Shelby Davis

Shelby Moore Cullom Davis (born 1937 ) is an American philanthropist and retired investor and money manager.

Early life and career Born 1937, Davis is the son of money manager Shelby Cullom Davis and Kathryn Wasserman Davis. He is a graduate of Princeton University where he became the bank's youngest vice president since Alexander Hamilton.

Davis left BNY in 1968 to found an investment management firm that eventually became Davis Selected Advisers, which as of 2021 manages about $37 billion in several funds.

All the Davis funds invest in public equities and have been described as "value stock" funds. Shelby Davis's reputation with such stocks was such that he was called a "legendary fund manager" by the New York Times, a "legend" by Money magazine, "legendary" by Financial Advisor magazine, and a "legendary investor" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Davis served for a time as Vice President of the Bruins, and as a result of the team's championship win in 1972, his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup.

In 2012, John Rothchild published a profile of Davis, his father, and his sons, called "The Davis Dynasty: Fifty Years of Successful Investing on Wall Street".

Philanthropy

Shelby Davis is a philanthropist who has donated primarily to educational causes. Among the largest recipients of his donations are the United World College movement and his own alma mater, Princeton University, of which he served as trustee starting in 2006, and was among the university's largest donors during his time on the board. His backing of the United World Colleges included his paying for the restoration of the Montezuma Castle on the U.S. campus. He has further supported these schools through the Davis United World College Scholars Program, the Davis-UWC IMPACT Challenge and the Davis-UWC Dare to Dream Program. Through the Davis United World College Scholars Program, Davis has provided scholarships for over 10,000 students at colleges and universities around the world.

Davis and his wife also support environmental and regional charities, including in Maine, Wyoming, Florida, and Utah.