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“Sir, money, money, the most charming of all things; money, which will say more in one moment than the most elegant lover can in years. Perhaps you will say a man is not young; I answer he is rich. He is not genteel, handsome, witty, brave, good-humoured, but he is rich, rich, rich, rich, rich — that one word contradicts everything you can say against him.”
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) said by 1754 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Reaganomics. Based on the belief that the rich had too little money and the poor had too much. That's classic Reaganomics. They believe that the poor had too much money and the rich had too little money so they engaged in reverse Robin Hood - took from the poor and gave to the rich, paid for by the middle class. We cannot stand four more years of Reaganomics in any version, in any disguise.”
Jesse Jackson (1941–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich booy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton. So I guess she [his daughter Scottie] can stand it. However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Harold Ober (4 March 1938), in As Ever, Scott Fitz— (1972), edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, p. 357.
“In the final analysis, the rich must not ignore the poor because both rich and poor are tied in a single garment of destiny. All life is interrelated, and all men are interdependent. The agony of the poor diminishes the rich, and the salvation of the poor enlarges the rich. We are inevitably our brothers' keeper because of the interrelated structure of reality.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That devastating omniscience! That noxious, horn-spectacled refinement! And the money that such refinement means! For after all, what is there behind it, except money? Money for the right kind of education, money for influential friends, money for leisure and peace of mind, money for trips to Italy. Money writes books, money sells them. Give me not righteousness, O Lord, give me money, only money.”
George Orwell (1903–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People on all levels of income are better off than they were in 1979. The hon. Gentleman is saying that he would rather that the poor were poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That way one will never create the wealth for better social services. as we have. What a policy. Yes, he would rather have the poor poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That is the Liberal policy.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From her last House of Commons speech (22 November 1990); response to M.P. Simon Hughes
“Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences injurious to society and morality. Therefore, in last resort, the poor have a claim on the wealth of the rich, so far that they may be relieved from the immoral, demoralizing effects of poverty.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Private notes, quoted in Gertrude Himmelfarb, Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics (1952), p. 178
“Money money money money money money money money money. Let no one say it has no place in a love story. It has a particular place. It is something on the right shelf.”
Daniel Handler (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In response to a painted sign in a local school stating - Rich People Fly with Money - Poor People fly with education - Xanana said “Yes you are right ‘Rich people fly with money’ but you are wrong because ‘Poor people walk with poverty’”. - 28th October 2023”
Xanana Gusmão (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If exclusive privileges were not granted, and if the financial system would not tend to concentrate wealth, there would be few great fortunes and no quick wealth. When the means of growing rich is divided between a greater number of citizens, wealth will also be more evenly distributed; extreme poverty and extreme wealth would be also rare.”
Denis Diderot (1713–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best way to empower the poor is to allow them to become rich—rich enough to buy land. This is easier than it seems, since most poverty today, even in the Third World, is a direct result of aggression-through-government. Minimum wage and licensing laws put the disadvantage out of work, creating poverty by destroying jobs. When government aggression lessens, poverty decreases too.”
Mary Ruwart (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“64 million poor and low-wealth people were eligible to vote in the last election. That’s nearly one-third of the electorate. Thirty-four million did not vote. And a study that we just recently did, called power unleashed — “Unleashing the Power of Poor and Low-Wealth Voters,” said that the number one reason that poor and low-wealth people did not vote — this actually was a tri-reason...”
William Barber II (born 1963) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rev. William Barber: Millions Are Struggling. So Why Do the Debates Ignore Poverty?, DemocracyNow, (8 October 2020)
“The dreams of the rich, and the dreams of the poor—they never overlap, do they?See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich. And what do the rich dream of?Losing weight and looking like the poor.”
Aravind Adiga (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God gives talent so that the ordinary person can become extraordinary. Talent is the only way the poor can become rich. Otherwise, in this world the rich would remain rich and the poor would remain poor. This unfair talent actually creates a balance, helps to make the world fair.”
Chetan Bhagat (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Throughout history, societies have suffered from two kinds of poverty: social poverty... withholds from some... the opportunities available to others; and biological poverty... puts... life... at risk due to lack of food and shelter. Perhaps social poverty can never be eradicated, but in many countries... biological poverty is a thing of the past.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is moral poverty, there is emotional poverty. Illiteracy is a brand of educational poverty. There is poverty arising from lack of awareness, just as there is poverty occasioned by the non-possession of the material requirements for comfortable living.”
May Ifeoma Nwoye (born 1956) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prof Nwoye speak on varieties of poverty that exist in 2016.
“Attacking the rich is not envy. It is self defense. The hoarding of wealth is the cause of poverty. The rich aren’t just indifferent to poverty; they create it and maintain it.”
Jodie Foster (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This idea of oh poor little black person, oh poor little poor person, oh poor little woman, oh poor little indigenous person, everybody's a poor little something!”
