Soros Quotes & Sayings

George Soros finances liberal immigration policy throughout the Western world and also funds Noel Ignatiev and his "Race Traitor" website dedicated to the abolition of the white race. So — Kevin Macdonald

The securitisation of mortgages added a new dimension of systemic risk. Financial engineers claimed they were reducing risks through geographic diversification: in fact they were increasing them by creating an agency problem. The agents were more interested in maximising fee income than in protecting the interests of bondholders. That is the verity that was ignored by regulators and market participants alike. — George Soros

The trouble with institutional investors is that their performance is usually measured relative to their peer group and not by an absolute yardstick. This makes them trend followers by definition. — George Soros

Just as the process of repealing national alcohol prohibition began with individual states repealing their own prohibition laws, so individual states must now take the initiative with respect to repealing marijuana prohibition laws. — George Soros

Revolutions usually start with enthusiasm and end in tears. — George Soros

In politics, manipulating reality can take presidence over finding reality. — George Soros

I don't panic. The same thing applies to me as to everybody else, so I'm given to euphoria and despair. And I would say that I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes. — George Soros

The dark comes before dawn. The financial markets are under great pressure because of the lack of leadership during the transition period. — George Soros

The main obstacle to further progress on the resource curse is China, and to a lesser extent India. — George Soros

Giving government aid to a bank basically transforms it into a utility. The huge salaries in this sector are only a symptom of a more profound misalignment. The profitability of the finance industry has been excessive. That is absurd. — George Soros

Taking this view, it is possible to see financial markets as a laboratory for testing hypotheses, albeit not strictly scientific ones. The truth is, successful investing is a kind of alchemy. — George Soros

It is credit that matters, not money (in other words, monetarism is a false ideology). — George Soros

How good are markets in predicting real-world developments? Reading the record, it is striking how many calamities that I anticipated did not in fact materialise.
Financial markets constantly anticipate events, both on the positive and on the negative side, which fail to materialise exactly because they have been anticipated.
It is an old joke that the stock market has predicted seven of the last two recessions. Markets are often wrong. — George Soros

My father will sit down and give you theories to explain why he does this or that," the son of the billionaire investor George Soros has said. "But I remember seeing it as a kid, and thinking, At least half of this is bull. I mean, you know the reason he changes his position on the market or whatever is because his back starts killing him. He literally goes into a spasm, and it's this early warning sign. — Malcolm Gladwell

It is dangerous to build systemic reforms on a close association with one particular government. Systemic reforms need broad public participation and support. That is what makes them irreversible. — George Soros

The US needs a cap and trade system with auctioning of licenses for emissions rights. The revenues from these auctions can be used to launch a new, environmentally friendly energy policy. That would be yet another federal program that could help us to overcome the stagnation. — George Soros

I very often used to get backaches due to the fact that I was wrong. Whenever you are wrong you have to fight or [take] flight. When [I] make the decision, the backache goes away. — George Soros

As I like to put it, we have hit pay dirt. The effort to cure the resource curse is a good example of what private foundations working with NGOs can accomplish. — George Soros

There is a well-established conviction that the central banks always do what is necessary to keep the system going and then afterwards you then take care of the legal aspects. In a crisis, you simply do not have time to think about such concerns for too long. — George Soros

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society. — George Soros

Mr. Soros, the chairman of Soros Fund Management, is best-known as a speculator, philanthropist and political activist. He made a fortune by doing things such as betting against Britain's currency in 1992 and Thailand's in 1997. A Hungarian refugee, he has spent millions to promote democracy and learning in post-Soviet nations. — Greg Ip

I am not well qualified to criticize the theory of rational expectations and the efficient market hypothesis because as a market participant I considered them so unrealistic that I never bothered to study them. — George Soros

Who most benefits from keeping marijuana illegal? The greatest beneficiaries are the major criminal organizations in Mexico and elsewhere that earn billions of dollars annually from this illicit trade - and who would rapidly lose their competitive advantage if marijuana were a legal commodity. — George Soros

