Stay Calm

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

From a pioneer of index investing comes a firsthand account of the quiet revolution that changed how the world invests, and the calm, practical lessons that can help anyone build true wealth.

David Booth grew up in Kansas with Depression-era parents who never trusted the stock market. Back then, investing was an insider’s game, one that rewarded Wall Street with high commissions for frequently buying and selling stocks for investors. Then, at the University of Chicago in the late 1960s, Booth found himself among a band of outsiders, led by Eugene Fama, “the father of modern finance,” whose research would turn investing from a game of speculation into a discipline grounded in evidence, diversification, and long-term thinking.

In Stay Calm, Booth shares his journey from Kansas shoe salesman to founder of a trillion-dollar investment firm, working alongside Nobel laureates including Fama, Merton Miller, Myron Scholes, and Robert Merton, and the stories behind the revolution they built.

Along the way, Booth distills 50 years of data and experience into a simple, calming philosophy:

• Stop trying to pick stocks or predict the market’s next move, and trust markets, not gurus.
• Use diversification, discipline, and patience to build a resilient, low-stress portfolio.
• Avoid the emotional traps that lead investors to buy high and sell low.
• Accept that uncertainty isn’t a danger to eliminate but a source of opportunity to embrace.

Through it all, he reflects on what true wealth really means, and how money can support a life of purpose, freedom, and meaning.