The man who is considered as the rock star in the mutual fund industry was born in Massachusetts, USA on January 19, 1944. His name is Peter Lynch, the former head of Magellan Fund, a unit of Fidelity Investment Inc.

Peter was ten years old when his father passed away due to cancer. To support his family, he started working as a caddy where he heard a lot of conversation regarding the stock market. He continued in this kind of work while attending Boston College where he was on partial scholarship. He graduated in 1965 with a degree in history, psychology and philosophy. Three years later, he finished his MBA from Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania.

In 1966, Peter joined Fidelity Investment as an intern and at the same time, continued caddying for the company’s president. He got employed permanently in 1969 as an analyst assigned to cover the textile and metal industries and got paid for $16,000 a year. In 1977, he was appointed head of Magellan Fund, originally an international fund created in 1963.
From his start in 1977 until his retirement in 1990, Magellan Fund posted an average annual return of 29%, easily beating the S&P 500 index which recorded a paltry 13.4%. At the same period, the fund grew from an asset base of $20 million and grew to $14 billion. Since then, he became an author of several business books which are mostly focused on stock investing. His number one advice: Invest in what you know.

Peter is married to Carolyn who passed away in 2015. They had a daughter, Annie, who became a film director and producer. His net worth is estimated at $350 million, some of which go to fund his philanthropic activities.

References
http://www.investopedia.com/university/greatest/peterlynch.asp
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/betting/pros/lynch.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-lynch-25-years-later-its-not-just-invest-in-what-you-know-1449459844