Evelyn Davis

Guide Note: Evelyn Y. Davis is an investor known for her eccentricity and outspoken personality at stockholder meetings. While her behavior may make her seem frivolous, she has in fact popularly known as a shareholder activist because of her long history of tenaciously pushing companies to maintain a fair relationship with their shareholders. In addition to being a highly visible investor in numerous American corporations, she is also known for starting Highlights and Lowlights, a newsletter for business issues. She also started the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation which makes grants to various national institutions from universities to museums.

Fast Facts:

1. Full name: Evelyn Yvonne Davis
2. Birth date: August 16, 1929
3. Birth place: Amsterdam, Holland
4. Is a Holocaust survivor
5. Began her investing career with IBM in 1960
6. Owns stock in almost 100 companies
7. Once told General Motors chairman that he should teach her to drive since she was currently a shareholder and she wanted to learn
8. Attended shareholder meetings dressed in hot pants, bathing suits, and hospital gowns to catch attention by board members