He worked his way through Princeton as a waiter and manager of the school's athletic ticket office.
He was diagnosed with an erratic heartbeat as a young man, had his first of six heart attacks at age 31, and underwent a heart transplant at age 66.
He was known as "the father of index funds", an idea which started out as his senior thesis at Princeton University. It simplified investing and made it affordable for the average American.
He named Vanguard for British admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile, because he felt it conveyed leadership.