Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“A rich man cannot enjoy a sound mind nor a sound body, without exercise and abstinence; and yet these are truly the worst ingredients of poverty.”
Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–1782) said by 1782 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. It’s self-inflicted fear and ignorance that keeps people trapped.”
Robert Kiyosaki (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The lessons of life has ever been “Hatred is not overcome by hatred, by love alone is hatred conquered." Spiritual wealth alone is the true treasure, the wealth of the whole world is but vanity.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who can create wealth — and know that they can — are able to dictate their own terms. Wealth is a means to happiness, but it is not the main one. What most people want is control over their lives. They want the ability to choose how they live: what work they do, the way they interact with friends and colleagues, the quality of their personal relationships, the way they view themselves.”
Richard Koch (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A good civilization, it seems to me, is one which continues to work energetically to create more wealth, but directs this wealth toward the fulfillment of deeper values. Once certain basic needs are satisfied and certain basic comforts are available to all, it turns its attention to the attainment of more meaningful and lasting satisfactions than the mere possession and consumption of merchandise.”
Luis Muñoz Marín (1898–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth is a form of power in our society. With great power comes great responsibility. If you have too much wealth, ipso facto, you have too much power - therefore you have too much responsibility - and you're a kind of dictator.”
Will Self (born 1961) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Moral Maze (BBC Radio 4, 1 October 2008).
“Knowledge or wealth to few are given, But mark how just the ways of Heaven: True joy to all is free. Nor wealth nor knowledge grant the boon: 'Tis thine, O conscience, thine alone, It all belongs to thee.”
William Julius Mickle (1734–1788) first seen 1761 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Knowledge: an Ode (c. 1761)
“O, my God! withhold from me the wealth to which tears, and sighs, and curses cleave. Better none at all than wealth like that!”
Christian Scriver (1629–1693) said by 1693 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was born into it [wealth] and there was nothing I could do about it. It was there, like air or food or any other element. The only question with wealth is what to do with it. It can be used for evil purposes or it can be an instrumentality for constructive social living.”
John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Character is the one that carries whatever we become. If your wealth is bigger than your character, that wealth will be spending you, not you spending it.”
T. B. Joshua (1963–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Commerce is but a means to an end, the diffusion of civilization and wealth. To allow commerce to proceed until the source of civilization is weakened and overturned is like killing the goose to get the golden egg. Is the immediate creation of material wealth to be our only object?”
William Stanley Jevons (1835–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Increase in the wealth per capita fosters democracy; but the latter, at least according to what we have been able to observe up to now, entails great destruction of wealth and even eventually dries up the sources of it. Hence it is its own grave-digger, it destroys what gave it birth.”
Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923) said by 1923 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the Spanish proverb says, "He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him." So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1778 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (17 April 1778) p. 396
“The wealth of the universe is all over your head. We need to take command of the solar system to gain that wealth, and to escape the sea of paper our government is becoming, and for some decent chance of stopping a Dinosaur Killer asteroid.”
Larry Niven (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure; but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity. (15)”
Epicurus (342–270 BC) said by 270 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the breath and the bloom of the year in the bag of one bee: All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem: In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea: Breath and bloom, shade and shine, — wonder, wealth, and — how far above them —”
Robert Browning (1812–1889) said by 1889 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The seers of old had fully restrained selves, and were austere. Having abandoned the five strands of sensual pleasures, they practiced their own welfare. The brahmans had no cattle, no gold, no wealth. They had study as their wealth and grain. They guarded the holy life as their treasure.”
Gautama Buddha (501–501 BC) said by 501 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Labour is the source of all wealth, the political economists assert. And it really is the source -- next to nature, which supplies it with the material that it converts into wealth. But it is even infinitely more than this. It is the prime basic condition for all human existence, and this to such an extent that, in a sense, we have to say that labour created man himself.”
Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) first seen 1876 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (1876)
“When those far removed from the creation of wealth -- undergraduates, reporters, politicians -- hear that the richest 5% of the people have half the total wealth, they tend to think injustice! An experienced programmer would be more likely to think is that all? The top 5% of programmers probably write 99% of the good software.”
Paul Graham (born 1964) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: How to Make Wealth", May 2004
“In theory I could run my business perfectly, and then run the country perfectly. And there's never been a case like this where somebody's had, like, if you look at other people of wealth, they didn't have this kind of asset and this kind of wealth, frankly. It's just a different thing.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela, and it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused by that country.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Response to a question from the press following his remarks on operations in Venezuela Trump's vow to 'run' Venezuela, sell oil, part of plan to dominate Western Hemisphere ABC News (January 3, 2026)
“Time is the wealth of change, but the clock in its parody makes it mere change and no wealth.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is this worth, that is, this ability to get other wealth in exchange, which constitutes true Economic Wealth.”
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth is the hidden side of speed and speed the hidden side of wealth.”
Paul Virilio (1932–2018) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pure War. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Semiotext(e), 1983. p. 30
“For each individual it is a great advantage to retain the rights over the fruits of his labour even though he must put off the enjoyment of them. His personal wealth is thus increased. For that is what wealth is,—command of the right to postponed consumption.”
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Wealth,' they said, 'is a false measure. Honour cannot be hoarded. Integrity cannot adorn a room. There is no courage in gold. Only fools build a fortress of wealth. Only fools would live in it and imagine themselves safe.'”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As to the second mode, that of leaving wealth at death for public uses, it may be said that this is only a means for the disposal of wealth, provided a man is content to wait until he is dead before it becomes of much good in the world.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The division of the land is the grand source of the property and wealth of France...probably no other country has made such strides in increasing wealth and comfort as France has since 1790.”
