Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Priest Jeffrey W
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
02/01/2012		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
GENERAL AMERICAN INVESTORS CO INC [GAM]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
GENERAL AMERICAN INVESTORS COMPANY, INC., 100 PARK AVENUE - 35TH FLOOR		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10017		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 11,592
D
 
Common Stock 2,072
I
By Parent (1)
Common Stock 10,196
I
By Power of Attorney (1)
5.95% Preferred Stock 3,356
D
 
5.95% Preferred Stock 1,739
I
By Parent (1)
5.95% Preferred Stock 13,121
I
By Power of Attorney (1)
5.95% Preferred Stock 2,000
I
By Children (2)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Priest Jeffrey W
GENERAL AMERICAN INVESTORS COMPANY, INC.
100 PARK AVENUE - 35TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10017		       President  

Signatures

/s/Jeffrey W. Priest 02/03/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Mr. Priest has voting and dispositive power and disclaims beneficial interest
(2) Pecuniary interest.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

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