How to Destroy American Ingenuity in One Easy Lesson Share Share Sir John Templeton (“Maxims of Wall Street,” p. 150) I met John Templeton, the founder of the Templeton Growth Fund when I lived in the Bahamas in the 1980s. He made a fortune investing in Japanese stocks after World War II. When he made his statement above, he was referring to foreign countries. His famous Templeton Growth Fund was the first successful mutual fund to invest overseas, and he was so successful that he became a billionaire. The fund is now owned by Franklin Templeton Group; most foreign markets have performed poorly since he sold it. The Templeton magic is gone.