UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 13F FORM 13F COVER PAGE Report for the Calendar Year or Quarter Ended: March 31, 2009 Check here if Amendment [ ]; Amendment Number: This Amendment (Check only one.): [ ] is a restatement. [ ] adds new holdings entries. Institutional Investment Manager Filing this Report: Name:GENERAL AMERICAN INVESTORS COMPANY, INC. Address: 100 PARK AVE 35TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10017 13F File Number: 28-461 The institutional investment manager filing this report and the person by whom it is signed hereby represent that the person signing the report is authorized to submit it, that all information contained herein is true, correct and complete, and that it is understood that all required items, statements, schedules, lists, and tables, are considered integral parts of this form. Person Signing this Report on Behalf of Reporting Manager: Name: Eugene S. Stark Title: Vice-President, Administration Phone: 212-916-8447 Signature, Place, and Date of Signing: Eugene S. Stark New York, NY April 28, 2009 Report Type (Check only one.): [X] 13F HOLDINGS REPORT. [ ] 13F NOTICE. [ ] 13F COMBINATION REPORT. List of Other Managers Reporting for this Manager: Form 13F File Number Name I AM SIGNING THIS REPORT AS REQUIRED BY THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. FORM 13F SUMMARY PAGE Report Summary: Number of Other Included Managers: 0 Form 13F Information Table Entry Total: 54 Form 13F Information Table Value Total: $605494526 List of Other Included Managers: No. 13F File Number Name VALUE SHARES/ SH/ PUT/ INVSTMT -----VOTING AUTHORITY----- NAME OF ISSUER -TITLE OF CLASS- --CUSIP-- x$1000 PRN AMT PRN CALL DSCRETN -MANAGERS- SOLE SHARED NONE ABB Ltd. ADR COMMON 000375204 16728 1200000 SH SOLE 1200000 0 0 Arch Capital Group Ltd. COMMON G0450A105 16158 300000 SH SOLE 300000 0 0 Adams Express Company COMMON 006212104 940 125004 SH SOLE 125004 0 0 The Allstate Corporation COMMON 020002101 3351 175000 SH SOLE 175000 0 0 Alplha Natural Resources, Inc. COMMON 02076X102 3550 200000 SH SOLE 200000 0 0 Apache Corporation COMMON 037411105 29469 459800 SH SOLE 459800 0 0 ASML Holding N.V. COMMON N07059186 12257 700000 SH SOLE 700000 0 0 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. COMMON 014482103 4493 236100 SH SOLE 236100 0 0 American Express Company COMMON 025816109 5793 425000 SH SOLE 425000 0 0 AXIS Capital Holdings Limited COMMON G0692U109 9918 440000 SH SOLE 440000 0 0 The Boeing Company COMMON 097023105 10674 300000 SH SOLE 300000 0 0 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class A COMMON 084670108 12138 140 SH SOLE 140 0 0 Central Securities Corporation COMMON 155123102 449 34400 SH SOLE 34400 0 0 Cougar Biotechnology, Inc. COMMON 222083107 2270 70500 SH SOLE 70500 0 0 Costco Wholesale Corporation COMMON 22160K105 26634 575000 SH SOLE 575000 0 0 Cisco Systems, Inc. COMMON 17275R102 16099 960000 SH SOLE 960000 0 0 CEMEX, S.A. de C.V. ADR COMMON 151290889 11724 1875862 SH SOLE 1875862 0 0 Cytokinetics, Incorporated COMMON 23282W100 901 529900 SH SOLE 529900 0 0 Dell Inc. COMMON 24702R101 14030 1480000 SH SOLE 1480000 0 0 Diageo plc ADR COMMON 25243Q205 15663 350000 SH SOLE 350000 0 0 Devon Energy Corporation COMMON 25179M103 4469 100000 SH SOLE 100000 0 0 Epoch Holding Corporation COMMON 29428R103 11450 1666667 SH SOLE 1666667 0 0 Fidelity National Financial, Inc COMMON 31620R105 7316 375000 SH SOLE 375000 0 0 Gilead Sciences, Inc. COMMON 375558103 5535 119500 SH SOLE 119500 0 0 Halliburton Company COMMON 406216101 12376 800000 SH SOLE 800000 0 0 Hewitt Associates, Inc.Class A COMMON 42822Q100 13871 466100 SH SOLE 466100 0 0 Lamar Advertising Company COMMON 512815101 3647 374100 SH SOLE 374100 0 0 Leap Wireless International, Inc COMMON 521863308 4463 128000 SH SOLE 128000 0 0 McDermott International, Inc. COMMON 580037109 3348 250000 SH SOLE 250000 0 0 MetLife, Inc. COMMON 59156R108 6376 280000 SH SOLE 280000 0 0 Microsoft Corporation COMMON 594918104 10471 570000 SH SOLE 570000 0 0 M&T Bank Corporation COMMON 55261F104 7465 165000 SH SOLE 165000 0 0 Nelnet, Inc. COMMON 64031N108 4575 517500 SH SOLE 517500 0 0 NetEase.com, Inc. COMMON 64110W102 11145 415100 SH SOLE 415100 0 0 MetroPCS Communications, Inc. COMMON 591708102 18959 1110000 SH SOLE 1110000 0 0 PepsiCo, Inc. COMMON 713448108 13127 255000 SH SOLE 255000 0 0 PartnerRe Ltd. COMMON G6852T105 17069 275000 SH SOLE 275000 0 0 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. COMMON 703481101 4480 500000 SH SOLE 500000 0 0 QUALCOMM Incorporated COMMON 747525103 27237 700000 SH SOLE 700000 0 0 Everest Re Group, Ltd. COMMON G3223R108 17700 250000 SH SOLE 250000 0 0 Republic Services, Inc. COMMON 760759100 16275 949000 SH SOLE 949000 0 0 Royce Value Trust, Inc. COMMON 780910105 1023 144955 SH SOLE 144955 0 0 Teradata Corporation COMMON 88076W103 9164 565000 SH SOLE 565000 0 0 Target Corporation COMMON 87612E106 11455 333100 SH SOLE 333100 0 0 The TJX Companies, Inc. COMMON 872540109 42947 1675000 SH SOLE 1675000 0 0 Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. COMMON 893521104 2961 83000 SH SOLE 83000 0 0 The Travelers Companies, Inc. COMMON 89417E109 9550 235000 SH SOLE 235000 0 0 Textron Inc. COMMON 883203101 2403 418700 SH SOLE 418700 0 0 United Technologies Corporation COMMON 913017109 13969 325000 SH SOLE 325000 0 0 Verifone Holdings, Inc. 1/38% NOTE 92342YAB5 5475 10000000 PRN SOLE 10000000 0 0 Weatherford International Ltd. COMMON G95089101 22694 2050000 SH SOLE 2050000 0 0 Waste Management, Inc. COMMON 94106L109 16128 630000 SH SOLE 630000 0 0 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. COMMON 931142103 24487 470000 SH SOLE 470000 0 0 Xerox Corporation COMMON 984121103 8645 1900000 SH SOLE 1900000 0 0