Warren Buffett has made millions through wise investments so it is no surprise that he wanted to lend his advice to the rest of us. “I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful,” he said. Perhaps even more profound are his investment rules: “Rule No. 1: never lose money. Rule No. 2: never forget rule no. 1.”

Donald Trump managed to build an empire from scratch, something many of us try to do. He told the world, “Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you’re generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.”

Getty Oil Company founder J. Paul Getty did not hold anything back when he said, “Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.” We would be smart to listen to him, as he was once the richest living American and richest private citizen. Mr. Getty was worth over $2 billion at the time of his death in 1976.

Famous investor George Soros has said much about the industry. This includes the rules of the game, where “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” Warren Buffett had this to say about investing: “If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”

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Oil and gas were in his blood, as both his parents had occupations related to these commodities. After graduating from Oklahoma A&M with a geology degree in 1951, Mr. Pickens began working for Phillips Petroleum. He left Phillips in 1954, spent two years as a wildcat well driller, and then founded the company that would eventually be known as Mesa Petroleum.

In 1981, Mesa was one of the largest independent oil companies on the planet. Mr. Pickens focused on corporate acquisitions during the 1980s. Attempted buyouts of Unocal, Phillips Petroleum, Gulf Oil, and Cities Service were among the most publicized deals. The takeover bid for Gulf Oil landed Mr. Pickens on the March 1985 cover of Time magazine. Newmont Mining, one of the largest gold producers worldwide, was one of his many later targets.

Mr. Pickens founded BP Energy Fund in 1997, with the BP standing for “Boone Pickens,” not “British Petroleum.” This company, now known as BP Capital Management, runs the Capital Equity and Capital Commodity hedge funds. Each fund primarily invests in traditional energy companies like Shaw Group, Schlumberger, and Halliburton. In 2007, Mr. Pickens earned $2.7 billion from his 46 percent interest in BP Capital Management.

As someone outspoken regarding peak oil, Mr. Pickens has promoted alternative energy, called for more nuclear power plants to be constructed, and advocated national transportation systems powered by natural gas. In 1997, he formed Pickens Fuel Corp., which was reincorporated as Clean Energy Fuels Corp. At that time, he began promoting natural gas as an alternative vehicular fuel.

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Mae West should have been labeled a psychic for saying, “No gold-digging for me; I take diamonds! We may be off the gold standard someday.” The U.S. eventually cast aside the gold standard in exchange for our current system. Thomas Hood would not have minded, as long as he could still get his hands on “Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! Bright and yellow, hard and cold!”

The famous poet Robert Frost even found gold a topic of choice. An excerpt from one of his poems goes, “But not gold in commercial quantities. Just enough gold to make the engagement rings and marriage rings of those who owned the farm. What gold more innocent could one have asked for?”

Chinese Proverbs provide us with some of the most memorable life lessons. One of them reads, “Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect.” We think that is definitely some food for thought. Though an engagement ring need not be made of gold, this quote is rather funny: “The three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering.”

Graham Greene had tongue in cheek when he said, “I had very good dentures once. Some magnificent gold work. It’s the only form of jewelry a man can wear that women fully appreciate.” Mahatma Gandhi provided us with a reminder to focus on what matters, stating “It is health that is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

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Viewer calls, guest interviews, and the lively antics and opinions of Mr. Cramer are regular features of the television show. Anyone who wants to learn which stocks are hot and when to buy gold coins will get answers by watching “Mad Money.” The financial guru serves as a personal guide to Wall Street investments, making anyone feel confident that money can be made.

Mr. Cramer serves as a markets commentator for multimedia financial site TheStreet.com, which he co-founded. Viewers can also frequently see him on “Squawk on the Street,” another CNBC show that airs Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 AM Eastern Time. In his spare time, Mr. Cramer is an author and he published his most recent book, Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even, in October 2009.

