Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John C. Bogle

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Synopsis

We live during a time where there seems to be no limit to what "enough" entails. CEOs—even those of failing corporations—pull down huge paychecks and hedge fund managers can enjoy billion-dollar paydays. These excesses are only the most obvious examples of the gross excesses that have overwhelmed our financial system, precipitating the crisis we now face.

These excesses extend far beyond the financial markets. Not knowing what is "enough" also undermines our business and professional values, and often leads us astray when attempting to make important personal decisions about our investments and indeed about our own lives.

Throughout his legendary career, John C. Bogle—founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group and creator of the first index mutual fund—has helped investors build wealth the right way and led a tireless campaign to restore common sense to the investment world. Along the way, he's seen how destructive an obsession with financial success can be. Now, with Enough., he puts this dilemma in perspective.

Inspired in large measure by the hundreds of lectures Bogle has delivered to professional groups and college students in recent years, Enough. seeks, paraphrasing Kurt Vonnegut, "to poison our minds with a little humanity." Bogle considers what "enough" actually means as it relates to money, business, and life. The world of finance, he argues, is marked by too much cost, and not enough value; too much speculation, and not enough investment; too much complexity, and not enough simplicity. Similarly, our business world is focused too much on counting and salesmanship, and not enough on trust and stewardship; and our society at large is too obsessedwith charisma and wealth, and not enough with character and wisdom.

Bogle also considers what "enough" means for him personally, and offers his thoughts on how—in a world increasingly focused on status and score-keeping—you can find your way and take comfort in the knowledge that you can indeed have "enough."

Written in a straightforward and accessible style, Enough. inspires and enlightens in equal measure. Bogle offers his unparalleled insights on money, on the values we should emulate in our business and professional callings, and on what we should consider as the true treasures in our lives. Discover what it really means to have "enough" and you'll quickly realize how close you are to having it.

Biography

John C. Bogle is founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group and President of its Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. He created Vanguard in 1974 and served as chairman and chief executive officer until 1996 and senior chairman until 2000. In 1999, Fortune magazine named Mr. Bogle as one of the four "Investment Giants" of the twentieth century; in 2004, Time named him one of the world's 100 most powerful and influential people; and Institutional Investor presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.