The worse a situation becomes the less it takes to turn it around, the bigger the upside. — George Soros

If the choice is between cooking alive and wasting money unnecessarily I would rather waste some money, because long before we cook we are going to kill each other if we don't deal with climate change. — George Soros

An open society is a society which allows its members the greatest possible degree of freedom in pursuing their interests compatible with the interests of others. — George Soros

I am against market fundamentalism. I think this propaganda that government involvement is always bad has been very successful - but also very harmful to our society. — George Soros

My conceptual framework, which basically emphasizes the importance of misconceptions, makes me extremely critical of my own decisions. I know that I am bound to be wrong, and therefore am more likely to correct my own mistakes. — George Soros

No individual anonymous participant can influence the prices and therefore you really can speculate in the market without paying attention to morality. That's one of the positive features of markets. That's why they function. — George Soros

Scientific method seeks to understand things as they are, while alchemy seeks to bring about a desired state of affairs. To put it another way, the primary objective of science is truth, - that of alchemy, operational success. — George Soros

Yesterday the Soros -funded far left group Media Matters made a big issue of Pat Robertson's idiotic statement that the US should assassinate Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Today Robertson's comment is all over mainstream media. Are we supposed to think it's news that Robertson has a few screws loose? — Charles Foster Johnson

In certain circumstances, financial markets can affect the so-called fundamentals which they are supposed to reflect. When that happens, markets enter into a state of dynamic disequilibrium and behave quite differently from what would be considered normal by the theory of efficient markets. Such boom/bust sequences do not arise very often, but when they do, they can be very disruptive, exactly because they affect the fundamentals of the economy. — George Soros

My main concern is with the world order — George Soros

Everybody says that I have a lot of power. But what does that power consist of? ... Can I influence governments? I am beginning to be able to ... (1995) — George Soros

When money is free, the rational lender will keep on lending until there is no one else to lend to. — George Soros

To my mind, there is a solution which has to do with democracy, because democratic governments are subject to the will of the people. So, if the people will it, you can actually create international institutions through the democratic states. — George Soros

As a society we can't live without moral considerations. We do have to protect the public good. And markets are not designed to do that, so we need a political process. — George Soros

Economics seeks to be a science. Science is supposed to be objective and it is difficult to be scientific when the subject matter, the participant in the economic process, lacks objectivity. — George Soros

I put forward a pretty general theory that financial markets are intrinsically unstable. That we really have a false picture when we think about markets tending towards equilibrium. — George Soros

I am for maximum supervision and minimum regulation. — George Soros

A global economy is characterized not only by the free movement of goods and services but, more important, by the free movement of ideas and of capital. — George Soros

Markets can influence the events that they anticipate. — George Soros

Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the imagination of the German public, and the German public has accepted it. — George Soros

In my view, philanthropy goes against the grain; therefore it generates a lot of hypocrisy and many paradoxes. Here are some examples: Philanthropy is supposed to be devoted to the benefit of others, but philanthropists are primarily concerned with their own benefit; philanthropy is supposed to help people, yet it often makes people dependent and turns them into objects of charity; applicants tell foundations what they want to hear, then proceed to do what the applicant wants to do. — George Soros

If every rich person gave 50 percent of their wealth to charity, I would not say they should pay more taxes. — George Soros

There is always a divergence between our perception and what actually exists. — George Soros

Stock market bubbles don't grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality as distorted by a misconception. — George Soros

To be successful, you need leisure. You need time hanging heavily on your hands. — George Soros

Values are closely associated with with the concept of self - a reflexive concept if ever there was one. What we think has a much greater bearing on what we are than on the world around us. What we are cannot possibly correspond to what we think we are, but there is a two-way interplay between the two concepts. As we make our way in the world our sense of self evolves. The relationship between what we think we are and what we are in reality is the key to happiness - in other words, it provides the subjective meaning of life. — George Soros

