Joel Greenblatt

American hedge fund manager, author, and educator. Founder of Gotham Capital (1985), which produced approximately 40% annualised returns over 20 years before returning outside capital. Former adjunct professor at Columbia Business School (where he co-founded the Value Investors Club with John Petry in 1999). Author of You Can Be a Stock Market Genius (1997), The Little Book That Beats the Market (2005), and The Big Secret for the Small Investor (2011). Co-founder of Success Academy, a 47-school charter network serving ~23,000 students in New York City.

Known for the Magic Formula — a quantitative screen combining return on tangible capital and earnings yield, published in The Little Book That Beats the Market. His investing career evolved through three phases: hyper-concentrated special situations (spin-offs, recapitalisations), paying fair prices for great businesses, and diversified systematic long/short portfolios.

Identified Michael Burry and Norbert Lou through their Value Investors Club submissions before either was widely known.

In the wiki

• Joel Greenblatt on Special Situations, the Magic Formula, and Paying Up for Quality (Richer, Wiser, Happier, RWH003) — 40-year career retrospective; Magic Formula design; Success Academy; partnership philosophy