Jair Bolsonaro (born 1955) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview to Vice. Meet Brazil's Donald Trump: He's Deliberately Outrageous and He Wants to Be President. Vice (27 April 2016).
“What keeps a poor child in Appalachia poor is not what keeps a poor child in Chicago poor—even if from a distance, the outcomes look the same. And what keeps an able-bodied black woman poor is not what keeps a disabled white man poor, even if the outcomes look the same.”
Ijeoma Oluo (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ellen, only last night, asked, 'Daddy, when will we be rich?' But I did not say to her what I know: 'We will be rich soon, and you who handle poverty badly will handle riches equally badly.' And that is true. In poverty she is envious. In riches she may be a snob. Money does not change the sickness, only the symptoms.”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With us the two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but white and black, and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are respected and treated as equals, if honest and industrious, and hence have a position and pride of character of which neither poverty nor misfortune can deprive them.”
John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) first seen 1849 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the U.S. Senate (12 August 1849)
“Medicaid is a study in contradiction. Thanks to it, America's neediest get health care paid for by taxpayers. Often they get better health care than taxpayers can afford for themselves. The program is both 'free' and break-the-bank expensive. It lets poor people look rich and rich people look poor, and it rewards lawyers and druggists with real wealth. Medicaid works so well it's going broke.”
Joe Barton (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Rich," the Old Man said dreamily, "is not baying after what you can't have. Rich is having the time to do what you want to do. Rich is a little whisky to drink and some food to eat and a roof over your head and a fish pole and a boat and a gun and a dollar for a box of shells. Rich is not owing any money to anybody, and not spending what you haven't got.”
Robert Ruark (1915–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is necessary to have the rich and the poor, because the rich are destined to provide employment for the poor. If everyone were rich, no one would want to work. It's not possible for all of us to be at the same level.”
Paolo Giglio (1927–2016) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Church-State Relations A Chronology – Part II (December 1987) Envio
“Though it sometimes looks like a rich man will never help the poor; whereas the poor people will give away everything they has to help somebody who ain’t got nothing. That’s how it looks to me. Don’t seem like it ought to be that way, but I reckon the rich ain’t got no time to fool with us poor folks.”
Erskine Caldwell (1903–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is extremely unlikely that I will ever be one of the richest people in the world. Almost all rich people were born rich, and almost all of them marry other rich people, and almost all of them hold onto almost all of their money, to pass on to their kids. Money doesn't appear out of nowhere—the more they have, the less for me. Life is a "zero sum game," and I am the zero.”
John S. Hall (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The federal poverty measurement … hasn't been changed since it was first introduced in 1964. … [T]he formula [doesn't] indicate that we've made any gains in fighting poverty. … [Yet] we have made real progress in fighting poverty and raising living standards since the 70s. … The poverty formula … is bankrupt.”
Michael Bloomberg (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The concept of human poverty also entails the recognition of as an essential part of poverty. Measures of income-poverty are usually made at the household level and do not capture intra-household disparities. A gendered approach to human poverty would involve examining how resources such as food, education, health services, and productive assets are distributed within the household.”
Raja Chelliah (1922–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poverty is measured by the size of the population living below an absolute poverty line. Theoretical results show that the impact of competition on poverty is contingent to the ownership structure, the poverty line and the relative dispersion of the individuals with respect to their intensity of preference for quality and sensitivity to effort:”
Rim Lahmandi-Ayed (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poverty is a human-nature disaster. We have to understand the broad context of poverty and climate change, and the impact of both on humans and nature. We must look at ending poverty from a much broader scope than just social justice. Both poverty and climate change require a fight against all forms of injustice.”
Antoinette Lombard first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: https://stias.ac.za/2023/08/poverty-as-a-human-nature-disaster/
“A cynic had defined aid as simply the system by which poor white people in rich countries gave money to rich black people in poor countries to put into Swiss bank accounts.”
Wilbur Smith (1933–2021) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Elephant Song (1991)
“There are two types of poor people, those who are poor together and those who are poor alone. The first are the true poor, the others are rich people out of luck.”
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Capitalism was born from the money loan. Money lending contains the root idea of capitalism. Turn to the pages of the Talmud and you will find that the Jews made an art of lending money. They were taught early to look for their chief happiness in the possession of money. They fathomed all the secrets that lay hid in money. They became Lords of Money and Lords of the World.”
Werner Sombart (1863–1941) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jews & Modern Capitalism, 1913. See I Testify Against the Jews by Robert Edward Edmondson. Sons Of Liberty, 3rd ed., 1985.
“If you really want to make money, never make a decision based on money. 'Cause if you make-- if you chase money, you're gonna get less of it. If you chase a thing that you love -- that's interesting -- only because you love that thing, you'll make more money. I-- I just believe that's-- in the arts, that's the only way to make money, is to never consider money as a part of your decision.”
Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For mines are for men, not for money. And money is not something to go mad about, and throw your hat into the air for. Money is for food and clothes and comfort, and a visit to the pictures. Money is to make happy the lives of children. Money is for security, and for dreams, and for hopes, and for purposes. Money is for buying the fruits of the earth, of the land where you were born.”
Alan Paton (1903–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Money is not in the realm of God. Money is outside the kingdom of God; it is in the world of Satan. Therefore, money is unrighteous both in position and existence. Actually, as far as God is concerned, money should not exist. In this universe there should not be such a thing as money. If we love money, we love something that should not exist.”
Witness Lee (1905–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don’t do anything. I just run. So I have to just focus on running. We don’t have any other jobs. Where we get money, it is from running. That makes us to work hard. If we do not win, we do not get money. If we do not get money, how can we live? In Kenya, everything is money, money, money. So we have to make it [in running].”
Sarah Chepchirchir (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Weldon Johnson, "My Trip to a Possible Doping Camp in Kenya: What I Saw When I Spent a Day with Olympic Champion Jemima Sumgong", LetsRun.com, April 20, 2017.
“The fear of losing money is real. Everyone has it. Even the rich. But it’s not fear that is the problem. It’s how you handle fear. It’s how you handle losing. It’s how you handle failure that makes the difference in one’s life. That goes for anything in life, not just money. The primary difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they handle that fear.”
Robert Kiyosaki (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every year $1.5 trillion is spent on weapons and military which the majority of it, is related to the United States. If this money was spent to end poverty, would there be any poor people left in the world? They got money for wars But can't feed the poor”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 1956) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Twitter 4 Dec 2018
“Almost all the noblest things that have been achieved in the world, have been achieved by poor men; poor scholars, poor professional men, poor artisans and artists, poor philosophers, poets, and men of genius.”
Albert Pike (1809–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Gospel is about the poor: if we removed from the Gospel the pages about the poor, only the cover would remain, so if I want to live the Gospel, I must take the poor into account. And if I take the poor into account, perhaps I can really meet Jesus, since he identifies himself with the poor.”
Francesco Montenegro (born 1946) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A cardinal for migrants: Italy's Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (11 February 2015)
“There are two ways to live, he decided. You can be rich, or you can deliberately refuse to be rich. You can possess money, or you can despise money; the one fatal thing is to worship money and fail to get it.”
George Orwell (1903–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't have specifications, just have money. I don't want those old men who are rich; I want young rich guys. I want the money the young guys have. The boys have money. They ride the big cars in town like Benz and the others.”
Evelyn Badu (born 2002) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I like rich young men not old rich men - Black Queens forward Evelyn Badu reveals Ghana Web (26 February 2024)
“Today Negroes want above all else to abolish poverty in their lives and in the lives of the white poor. This is the heart of their program. To end the humiliation was a start, but to end poverty is a bigger task. It is natural for Negroes to turn to the labor movement because it was the first and pioneer anti-poverty program....”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fortune, the great commandress of the world, Hath divers ways to advance her followers: To some she gives honour without deserving, To other some, deserving without honour; Some wit, some wealth,—and some, wit without wealth; Some wealth without wit; some nor wit nor wealth.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth often takes away chances from men as well as poverty. There is none to tell the rich man to go on striving, for a rich man makes the law that hallows and hollows his own life.”
Seán O'Casey (1880–1964) first seen 1952 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rose and Crown (1952) p. 282
“Tell me one state where there's been a debate about what they are going to do about poverty. Even in the presidential race it didn't happen. Every problem we face — poverty, lack of health care, lack of a living wage — is created by policy. They can be changed by policy, and poor and low-wealth people hold the power to put people in office that can make a difference.”
William Barber II (born 1963) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "You are going to hear our voices": Rev. William J. Barber on the midterms and the road ahead, by Bob Hennelly, Salon, Sept 24, 2022
“At the same time that the rules have been rewritten to favor the already rich, new rules have been written that ensure harsh treatment for the poor... Coping with the foul effects of poverty costs us trillions of dollars a year... Poverty wastes minds and spirits, robbing all of us of opportunity. ...It makes us less trusting, less willing to see ourselves as one people...”
David Cay Johnston (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Money ennobles rich people, and corrupts poor people. Money in sufficient quantity entitles its possessor to the reverence and respect owed to the statue of George Washington. Money is the sacred elephant, always in the room, never to be addressed or seen, but whose will is done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
Lewis H. Lapham (1935–2024) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Why Is The Pursuit of Money Such an American Obsession? Lewis Lapham talks about his decades chronicling the dysfunctional social mores of the American ruling class. Current Affairs, 11 December 2021
“As no one can adventure nearer the throne of God by virtue of his rank, his wealth, or his talent, so no one is kept farther from that throne by his low condition, or by his poverty of wealth, of learning, or of intellect. The prince and the sage are not more welcome to heaven than the poor and ignorant.”
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source