As the owner/founder and senior partner for Cramer Berkowitz, this financial wiz managed to achieve a 24 percent compounded rate of return after fees for a period of 15 years. In 2001, he retired from his well-known hedge fund, ending with one of the most outstanding records in the industry, including an over 36 percent year in 2000.

In addition to being skilled in financial markets, Mr. Cramer has a law degree from Harvard Law School. His writing career is long, stemming from his launch of American Lawyer magazine and writing about stock market issues for The New Republic when he worked at Goldman Sachs. To learn how to turn bear into bull, watch “Mad Money” Monday through Friday at 6 PM and 11 PM Eastern Time.

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India is a prime example of how drastically imports fluctuate. In 2008, India was the largest gold importer worldwide, brining in 420 tons of the precious metal. Just one year later, imports totaled only slightly more than 200 tons, a decline of more than 100 percent. High prices of gold coins, which decreased demand, were to blame. China easily slid into the top gold importer spot in 2009.

Since that time, Slovakia has come onto the scene as a high-volume gold importer. In 2010, it imported 986 tons of gold, according to the International Trade Centre. This made it the largest importer and Egypt and Malaysia occupied the number two and three positions ahead of the U.S., which imported 656 tons last year.

In 2010, China imported 228 tons and India brought in just 169 tons. The steadily increasing price of gold has made it unfeasible for many countries to continue the level of importing from prior years. As gold prices continue to climb, it will be interesting to see which country ends up in the top position for 2011.

It is worth noting that being a large consumer of gold does not necessarily mean the country is a large importer. India consumes the most gold of all countries, accounting for about 20 percent of worldwide demand for the precious metal. It also has the largest gold jewelry market in the world and despite the increase in gold price, this market increased 67 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2010.

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Value investing is the practice of choosing stocks of companies that are undervalued by the market. Mr. Graham was an expert at investing with a margin of safety. Investors using this strategy purchase stocks with deflated prices and profit when these stocks increase in value. The subjective nature and the difficulty estimating intrinsic value make this approach challenging.

Expecting volatility and profiting from it were part of Mr. Graham’s philosophy. Stock investing by its nature is volatile and even those who buy gold coins expect a small amount of volatility in the price of gold. According to Mr. Graham, smart investors view market downturns as opportunities to discover great investments. His famous Mr. Market character, the imaginary business partner to an investor, was developed around this concept.

The legendary investor believed that others participating in the market should identify the type of investor they are. There are active and passive investors and there are speculators, who are not really investors at all. People should determine whether they are willing to commit energy and time to become active investors or instead exert less effort and be content with passive returns.

In one of his books, Mr. Graham states that investments are most intelligent when they are most businesslike. His former Columbia Business School student, Mr. Buffett, considers these the most important words ever written about investment. Mr. Buffett said that Mr. Graham wished each day to do something generous, something creative, and something foolish and was best at the first act.

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Ask some scientists where gold comes from and they will give you surprising answers. Some believe it was created by supernova explosions that occurred when the Earth was young. Others say lava led to underground gold formations many years before man occupied this planet. To date, humans have not been able to replicate gold using scientific procedures or alchemy.

Not all countries are equally blessed with gold deposits. The largest, Muruntau, is in the Kyzyl Kum Desert within Uzbekistan. This open pit mine measures approximately 3.5 x 2.5 kilometers and reaches a depth of 350 meters. There are about 170 million ounces of gold in this deposit and approximately two million ounces are produced each year.

Even if they do not have gold in their backyard, many countries engage in gold exploration. This is big business in South Africa, Australia, Canada, and the United States. AngloGold Ashanti Limited is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, but has 21 operations on four continents. Toronto, Canada’s Barrick Gold has 27 operating mines, some of which are located in South America, Africa, and Australia.

Within the U.S., gold is being explored in states like Colorado, Nevada, Montana, and even Alaska. Mexico is one Central American country known for substantial gold deposits. Turkey is noted as one of the countries thought to have significant geological potential for gold resources and companies like Eldorado Gold Corporation hold substantial assets there.

