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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“Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land.”
Ali (599–661) said by 661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft. We regard wealth as something to be properly used, rather than as something to boast about. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it, the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it.”
Pericles (494–429 BC) said by 429 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[P]rivate enterprise and initiative, willing to take risks in the hope of gain, allowed to function in freedom, have produced the greatest wealth ever known in the history of mankind. And that if you stop this process and turn everything over to government, the activity will slow down, inventiveness will cease, and we shall get not equalization of riches, but equalization of poverty.”
Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The landlord owes his riches to the poverty of the peasants, and the wealth of the capitalist comes from the same source.”
Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) said by 1921 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it.”
Paul Krugman (born 1953) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 13. The Conscience of a Liberal. W. W. Norton & Company. 352 pages ISBN 978-0-393-06069-0, 1st edition (2007)
“Wealth is an inborn attitude of mind, like poverty. The pauper who has made his pile may flaunt his spoils, but cannot wear them plausibly.”
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) first seen 1929 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Les Enfants Terribles translation by Rosamond Lehmann (1929)
“It is these double standards that have and are still keeping the ordinary Fijian shackled to a now outdated system of feudal control, thus contributing to their poverty and misery, whilst certain chiefs and a large number of Fijian elites continue to substantially increase their wealth at the expense of their poorer subjects.”
Mahendra Chaudhry (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don’t Latin Americans have the right to ask why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening. Don’t they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth – including minerals – is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So the wise man will develop virtue, if he may, in the midst of wealth, or, if not, in poverty; if possible, in his own country—if not, in exile; if possible, as a commander—if not, as a common soldier; if possible, in sound health—if not, enfeebled. Whatever fortune he finds, he will accomplish therefrom something noteworthy.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poverty is the natural state for humanity. Wealth starts in the stomach and corrupts it.…”
Brian Aldiss (1925–2017) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Originally published in Kate Bernheimer (ed.), xo Orpheus (2013), p. 515
“To crave wealth and honor, to demand power, to pile up riches, to gather all those vanities which seem to make for pomp and empty display, that is our furious passion and our unbounded desire. On the other hand, we fear and abhor poverty, obscurity, and humility, and we seek to avoid them by all possible means.”
John Calvin (1509–1564) said by 1564 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.”
Democritus (461–361 BC) said by 361 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freeman (1948), p. 170
“In general, Russia suffers from a frightening poverty in the sphere of facts and a frightening wealth of all types of arguments.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) first seen 1890 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to A.S. Suvorin (February 23, 1890)
“The birch, most shy and lady-like of trees, Her poverty, as best she may, retrieves, And hints at her foregone gentilities With some saved relics of her wealth of leaves.”
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Indian-Summer Reverie" (1846), stanza 8, p. 167
“The dissent we witness is a reaffirmation of faith in man; it is protest against living under rules and prejudices and attitudes that produce the extremes of wealth and poverty and that make us dedicated to the destruction of people through arms, bombs, and gases, and that prepare us to think alike and be submissive objects for the regime of the computer.”
William O. Douglas (1898–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Without some redistribution of wealth and power, downward mobility and debilitating poverty will continue to drive people into desperate channels. And without principled opposition to xenophobias from above and below, these desperate channels will produce a cold-hearted and mean-spirited America no longer worth fighting for or living in. (p79)”
Cornel West (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty. (29)”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From society's standpoint, modern science and technology appears Janus-faced : It has given us wealth in one sense, and poverty in another; it has harnessed nature to man's basic needs in ways and to extents undreamed - of only a few decades ago, but it has fostered a continuingly lowered "quality of life".”
Richard F. Ericson (1919–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must understand that no party in the country can with success base itself on or identify itself with one social element or class. To be successful we have still to reorganize from top to bottom the social structure on which our party rests. We agree that in the modern world great extremes of poverty and wealth shall be replaced by an infinite variety of plenty.”
Rab Butler (1902–1982) first seen 1946 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Conservative Party's first post-war conference on political education (30 March 1946), quoted in The Times (1 April 1946), p. 2
“The American idea of wealth creation is being embraced in India, in China, all over the world. It's lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. So ironically this American formula that we are moving away from at home under Obama is being enthusiastically embraced all around the world.”
Dinesh D'Souza (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Malaysia fortunately has more than enough resources and wealth to address the issue of poverty. Therefore there is no excuse to not prioritize the problem at hand.”
Anwar Ibrahim (born 1947) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anwar Ibrahim (2020) cited in: "Anwar says Malaysia rich, but many people still poor due to ingrained rent seeking culture" in Yahoo! News, 10 July 2020.
“A society is not defined as developed by the wealth it has but by the poverty it doesn’t have.”
Jorge Majfud (born 1969) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ciencia Política newspaper, Buenos Aires, (2008)
“While global real GDP has nearly tripled since 1980, the number of people living in poverty, below $5 per day, has increased by more than 1.1 billion. Why is this? Because past a certain point, GDP growth begins to produce more negative outcomes than positive ones – more than wealth.”
Jason Hickel (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People take pride on the basis of wealth and are looked down on the basis of poverty.”
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (1117–1197) said by 1197 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women must show the compelling intellectual capacity to provide visionary leadership that will help African nations defeat poverty, create wealth, create jobs and enhance prosperity.”
