Sanford I. Weill Quotes

I believe in giving back very strongly.

A lot of people at Shearson ended up making a lot of money because they had stock or stock options. Their kids were able to go to college, and it changed a lot of people's lives.

What turned me on then, and turns me on even today - and when the time comes from me to retire from management I think I'd still be interested in it - is that everything that happens in the world affects the price of securities.

You can't control income. It varies based on conditions outside of [your] control. But you can control expenses.

I would say that my parents were supportive of me.

And it was where I learned how to play tennis and eventually became captain of the tennis team at the school and was on the Junior Davis Cup in New York City.

And learn that when you do make a mistake, you'll surface that mistake so you can get it corrected, rather than trying to hide it and bury it, and it becomes a much bigger mistake, and maybe a fatal mistake.

And I thought I'd always like some form of business, I didn't know what kind of business I'd go in.

My mother really didn't know a heck of a lot about business. She was a very good mother, that made sure we ate right and we had our cod liver oil, but didn't know a heck of a lot about what I did.

I believe in treating other people with respect. My style is to speak to people, be available to them and willing to answer their questions. This also means being straightforward and honest with them.

I've been involved with Carnegie Hall for the last 13 years, and Chairman for the last six. I feel really good about what we've done growing our educational programs there, building a board that has made Carnegie Hall really a world-class institution.

And when we used to play and fight in the streets in Brooklyn and I would get hurt or something, my mother would always come out and save me. So that sort of postponed the inevitable about getting a good beating, without having somebody to come and save you.

From the business point of view, always encouraging the people in our company to own stock in the company, and if we're going to build something great, to have a lot of people share in the benefits of that greatness.

If we build something great, like we have at Travelers Group so far, a whole host of people benefit.

My parents moved back to New York from Florida when I was in the ninth grade.

So it's the kind of business where you can't wait to get up in the morning and read the papers, or listen to what's on the news, and you know, how the world's going to change.

I'm not as involved in every little thing as I used to be.

The whole financial industry is consolidating in the United States.

I read a lot, but I read about the areas that I'm interested in.