Changeless society is characterized by the absense of alternatives. — George Soros

Every bubble has two components: something - some real trend, and a misconception about that trend. — George Soros

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

I have made it a principle to give advice that does not serve my personal interest but rather the common interests. — George Soros

Market prices are always wrong. — George Soros

I would be lying, however, if I claimed that I could always formulate worthwhile hypotheses on the basis of my theoretical framework. Sometimes there were no reflexive processes to be found; sometimes I failed to find them; and, what was the most painful of all, sometimes I got them wrong. One way or another, I often invested without a worthwhile hypothesis and my activities were not very different from a random walk. — George Soros

I wish I could write a book that will be read for as long as our civilization lasts ... I would value it much more highly than any business success if I could contribute to an understanding of the world in which we live or, better yet, if I could help to preserve the economic and political system that has allowed me to flourish as a participant. — George Soros

When a long-term trend loses it's momentum, short-term volatility tends to rise. It is easy to see why that should be so: the trend-following crowd is disoriented. — George Soros

America needs to follow the policies it has introduced in Germany. We have to go through a certain de-Nazification process. — George Soros

Unfortunately, the more complex the system, the greater the room for error. — George Soros

The reality is that financial markets are self-destabilizing; occasionally they tend toward disequilibrium, not equilibrium. — George Soros

If the Americans would only take all the money they have spent on this war (Iraq), and spend it like Soros has done on civil societies in these countries, then in 10 years they would have wonderful results. — Orhan Pamuk

Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object is to recognize the trend whose premise is false, ride that trend and step off before it is discredited. — George Soros

New Rule: Since Glenn Beck is clearly onto us, liberals must launch our plan for socialist domination immediately. Listen closely, comrades, I've received word from General Soros and our partners in the UN
Operation Streisand is a go. Markos Moulitsas, you and your Daily Kos-controlled army of gay Mexican day laborers will join with Michael Moore's Prius tank division north of Branson, where you will seize the guns of everyone who doesn't blame America first, forcing them into the FEMA concentration camps. That's where ACORN and I will re-educate them as atheists and declare victory in the war on Christmas. — Bill Maher

Financial markets ... resent any kind of government interference but they hold a belief deep down that if conditions get really rough the authorities will step in. — George Soros

Anticipating attacks, I should like to emphasize that I do not subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and I am not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism predates the birth of Israel. Neither Israel's policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism. At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views. — George Soros

Once a trend is established it tends to persist and to run it's full course. — George Soros

President Bush is endangering our safety, hurting our vital interests, and undermining American values. — George Soros

There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that. It's not specifically anti-Semitism, but it does manifest itself in anti-Semitism as well. — George Soros

Find the trend whose premise is false, and bet against it. — George Soros

I am not a Zionist, nor am I am a practicing Jew, but I have a great deal of sympathy for my fellow Jews and a deep concern for the survival of Israel. — George Soros

Start by assuming the market is always wrong, so if you copy everybody else on Wall Street, you're doomed to do poorly. — George Soros

Increase your bets when you are confident and scale down your positions when you don't have conviction. — George Soros

My original intention was to spend the money in my lifetime. — George Soros

Every bubble consists of a trend that can be observed in the real world and a misconception relating to that trend. The two elements interact with each other in a reflexive manner. — George Soros

Proposition 19 already is a winner no matter what happens on election day. The mere fact of its being on the ballot has elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy in ways I could not have imagined a year ago. — George Soros

You could adjust the punishment to fit the infraction. Even a small fine would be enough to bring an errant government to heel. — George Soros

Unrestrained competition can drive people into actions that they would otherwise regret. — George Soros

It's not whether you're right or wrong, but how much money you make when you're right and how much you lose when you're wrong. — George Soros

I think there's a lot of merit in an international economy and global markets, but they're not sufficient because markets don't look after social needs. — George Soros