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In 1977, Fidelity named the up-and-comer the manager of an obscure portfolio called the Magellan Fund. From that year through 1990, Mr. Lynch managed the fund, achieving historic results. Assets that started at $20 billion increased to $14 billion by 1990. Even more impressive was the fact that Mr. Lynch beat the benchmark S&P 500 Index in 11 of the 13 years he managed the fund, resulting in a 29 percent average annual return.

Industry followers describe this investor as a “chameleon” due to his ability to adapt to various investment styles. When selecting stock, Mr. Lynch adhered to eight fundamental principles. These are: know what you own, avoid long shots, identify, recognize, and buy good businesses, explain reasons for buying before making a purchase, consider it futile to predict interest rates and the economy, be humble, flexible, and learn from mistakes, and recognize that there is always something to worry about.

Mr. Lynch invested in companies that did what he was familiar with or could understand easily. He focused on fundamentals of the company and invested for the long-term. His beliefs and advice are captured in his books, which include Learn to Earn, One Up On Wall Street, and Beating the Street.

In 1993’s Beating the Street, Mr. Lynch discussed gold, writing that it has not likely “seen its last hurrah.” He predicted that supply would dwindle and the fact that exploration was restricted would create a nice situation, though he predicted it to come a bit earlier. Increasing inflation would lead people to buy gold coins and jewelry as a hedge, he wrote.

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Google Finance is one of the best apps because it nearly mirrors the Web site of the same name. Included are market summary information, the most recent finance news, and the ability to search for a stock by ticker symbol or company name. Anyone with a Google Finance account can sync the details of their portfolio to this user-friendly, easily readable app.

Bloomberg offers an Android app that includes real-time quotes for stocks, government bonds, commodities, and currencies. The global focus makes this app perfect for those who play in a larger investing sandbox. Breaking business news is posted throughout the day and the app is simple to navigate, no matter what you are trying to do.

Yahoo! Finance features data that is essential to developing price charts and conducting investment analysis. Similar to Google Finance, this app brings a Web site to your Android phone. Market indexes like NASDAQ and NYSE, stock quotes, company news, and industry happenings are all at your fingertips. Yahoo! Daily Ticker video is also available to Android users via this app.

If the ability to buy gold coins is not a daring enough investment and you are dabbling in the market, research is essential. Morningstar has taken its research tools mobile with its Android app. Users can review performance data, star ratings, expenses, and details regarding the top holdings within a mutual fund. This app provides all this and more for approximately 8,100 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

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His investment career began in 1963 and by 1967, employer Arnhold and S. Bleichroder established the offshore investment fund First Eagle at his request and let him run it. Investment regulations proved too restrictive by 1973 and he resigned to create a private investment company. This eventually became the Quantum Fund, a privately owned hedge fund established with fellow investor Jim Rogers. In 1992, this fund broke the Bank of England, forcing the devaluation of the pound and netting Mr. Soros a $1 billion profit.

As an author, his writings mainly deal with the concept of reflexivity. This holds that individual bias enters market transactions and can change the perception of economic fundamentals. These changes are usually marked by disequilibrium, he believes, situations during which conventional economy theory regarding the market does not apply.

In the first quarter of 2011, Mr. Soros made headlines by dumping nearly $800 million in gold. These investments comprised approximately ten percent of the $8.4 billion Soros Fund Management portfolio. As gold prices continue to rise, one wonders whether Mr. Soros may find it worthwhile to buy gold coins or stock.

Soros has said that the only reason he is rich is because he knows when he is wrong. As of February 2009, he believe that the global financial system had disintegrated and there was no indication that the bottom had been reached. He does not believe a short-term resolution is available. Despite this, he is still standing strong, listed as the 35th richest person worldwide on the Forbes list of billionaires.

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