John Bright (1811–1889) first seen 1853 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to George Wilson (24 September 1853), quoted in John Vincent, The Formation of the British Liberal Party, 1857–1868 [1966] (1972), p. 209
“Inequalities of wealth, unjustly established, have assuredly injured the nation in which they exist during their establishment; and, unjustly directed, they injure it yet more during their existence. But inequalities of wealth justly established, benefit the nation in the course of their establishment; and, nobly used, aid it yet more by their existence.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No government is legitimate that does not show equal concern for the fate of all those over whom it claims dominion and from whom it claims allegiance. Equal concern is the sovereign virtue of political community without it government is only tyranny and when a nation’s wealth is very unequally distributed, as the wealth of even very prosperous nations now is, then its equal concern is suspect.”
Ronald Dworkin (1931–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thus Trade is the Foundation of Wealth, and Wealth of Power.”
Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) said by 1731 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we judge by wealth and power, our times are the best of times; if the times have made us willing to judge by wealth and power, they are the worst of times.”
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Taste of the Age," The Saturday Evening Post (26 July 1958), p. 290
“What a foolish thing it is to be governed by a desire for fame and profit and to fret away one's whole life without a moment of peace. Great wealth is no guarantee of security. Wealth, in fact, tends to attract calamities and disaster.”
Yoshida Kenkō (1283–1350) said by 1350 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 38 (tr. Keene, 1967)
“The French may improve their natural wealth and power by the improvement of trade and commerce. We can have no wealth, nor power by consequence, as Europe is now constituted, without the improvement of them, nor in any degree but proportionably to this improvement.”
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751) said by 1751 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think some of us found that we were getting to cling much more loosely to material wealth, and to realise that wealth was made to be a servant and not a master—that as a servant it had a most useful function to perform, that as a master it meant damnation.”
Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Leeds (13 March 1925), quoted in On England, and Other Addresses (1926), pp. 61-62
“Banking is not the creator of our prosperity, but is the creation of it. It is not the cause of our wealth, but is the consequence of our wealth; and if the industrial energy and development which has been going on for so many years in this country were to be hindered or relaxed, then finance, and all that finance means, will follow trade to the countries which are more successful than ourselves.”
Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the Guildhall, London (19 January 1904), quoted in The Times (20 January 1904), p. 10
“We have to stop allowing economics to be used as a trump card. Capitalism is like math. It is amoral. It is good at producing wealth; it's bad at distributing wealth. Unless it operates within a moral framework it will produce an unjust society.”
Charley Reese (1937–2013) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Is Economics All There Is?, July 18, 2003
“It's all for the planned redistribution of wealth which is also stated in this document, the redistribution of wealth which is based on a new concept called equity. And it says this: we must not lose sight of equity, or fairness based on need. Where have you heard that here, today? From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
Michele Bachmann (born 1956) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Edwatch conference, October 10-11, 2003
“But some, making no account of the wealth of nature, pursue the wealth of vain opinions. They choose to lean on one who lacks rather than one who has the gift of sight, and with this defective guidance to their steps must of necessity fall.”
Philo (15 BC–50) said by 50 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The second corruption of the state is oligarchy (oligos = few), in which the military elite is narrowed down to a few ruling families of immense wealth and prestige, who now openly flaunt their wealth and possessions.”
Pierre Stephen Robert Payne (1911–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The neoclassical dogma of diminishing returns is completely wrong - success begets success and wealth begets wealth.”
David Orrell (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth in the hands of the holders of wealth is not capital until it controls the means of production, buys labor power, and puts it to work, continuously expanding surpluses by intensifying productivity through an ever-rising curve of technological inputs.”
Eric Wolf (1923–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have among us a class of mammon worshippers, whose one test of conservatism, or radicalism, is the attitude one takes with respect to accumulated wealth. Whatever tends to preserve the wealth of the wealthy is called conservatism, and whatever favors anything else, no matter what, they call socialism.”
Richard T. Ely (1854–1943) first seen 1894 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Richard T. Ely, Socialism : an examination of its nature, its strength and its weakness, with suggestions for social reform (1894)
“Like the Roman Empire in the early fifth century, Europe has allowed its defenses to crumble. As its wealth has grown, so its military prowess has shrunk, along with its self-belief. It has grown decadent in its shopping malls and sports stadiums. At the same time, it has opened its gates to outsiders who have coveted its wealth without renouncing their ancestral faith.”
Niall Ferguson (born 1964) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paris and the fall of Rome", The Boston Globe (November 16, 2015).
“I saw that an humble man, with the blessing of the Lord, might live on a little, and that where the heart was set on greatness, success in business did not satisfy the craving; but that commonly with an increase of wealth the desire of wealth increased. There was a care on my mind so to pass my time that nothing might hinder me from the most steady attention to the voice of the true Shepherd”
John Woolman (1720–1772) said by 1772 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Given the extensive involvement of state violence in the process by which the corporate elite not only achieved its wealth in the past but continues to maintain and augment it in the present, it is clear that the massive inequalities of wealth that characterise present-day “capitalist” society are radically inconsistent with any approach to justice in holdings that is even remotely Nozickian.”
Roderick Long (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, when the three richest Americans own more wealth than 160 million Americans, it is literally beyond belief that the Republican leadership wants to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 0.2 percent...”
Bernie Sanders (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate.”
N. R. Narayana Murthy (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Castles continued to be the focus of economic activity as the center of an agricultural domain. Wealth continued to be measured in land and its produce. The only access the lord had to his wealth was to move from one estate to another consuming products from the harvests. Housing and feeding a household including retainers and servants required vasts amount of food and space for food preparation.”
Marilyn Stokstad (1929–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth and power are means to women; women are means to genetic eternity….Men are to be exploited as providers of parental care, wealth, and genes. Cynical? Not half as cynical as most accounts of human history.”
Matt Ridley (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source