Jack Bogle died last week on January 16th. It was a shock to me.
It shouldn’t have been, I suppose. He was 89 after all. Not to mention he had his first heart attack at age 31 and a heart transplant in 1996.
But still, somehow we don’t expect greatness to pass before our very eyes. At least I don’t.
Articles appeared instantly upon his death. No surprise there. Some, no doubt, had already been written in preparation for the day that had to come. But my heart just wasn’t in it at the time. I needed some time to recover and reflect. To decide if I wanted to write this post at all.
I did put up a tweet for my followers. It reads:
Jack Bogle died today. Great man. Great life. He was a fiscal saint and a personal hero. I was deeply honored to have received a personal email from him acknowledging my work.
In that tweet I linked to this post:
This is the post in which I tell the story of how he came to read my book and the email he sent me acknowledging my work. I also reproduced the note I sent him in return.
Reading it again, at this sad time, it occurred to me it really says what I have to say about the man. I’m glad I had the chance to say it to him directly as well.
Here you go…
Dear Mr. Bogle…
It is hard to express what an honor it is to receive your email. You have long been my personal hero, and I am not a fellow given to having personal heroes.
In my writings and conversations I am prone to referring to you as a “fiscal saint,” a fitting term I don’t use lightly.
You have paved the way for people to achieve financial security and wealth, creating a prosperity then able to fund all the non-profit efforts that improve the overall lot of humanity.
As you may know, I write to what has come to be known as the Financial Independence (FI) movement. These are people who have put the accumulation of wealth building assets ahead of the purchase of fancy things. In effect, they are buying their freedom. Freedom to live life to the fullest and in a manner of their own choosing.
Vanguard and the broad based index funds you have created are key tools in this endeavor.
You truly have created an economic revolution and, personally, I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
One of my readers once boldly compared my contributions to yours. In my reply I said, “If I have lighted a candle in the darkness, Jack Bogle has been a white hot sun. I only discuss what he has created.”
You richly deserve the years you have been blessed with, and I wish you many more to see the fruits of your labor continue to unfold.
Thank you, and…
Warm Personal Regards,
Jim
Sadly, while nominated, he never did receive that Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hit that link for my take on why he should have.
The world is a far better place for his having been here. It is a far sadder place now that he is gone.
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Vanguard has done a nice…
history and tribute to Mr. Bogle
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I just happened to read these two books together. Turns out they fit well together.
How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction
Complex life has been on planet Earth for ~572 million years. There have been five mass extinctions in that time. This book explores what happened in each.
And takes a look at the idea we are in the middle of a sixth.