Who are the greatest investors of all time? We'll here's a few suggestions of people who have both shaped the investing world and made a lot of money along the way.

Think Like a Prospective Owner: Warren Buffett
All that Warren Buffet had was a hundred dollars when he decided to invest. "Never lose money" was his first and golden rule in the business of trading. Steadfast, Buffett's net worth is now pegged at 20 billion dollars. When it comes stocks, Buffett believes that they are more than just a piece of special paper. They represent ownership; hence, when choosing which companies to invest on, Buffett studies the business, how well it is doing, rather than the prices of its stocks.

A great business for Buffett is simple to manage, predictable, not deep in debts, and the kind that he knows well. All these qualities he saw in Coca-Cola, and in 1988, Buffett shocked the world of investors when he secured a huge share of the company, which, later on, registered a profit growth of 800 percent for its shareholders.

"An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it. With every investment decision, his card is punched, and he has one fewer available for the rest of his life, he said, just one of the many nuggets of wisdom that Warren Buffett passes on to younger investors through speech engagements and school dialogues.

Research, Research, and More Research: Philip Fisher
An analyst by training, Philip Fisher, already in his nineties, believes in exhaustive research before investing long-term into any company. He is known for buying shares of stocks in technology businesses. His manner of research involves mainly three activities reading, visiting, and talking.

Fisher goes through every related literature on the industry that interests him, like trade books, science reports, annual reports, and company briefs. He is constantly finding out the most innovative and state-of-the-art. He visits business and research sites, as well as conventions to gain first-hand knowledge.

He talks to competitors, suppliers, manager, employees, and customers. Just like an interviewer, Fisher comes prepared with a list of key investment questions, which must be satisfied, before he makes up his mind about a prospective investment, or a potential technological research.

"I don't want a lot of good investment; I want a few outstanding ones, said Fisher, who saw potential in Texas Instruments in 1956, and so he bought much of its stocks at 2.70 dollars, which is now valued at 200 dollars, excluding dividends.

Just Plain Hard Work: Peter Lynch
Peter Lynch is somewhat a hybrid of both Buffet and Fisher. Like Warren Buffett, Lynch focuses his time, energy, and resources on business that he understands well. He is always on his toes for opportunities out there in the market, believing that they can be just around the corner, whether it is his office, neighborhood, or his own home.

"If you stay half-alert, you can pick the spectacular performers right from your place of business or out of the neighborhood shopping mall; long before Wall Street discovers them," Lynch pointed out.

And like Philip Fisher, fund manager Lynch is convinced of the advantages of hard research in investment decisions. He hired two assistants, solely for the purpose of research, while he was out six days a week chatting with every broker, managers. Guided by his own optimism, Peter Lynch piled a much-diversified portfolio that never went below 1,400 stocks.

A number of these businesses were new or at the stage of upturn; Lynch stayed with them long-term. The very best way to make money in a market is in a small growth company that has been profitable for a couple of years and simply goes on growing, Lynch said.