Joel Greenblatt is one of the most successful investors of all time.
It’s a fact.
When running his hedge fund, Gotham Capital, in the 1980s and 1990s, Greenblatt wracked up returns in the mid-40s… and he was able to sustain a compound annual return of over 40% for two decades.
Returns like that are sure to lead to great things. But, exactly how much is he worth now?
What is Joel Greenblatt’s Net Worth?
Greenblatt’s net worth is not publicly known, but we can estimate it to be between $500 million and $1 billion US – which would make for a pretty good weekend out.
Greenblatt founded Gotham Capital, which achieved remarkable annualized returns of just under 50% before fees (30% net) from 1985 to 1994.
He now runs Gotham Asset Management, which, as of recent filings, manages billions in assets—though his personal stake in these funds is not fully disclosed.
Common estimates from financial websites and analyses over the years suggest his net worth ranges widely. Some sources, like Wealthy Genius in 2022, speculated it could be as high as $1 billion, citing the growth of Gotham Capital and his broader financial ventures.
Others estimated it to be around $500 million, factoring in his earnings from hedge fund management, book sales (e.g., The Little Book That Beats the Market), and investments like his early stake in Michael Burry’s Scion Capital.
Adjusting for inflation, market performance, and his ongoing activities through March 18th, 2025, a reasonable estimate would likely fall between $500 million and $1 billion.
This range reflects his historical returns, the scale of Gotham Asset Management (managing over $6 billion in 13F securities as of early 2024), and his personal wealth accumulation, tempered by the fact that much of his fortune is tied to market-dependent investments and management fees rather than liquid assets. He’s also given a lot to charity.
How Did Joel Greenblatt Get Rich?
Quite simply by being a great investor and managing money for others.
There are two major ways to get rich in this life: You either start a company, or you stand as a doorway between interested parties and money, allowing you to collect a fee.
Greenblatt started Gotham Capital in the mid-1980s and helped interested parties build their wealth… standing between them and more money. But, he also owned his own business – his fund was his (and a partner’s) – so the growth in the fund and full control helped him build more wealth than he otherwise could have as an employee.
In the mid-2000s, Greenblatt shifted to a mechanical approach to investing – more as an intellectual exercise. He started a website, launched a couple of funds, and hired people to do the hard work.
And then there’s his backing of Michael Burry at Scion Capital, who is a superstar in his own right.
All of this has contributed to his enormous retirement fund…. retirement boat, retirement beach houses, luxury cars, motorcycles, rare paintings (for retirement, of course), Persian rugs, crystal coffee mugs, personal barista, etc, etc.
What Strategies Did Greenblatt Use to Get Rich?
If we set aside his business ownership and just focus on his investing, Greenblatt had two basic approaches:
First, while he’s well known for special situations, his backbone was actually low PE growth. He bought low PE stocks where there was almost a certain probability of growth going forward.
This is very similar to what he was doing with the Magic Formula, but the key (according to Greenblatt) was certainty. Greenblatt scoured the 10Ks for hours trying to find situations where a low PE firm was sure to perform better in the years ahead.
Second, special situations, of course. He invested in spinoffs, rights offerings, merger arb opportunities, etc.
Greenblatt found some wonderful spinoffs when he was managing money, and these all contributed enormously to the success of the fund.
The problem was finding outstanding opportunities since there hadn’t been a single source for identifying and listing all available special situation opportunities until now (hint hint).
Speaking of which, I highly recommend that you enter your email in the email optin box below because we’ll send you all the special situations that we find each month and you’ll be one step closer to replicating Greenblatt’s success.
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