Soros and the Tides Foundation have been trying to indoctrinate our kids. Do you remember that stupid what was the name of that film that they did? [clip comes up on monitor] There it is, The Story of Stuff . — Glenn Beck

We can speak of the triumph of capitalism in the world, but we cannot yet speak about the triumph of democracy. There is a serious mismatch between the political and the economic conditions that prevail in the world today. — George Soros

My sense of insecurity keeps me alert, always ready to correct my errors. — George Soros

Investors operate with limited funds and intelligence, they do not need to know everything. As long as they understand something better than others, they have an edge ... — George Soros

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. — George Soros

I don't use my money to gain political influence for my private interests, which is what many rich people do, and what, in a sense, market fundamentalism does, because it is in the interests of people who have a lot of money to have as little taxes as possible. — George Soros

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

If investing is entertaining, if you're having fun, you're probably not making any money. Good investing is boring. — George Soros

The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat. — George Soros

At present, the developed countries condescend to the developing ones. — George Soros

The integration of Europe was very much led by a Germany that was always willing to pay a little bit extra to reach a compromise that everybody accepted, because Germany was so eager to get European support for reunification. That was called the "farsighted vision," which created the European Union. — George Soros

The main difference between me and other people who have amassed this kind of money is that I am primarily interested in ideas, and I don't have much personal use for money. — George Soros

By creating the European Central Bank, the member states exposed their own government bonds to the risk of default. Developed countries that issue bonds in their own currency never default, because they can always print money. Their currency may depreciate, but the risk of default is absent. — George Soros

While Financier George Soros was investing money in Kosovo's reconstruction, the George Soros Foundation for an Open Society had opened a branch office in Pristina establishing the Kosovo Foundation for an Open Society (KFOS) as part of the Soros' network of "non-profit foundations" in the Balkans. — Michel Chossudovsky

It is sort of a disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out, — George Soros

One of the myths propagated by the enemies of Israel is that there is an all-powerful Zionist conspiracy. That is a false accusation. Nevertheless, that AIPAC has been so successful in suppressing criticism has lent some credence to such false beliefs. — George Soros

However, you have to recognize that regulations will never be completely successful and they will always be full of holes. You must constantly be ready to fill new holes. Actually regulation should be kept to a minimum, but there has to be some cooperation between market participants and authorities - as was the case in the early postwar years. The Bank of England was a very successful regulator by cooperating with market participants. This cooperative spirit was broken by the market fundamentalists. — George Soros

I'm not better than the next trader, just quicker at admitting my mistakes and moving on to the next opportunity. — George Soros

Hedge funds are a very efficient way of managing money. But there are clearly some risks. Hedge funds use credit and credit is a source of instability. Transactions involving credit should be regulated. — George Soros

We [at Soros Fund Management] use options and more exotic derivatives sparingly. We try to catch new trends early and in later stages we try to catch trend reversals. Therefore, we tend to stabilize rather than destabilize the market. We are not doing this as a public service. It is our style of making money. — George Soros

FALSE EQUIVALENCY

If you compare the Koch brothers to George Soros and you compare MSNBC to FOX News then why not compare the NAACP to the Ku Klux Klan, George Washington to King George, Abraham Lincoln to Jefferson Davis, Barack Obama to Vladimir Putin;
If you compare the Democratic party to the Republican party then why not compare Citizens United with Brown versus Board of Education, Churchill to Mussolini, Martin Luther King to George Wallace;
If you compare Liberals to Conservatives then why not compare Boxing to Cage Fighting, Mozart to Salieri, Edward Kennedy Ellington to Lawrence Welk, Three Card Monty to Inside Trading, John Birks Gillespie to Cab Callaway;
If you are mentally slothful enough to engage in false equivalency, why not go all the way? Pretend that ignorance equates with knowledge, Science with Mythology and empathy with apathy? — E. Landon Hobgood