20 Brilliant Quotes by Wealthy People
Suggested by SMSThe wealthy are not always the smartest or most articulate people in the room, but we all like to listen to them—largely because we want to see if they’ll tell us how they got wealthy so we can join their club. Unfortunately, simply listening to the wealthy can’t make you rich, but it is very entertaining, as Warren Buffett has pointed out.
20. “If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
Warren Buffett
Given that most librarians aren’t very wealthy, I think the Oracle of Omaha was on to something here. He obviously isn’t doing much for the sale of get–rich-quick books.
19. “I refuse to feel guilty. I feel guilty about too much in my life but not about money. I went through periods when I had nothing, so somebody in my family has to get stinkin’ wealthy.”
Jim Carrey
Okay, the comic from Newmarket, Ontario, isn’t necessarily a genius, but he’s certainly honest about how he feels about having a lot of money.
18. “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
Sam Walton
During the last few years of his life the founder of Wal-Mart was the richest man in the world. Yet he freely admitted that there was somebody more powerful than he was: his customers. Perhaps that’s why Walton treated customers like cattle—he was afraid of them.
17. “You know, my main reaction to this money thing is that it’s humorous, all the attention to it, because it’s hardly the most insightful or valuable thing that’s happened to me.”
Steve Jobs
Anybody that’s ever taken a look at Apple’s stock valuation ($588 a share on December 3, 2012) in recent years knows that Steve Jobs didn’t think money was a joke. I have to wonder if this quote, given to Playboy in 1985, was his idea of a joke.
16. “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”
Steve Jobs
This quote might be more revealing about Mr. Jobs’ character than anything else. He was far more than just a hippy turned computer nerd, as he liked to portray himself. I have to wonder if being hanged at the yardarm was his idea of fun. That’s what the navy used to do to pirates.
15. “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Henry Ford
I have to wonder if Ford was talking about politicians when he made that statement or simply people in general. Either way, there’s more truth in that statement than most of us will ever admit. It’s also pretty scary if you think about it for a minute; particularly when you realize that the majority of those who don’t think drive the invention Ford is most famous for: the automobile.
14. “I’ll keep having sex until I’m 100. I have three girlfriends, a TV show, and a hugely popular men’s magazine.”
Hugh Heffner
There’s nothing like a man who enjoys his “work” and stays committed to it. Of course, commitment is easy when your “job” is living in a luxurious mansion filled with beautiful women.
13. “I didn’t really expect to make any money. If I could make enough to cover the rent and buy some food that would be fine. As it turns out, it turned out to be quite valuable in the end.”
Ellon Musk
The man who created zip drives and founded PayPal and sold it for billions now owns his own rocket ship and space capsule. Musk owns Space X, which has developed a working space capsule and the world’s most powerful rocket. Unlike Richard Branson’s “spaceship,” Musk’s craft actually goes into space and visits the International Space Station. He also owns the electric car company, Tesla Motors. Mr. Musk obviously made some money even though he didn’t expect to.
12. “I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.”
Sir Richard Branson
That rather frightening quote probably defines the way the Virgin chairman actually sees the world. Hopefully he’ll never get into politics or into the super villain business. Perhaps the real reason he’s interested in space travel is that Branson wants his own planet to rule.
11. “The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios… The idea that you can actually predict what’s going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.”
George Soros
No billionaire has been maligned more in recent years than George Soros. The man who made billions of dollars manipulating the markets is famous for his left wing political opinions. He got particular criticism for his childish attacks on another George, George W. Bush, whom he once compared to Hitler. Like the Koch Brothers, Soros is often attacked because he gives large amounts of money to politicians that share his “views.” Like Donald Trump, he also likes to say stupid things.
10. “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.”
Bill Gates
Obviously, the man knew what he was talking about. Bill Gates became the world’s richest man by selling software and founding Microsoft.
9. “Life is not fair; get used to it.”
Bill Gates
A little common sense from a very rich man; unfortunately, few people take it.
8. “Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.”
Bill Gates
Perhaps it isn’t profound, but this piece of wisdom from a very rich man sure is entertaining.
7. “Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It’s to see my dividends coming in.”
John D. Rockefeller
It’s easy to see how he became the person modern historians consider the richest person in human history. He did so by stifling competition and getting total control of the oil supply.
6. “The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.”
John D. Rockefeller
Strangely enough, he wasn’t in the munitions business—he was in the oil business. He also considered himself a good Christian who tried to live by the precepts of the Bible. It’s obvious his “Christianity” stopped when he went to work.
5. “A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.”
J. P. Morgan
J.P. Morgan was considered the greatest financier in history. He reportedly saved the U.S. government from default on two separate occasions. He was also a very cynical man, as you can see. The frightening thing is that the quote is very true.
4. “The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.”
Andrew Carnegie
I don’t know what Mr. Carnegie was talking about here, but it is certainly entertaining. When he wasn’t having union members shot, Andrew Carnegie founded the steel industry and financed the public library system in the United States.
3. “Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything.”
Paris Hilton
It’s easy to see why the actress, heiress, and playgirl was cut off from the family fortune. Her grandfather founded the Hilton hotel chain. Today she has to make her living, which she apparently does, according to the tabloids.
2. “These are stupid people that say, ‘Oh didn’t Trump declare bankruptcy? Didn’t he go bankrupt?’ I didn’t go bankrupt.”
Donald Trump
Actually, Trump has gone bankrupt on a number of different occasions. He himself admits that at one point in his life a homeless person begging on the street was in better shape financially than he was.
1. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”
Oprah Winfrey