Ramatu Tijani Aliyu (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of these people can grasp — this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister.”
Rosie Duffield (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My traditional society defined womanhood as poverty, but I have turned it into wealth. As a child I was jealous of the preference for boys, then the jealousy became anger and disappointment, but I turned the offence into a source of strength, which produced literature and power. I am a link in a chain of astonishing women in my family.”
Dorit Rabinyan (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Illiteracy, poverty and low development indices have roots in the low level of education. Today, more than ever, the main wealth source is knowledge. The global economy is being transformed from a material-based economy to a knowledge-based economy.”
Olugbemiro Jegede wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Conflict has brought poverty, and in our communities, girls are seen as a source of wealth. We are working with chiefs and community leaders to end child marriage because it remains one of our biggest problems. We’ve made progress, but much more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for men and women in South Sudan”
Ayaa Benjamin Warille wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cultural heritage is a basic human right and need, like water, food, health and safety. In times of conflict, culture helps people not to lose their humanity. And in times of poverty, archaeological and cultural wealth can help create jobs, for example in tourism.”
Sada Mire (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our research is going to be focused on helping urban America. We’re going to address issues of public health, health disparities, climate, poverty, the wealth gap, housing situations, all of the social determinants of health and wellness. This leads into my third priority, which is strengthen our partnerships with the community.”
Lesia L. Crumpton-Young wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The economy in South Africa is still divided, and wealth and poverty have opposite faces”
Zulaikha Patel (born 2003) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To love art is to embrace poverty and to be unafraid of the uncertainty of an artist’s lifestyle, to sacrifice security, material wealth, regular family, to become a dedicated filmmaker, a public servant at the beck and call of the artist as a citizen.”
Marilou Diaz-Abaya (1955–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is incomprehensible, unacceptable and, if I may say so, even indecent that, in the face of rising social poverty in the country, there should be a sort of indifference to the accumulation of wealth that the major energy companies have amassed in our country through windfall profits.”
Angelo Bonelli (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Contentment is natural wealth; luxury, artificial poverty.”
Socrates (attributed) first seen 1852 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As reported by Charles Simmons in A Laconic Manual and Brief Remarker, containing over a thousand subjects alphabetically and systematically arranged (North Wrentham, Mass. 1852), p. 103. However, the original source of…
“Widespread poverty and concentrated wealth cannot long endure side by side in a democracy”
Thomas Jefferson (misattributed) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed to Jefferson in speeches by FDRand JFK,[https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/pittsburgh-pa-19470603 but actually a quote about Jefferson by Charles A. Beard in 1936.
“Seneca, with two millions out at usury, can afford to chant the praises of poverty; but for our part, we prefer the fine extravagance of that philosopher, who declared "that no man was as rich as all men ought to be.”
Edwin Percy Whipple (1819–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This century has been so rich in discovery and so packed with technical innovation that it is tempting to believe that there can never be another like it. That conceit betrays the poverty of our collective imagination.”
John Maddox (1925–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The dirty truth is that the rich are the great cause of poverty.”
Michael Parenti (1933–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The man with a toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to not being as rich as your neighbor for an objection to poverty. The cowardly, the insubordinate, and the envious share your objections.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That is the devilish thing about poverty, the ever-recurrent thing - loneliness. Day after day with never an intelligent person to talk to; night after night back to your godless room, always alone. Perhaps it sounds rather fun if you are rich and sought-after; but how different it is when you do it from necessity!”
George Orwell (1903–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In truth, poverty is an anomaly to rich people. It is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell.”
Walter Bagehot (1826–1877) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chapter: Walter Bagehot on Scott National Review 1858, p404
“All affectation is the vain and ridiculous attempt of poverty to appear rich.”
Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) said by 1801 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Johann Kaspar Lavater (attributed)
“The bright old day now dawns again; the cry runs through the land, In England there shall be dear bread—in Ireland, sword and brand; And poverty, and ignorance, shall swell the rich and grand, So, rally round the rulers with the gentle iron hand, Of the fine old English Tory days; Hail to the coming time!”
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Fine Old English Gentleman (1841)
“I have declared war on the rich who prosper on our poverty, the politicians who lie to us with smiling faces, and all the mindless, heart-less robots who protect them and their property.”
Assata Shakur (1947–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The rich have a horror of Poverty because they have a dim foreboding of the expiatory interchange implied by her presence.”
Léon Bloy (1846–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who ruled in high places, and had the making of the laws in their hands, were chiefly rich landowners and successful traders, and instead of trying to raise the people, create a higher standard of comfort and well-being, and better their general condition, they did their best or worst to keep them in a state of poverty and serfdom, of dependence and wretchedness.”
Joseph Arch (1826–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are very poorpeople, eating from bins out there, and very rich.The infrastructure is there and the governmenthas made a conscious decision that they are notjust going to combat poverty, they will alsodevelop science and technology.”
Tebello Nyokong (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every time I go to Africa, there's always something that touches my heart. Everyone cries about its poverty, and we pretend to ignore that it's the rich countries that are preventing this continent from developing. Africa is a dirty business.”
Angelo Ogbonna (born 1988) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Il blob: Messi sognava l'Inter, Higuain rosicone, Verratti ha dubbi sull'italiano, Gazzetta.it (December 25, 2015)