George Soros: Trending quotes (page 4)

“Most of the poverty and misery in the world is due to bad government, lack of democracy, weak states, internal strife, and so on. We do need to intervene, to improve political and economic conditions inside countries that have bad governments, where people are suffering.
One way of doing this, without violating sovereignty, is through constructive actions — reinforcements and incentives for countries that are moving in the right direction, toward an open society, a market economy, et cetera. That is what I'm advocating. I'm advocating preventive action of a constructive nature. And I would use military force only as the very last resort, when nothing else works.”

George Soros

BuzzFlash interview (2004)

People , World , Way , Democracy

“Esperanto was a very useful language, because wherever you went, you found someone to speak with.”

George Soros

"How Do You Say ‘Billionaire’ in Esperanto?" in The New York Times (December 16, 2010) http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/how-do-you-say-billionaire-in-esperanto/

“Bush's war in Iraq has done untold damage to the United States. It has impaired our military power and undermined the morale of our armed forces. Our troops were trained to project overwhelming power. They were not trained for occupation duties.”

George Soros

Speech at the National Press Club (2004)

War , Training

“If investing is entertaining, if you're having fun, you're probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.”

George Soros

As quoted in The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros (2006) by Mark Tier, p. 217

Money

“President Bush has shown that he is incapable of recognizing his mistakes. He insists on making reality conform to his beliefs even at the cost of deceiving himself and deliberately deceiving the public. There is something appealing in the strength of his faith, especially in our troubled time. But the cost is too high. By putting our faith in a President who cannot admit his mistakes we commit ourselves to the wrong policies.”

George Soros

Speech at the National Press Club (2004)

Faith , Reality , Time

“The Bush administration is once again in the process of committing a major policy blunder in the Middle East … Hamas won the elections in an upset victory. Then came the blunder I am talking about. Israel, with the strong backing of the United States, refused to recognize the democratically elected Hamas government.”

George Soros

On Israel, America and AIPAC (2007)

Strong , Victory

“Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman.”

George Soros

Interview with Mark Shapiro (2000)

“If the terrorists have the sympathy of people, it's much harder to find them. So we need people on our side, and that leads us to be responsible leaders of the world, show some concern with the problems.”

George Soros

Interview with David Brancaccio (2003)

People , World , Problem

“The people currently in charge have forgotten the first principle of an open society, namely that we may be wrong and that there has to be free discussion. That it's possible to be opposed to the policies without being unpatriotic.”

George Soros

Interview with David Brancaccio (2003)

People

“The global crisis is caused by pathologies inherent in the global financial system itself.”

George Soros

The Crisis of Global Capitalism (1998)

“My position is that America is great precisely because it is an open society, and an open society recognizes that nobody is the ultimate arbiter — and that we may be wrong at times, even if we are powerful. We must be open to criticism and respect divergent and different views and interests.”

George Soros

BuzzFlash interview (2004)

Time

“The pro-Israel lobby has been remarkably successful in suppressing criticism. Politicians challenge it at their peril because of the lobby's ability to influence political contributions. … Following his criticism of repressive Israeli policy on the West Bank, former president Jimmy Carter has suffered the loss of some of the financial backers of his center.”

George Soros

On Israel, America and AIPAC (2007)

Suffering , Loss , Success

“We have a booming global economy but we don't have a global society. Markets reduce everything, including human beings and nature, to commodities. Societies need more than this to prosper — such goals as political freedom and social justice.”

George Soros

Marshall William Fishwick in Popular Culture: Cavespace to Cyberspace (1999)
Misattributed

Justice , Nature , Freedom

“Companies earn their profits by exploiting their environment. Mining and oil companies exploit the physical environment; social media companies exploit the social environment. This is particularly nefarious because social media companies influence how people think and behave without them even being aware of it.”

George Soros

Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum https://www.georgesoros.com/2018/01/25/remarks-delivered-at-the-world-economic-forum/ (25 January 2018)

People , Thinking

“I advocate an alliance of democratic states, with a dual purpose. One, to promote what I call open society. I talk about an alliance of open societies which would first foster the development of open societies within individual countries, because there's a lot that needs to be done in that effort. And secondly, to establish basic international law and international institutions that you need for a global, open society. So that's my sort of broad concept. Now, I have not worked out the details, because I don't think it's for me to work out the details. It's for them to work out the details.”

George Soros

Interview with Mark Shapiro (2000)

Law , Thinking , Effort , Country

“The nation is deeply divided and the two camps seem to be talking past each other. John Kerry won all three debates but President Bush invokes his faith and that inspires his followers. In the end, it boils down to a philosophical difference over how to deal with an often confusing and threatening reality.”

George Soros

Speech at the National Press Club (2004)

Faith , Reality , Past

“Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected.”

George Soros

As quoted in "Great Money Minds" by Chris Stallman at TeenAnalyst.com (5 May 2005) http://www.teenanalyst.com/general/topmoneyminds.html

Money

“I grew up in Hungary, lived through fascism and the Holocaust, and then had a foretaste of communism. I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of government prevails. I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society. When I had made more money than I needed for myself and my family, I set up a foundation to promote the values and principles of a free and open society.”

George Soros

Why We Must Not Reelect President Bush (2004)

Money , Age , Family , Democracy

“You know, these things interested me before I became a businessman and I kind of neglected them during twenty, twenty-five years, while I was engaged in making money, because running a hedge fund takes, you know, a hundred percent of your attention on Saturday morning, and so I didn't get involved in these issues very much. It's only when I was rather successful at it and I've made enough money for my personal needs and to look after my family that we established this interest and, by now, it is more important to me than my business.”

George Soros

Interview with Mark Shapiro (2000)

Money , Family , Business , Success

“The war on terror is an abstraction. But the terrorists are real people and they are not all alike. Most of the people attacking our soldiers in Iraq originally had nothing to do with al Qaeda. They have been generated by the policies of the Bush administration. We have been spared a terrorist attack at home but it is quite a stretch to attribute that to the invasion of Iraq. The insurrection in Iraq, however, is a somber reality and it doesn't make us safer at home. Our security, far from improving as President Bush claims, is deteriorating.”

George Soros

Speech at the National Press Club (2004)

War , People , Home , Reality