has recently soared. The author of this book is Seth Klarman, a 33-year-old fund manager at the time. He later became a giant in the hedge fund industry, leading the large American investment firm Baupost Group, which manages tens of trillions of won.

Safety Margin Book Cover

Thirty-two years ago, Klarman wrote the book Margin of Safety without much expectation. The publisher, judging that the book would have no commercial value, decided to print only 5,000 copies. The price at the time of publication was set at $25 (about 30,000 won).

However, Klarman later grew into an investment giant managing assets worth $30 billion (about 40 trillion won) through Baupost Group. As Baupost achieved an average annual return of about 20% and prospered, interest in Klarman's book Margin of Safety naturally increased.

Nevertheless, despite numerous requests from surrounding investors, he did not republish the already out-of-print Margin of Safety. As a result, the book's value soared to at least $4,200 (about 5.6 million won). A copy reportedly gifted by Klarman to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is being traded for $12,500 (about 16.76 million won). The value of about 100 early signed copies is estimated to be much higher.

What kind of book has risen in value so much? The book carries the subtitle "A Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategy for the Thoughtful Investor." Klarman is known as a figure who values value investing through corporate value analysis while managing high-risk hedge funds. Some even compare him to Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a master of value investing.

Veteran financial journalist James Grant said, "It is not easy to find a successful investor like Klarman."

Collectors Focused... "Compared to Rolex Watches"

Seth Klarman, Chairman of Baupost Group.

It is natural that collectors' attention is drawn to the early investment-related book of an investment industry giant. Logan Lynn, a university student who said he received a copy of the book from Baupost after persistent efforts, said, "I think it's crazy, but I compare this book to jewels or Rolex watches."

In fact, counterfeit copies of this book have been published in China, and unauthorized e-books have been offered on the e-commerce platform Amazon for $9.99 (about 13,000 won). Libraries owning Margin of Safety have also devised measures to prevent theft incidents.

Rachel Phillips, who runs a rare book collection business in Oregon, USA, said, "Throughout my business, I can count on two hands the number of times I have encountered Margin of Safety."

Meanwhile, according to WSJ, the rarest investment-related book of the 20th century is Security Analysis, written in 1934 by Warren Buffett's mentor Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. The value of this book reaches about $75,000 (about 100 million won).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.