Xavier Niel Quotes & Sayings

We have 200,000 kids a year who drop out of the French school system and have no hope. They become a drag on society. — Xavier Niel

I once said, 'Steve Jobs is the American Xavier Niel,' but that was humour. — Xavier Niel

I like being an outsider. It is better in France on the outside. — Xavier Niel

France is a fantastic country. It's between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin cultures. We have some of the Anglo-Saxon rigor, and some of the Latin quirkiness. — Xavier Niel

Countries like France should not be naive. We don't have a French YouTube or Amazon or Netflix. — Xavier Niel

I don't think Steve Jobs had much desire to share his fortune. — Xavier Niel

I always follow the same idea: Start small and disrupt to create something big. — Xavier Niel

France has a specificity - the market players who provide Internet access are the telecom operators, and all of the players are French. They had a habit of, let's say, getting along with each other, and the prices traditionally were very high. — Xavier Niel

In life, you need a house and a car. After that, you have a choice. — Xavier Niel

A free, analytical and questioning press must be helped survive. — Xavier Niel

It's funny how the smallest things I've done speak the loudest about me, but I like that. — Xavier Niel

I'm always investing. I'm constantly in talks with someone about some opportunity. — Xavier Niel

Nobody believed in the success of the Internet. — Xavier Niel

When you love competition, you don't want the market to consolidate. — Xavier Niel

The real force of Silicon Valley is the mentality, the spirit. There's no reason at all that can't be replicated in Paris. — Xavier Niel

I know one business, and that's how to make software. — Xavier Niel

If you know how to make software, then you can create big things. — Xavier Niel

I don't like clothes. I don't especially like cars. I have a very nice house. I get sick on a boat. — Xavier Niel

Mark Zuckerberg did his own software for Facebook, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin made their own for Google. — Xavier Niel

Each week I try to have three lunches with my children, one working lunch, and one lunch with mates. — Xavier Niel

I made a lot of money, and I want to give something back to my country. — Xavier Niel

We have to help young people, because at the end of the day, we won't have an economy if we don't have them. — Xavier Niel

We need to create an ecosystem which will make young people want to start their own company. — Xavier Niel

The question for France and all countries is, 'Do you favour foreign Internet operators that do not pay, or do you favour national operators who pay?' — Xavier Niel

France has the least social mobility of any developed country. The social elevator no longer works. It's broken. — Xavier Niel

The most sought-after candidates in the world today by companies like mine are people who make computer software - there's a shortage of talent. — Xavier Niel

Any country that wants to lower its mobile phone rates, all they need to do is bring in an aggressive player. — Xavier Niel

You can spend your money on art works and sit down and look at them. Or you can use your money to help people. — Xavier Niel

Giving only 50% of your fortune is not enough. — Xavier Niel

YouTube is a problem. It has very big traffic, but it refuses to contribute to the weight of that traffic. — Xavier Niel

Personally, I have invested in around ten U.S. companies and will continue to do so. That doesn't give me a strong experience in the American market. But I have an understanding of the public. — Xavier Niel

From France, you can call anywhere in the world for free. Americans can't do that! — Xavier Niel

I have done a lot of stupid things in my life. — Xavier Niel

If you are worried about the risk to your reputation, you don't launch a telecoms firm in an aggressive way. — Xavier Niel

I'm not unusual; it's the others who are strange. — Xavier Niel

Telecoms is a national business. There isn't a European market. There's no Telecom Italia in France. — Xavier Niel

I'd rather people talked about the 1,000 most successful French Internet companies instead of the 5 or 10 faces we already know - including mine. — Xavier Niel

Stephane Richard is far more attuned to the market than Didier Lombard. — Xavier Niel