“When people tell you that thisvenerable firm or private investor invested X millions of dollars inthat entity and that it is a good investment, be skeptical and stay opento the option of running as far as you can in the opposite direction.We have all seen the biggest names on Wall Street along with thelargest sovereign wealth funds on the planet make the dumbest investmentsever made. Do your due diligence; ask the right questions, andmost important, check out the character of the people involved unlessyou want to end up being prey to another master of the universe àla Bernie Madoff.”

“Wealth is not attain by the small investment that hits the jackpot,but rather by properly investing in the two biggest assets you have: your time and your desire.”

“When you are from a well-respected family, often times you will have pressure to "live up to your family name." That is to say, depending on your family's reputation, you will have to live in accordance with that reputation so that other people keep thinking of your family in the way it is used to being thought of. If you come from a family of do-gooders, then it is important to do good. If you come from a family of investors, it is important to make lots of money. If you come from a family of plastic surgeons, you should know how to pick a nose. And if you do not live up to your family name, then possibly your family will disown you. Which isn't really nice, but can happen.”

“Making money and creating wealth are learned skills for most people. To have money and wealth requires either investing the time, energy and money to learn those skills, or surrounding yourself with people who have them.”

“When I was growing up, people didn't tell me to slow down, to do less, to be calmer, or to practice being content.In fact, people told me to do the opposite: be involved, challenge myself, stay busy, push through the pain, chase after my goals, swing for the fences, do more, make more, go all out.But you wanna know something? When it comes to dealing with the hard stuff in life, it's the slowing down and remembering the basics that are most important. Also, all of those other words sound exhausting.”

“And one day we must ask the question, "Why are there forty million poor people in America?" And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy.”