George Soros Quotes

There is no doubt that the countries that now have a very large debt have not introduced the kind of structural reforms that Germany did and are therefore at a disadvantage. But the problem is that this disadvantage is becoming even more pronounced through the punitive policies in place. ~ George Soros

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

Changeless society is characterized by the absense of alternatives. ~ 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

Markets are imperfect. So you do need regulation, knowing that the regulators are also human. ~ George Soros

The more comprehensive and convincing a debt reduction program is, the less likely it is to fail. And remember, just as Germany is grateful to America for the Marshall Plan, Italy would be grateful to Germany for helping it lower its refinancing costs. ~ George Soros

My approach works not by making valid predictions but by allowing me to correct false ones. ~ George Soros

If we care about universal principles such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law, we cannot leave them to the care of market forces; we must establish some other institutions to safeguard them. ~ George Soros

The eurozone status quo is neither tolerable nor stable. Mainstream economists would call it an inferior equilibrium; I call it a nightmare - one that is inflicting tremendous pain and suffering that could be easily avoided if the misconceptions and taboos that sustain it were dispelled. ~ George Soros

Money values do not simply mirror the state of affairs in the real world; valuation is a positive act that makes an impact on the course of events. Monetary and real phenomena are connected in a reflexive fashion; that is, they influence each other mutually. The reflexive relationship manifests itself most clearly in the use and abuse of credit. ~ George Soros

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

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

Throughout the 19th century, when there was a laissez-faire mentality and insufficient regulation, you had one crisis after another. Each crisis brought about some reform. That is how central banking developed. ~ George Soros

I would prefer not to be involved in party politics. ~ George Soros

However, even a strong government can't perform miracles. It needs money from the taxpayers. ~ George Soros

American supremacy is the greatest threat to the world today. ~ George Soros

Fundamental analysis seeks to establish how underlying values are reflected in stock prices, whereas the theory of reflexivity shows how stock prices can influence underlying values ~ 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 call government that works the best for people open society, which is basically just another more general term for a democracy that is - you call it maybe a liberal democracy. It's not only majority rule but also respect for minorities and minority opinions and the rule of law. So it's really a sort of institutional democracy. ~ 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

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

The concept of a general equilibrium has no relevance to the real world (in other words, classical economics is an exercise in futility). ~ George Soros

I fancied myself as some kind of god or an economic reformer like Keynes ~ George Soros

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

Discount the obvious, bet on the unexpected ~ 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

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

Political debate is more interested in manipulating the truth, than finding the truth. ~ George Soros

Globalization has rendered the world increasingly interdependent, but international politics is still based on the sovereignty of states. ~ George Soros

It's more difficult, you know, to bring about positive change than it is to make money. It's much easier to make money, because it's a much easier way to measure success - the bottom line. When it comes to social consequences, they've got all different people acting in different ways, very difficult to even have a proper criterion of success. So, it's a difficult task. Why not use an entrepreneurial, rather than a bureaucratic, approach. As long as people genuinely care for the people they're trying to help, they can actually do a lot of good. ~ George Soros

I called gold the ultimate bubble, which means it may go higher. But it's certainly not safe and it's not going to last forever. ~ George Soros

Advocating democracy has, by other people, often been taken as a form of imperialism, and not without some justification. So the important thing in a democracy is that it doesn't necessarily have to agree with what America's interests are, and it doesn't necessarily have to be serving American interests. ~ George Soros

Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't under-estimate the value of that, but they're not designed to take care of social needs. ~ George Soros

Increasingly, the Chinese will own a lot more of the world because they will be converting their dollar reserves and U.S. government bonds into real assets. ~ George Soros

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

The prevailing wisdom is that markets are always right. I take the opposite position. I assume that markets are always wrong. ~ George Soros

The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States. ~ 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

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

We in the United States are very often - since we are a democracy and we have national interests, we've often made the mistake that a democracy has to adopt America's interests, and that is a contradiction because a democracy basically is people deciding what their interests are. ~ George Soros

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

The generally accepted theory is that financial markets tend towards equilibrium, and ... discount the future correctly. I operate using a different theory, according to which financial markets cannot possibly discount the future correctly because the do not merely discount the future; they help to shape it. ~ George Soros

The financial markets play an active role in determining what's going to happen, how the economy is going to function. ~ George Soros

Market prices are always wrong. ~ George Soros

I commissioned two political experts to advise me about what I could do to oppose the re-election of President Bush. ~ 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

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

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

Mankind's ability to understand and control the forces of nature greatly exceeds our ability to govern ourselves ~ George Soros

It is much easier to put existing resources to better use, than to develop resources where they do not exist. ~ 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

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

Esperanto was a very useful language, because wherever you went, you found someone to speak with. ~ George Soros

The ultimate asset bubble is gold. ~ George Soros

When you sell options, you get paid for assuming risk. That can be a profitable business, but it does not mix well with the risks inherent in a leveraged portfolio. ~ 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

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

I contend that financial markets never reflect the underlying reality accurately; they always distort it in some way or another and the distortions find expression in market prices. Those distortions can, occasionally, find ways to affect the fundamentals that market prices are supposed to reflect. ~ George Soros

This crisis has the potential to be a lot worse than Lehman Brothers. ~ 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

An open society calls itself open to improvement. It is based on the recognition that people have divergent views and interests, and that nobody is in possession of the ultimate truth. ~ George Soros

The assumption of perfect knowledge is very far from reality ... a lot of the evil in the world is actually not intentional. ~ George Soros

The collapse of the global marketplace would be a traumatic event with unimaginable consequences. Yet I find it easier to imagine than the continuation of the present regime. ~ George Soros

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

The bureaucratic method of building an integrated Europe has exhausted its potential. ~ George Soros

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

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

The world order needs a major overhaul. ~ George Soros

The billionaire investor George Soros has coined a term to describe this perspective: "free market fundamentalism." It is the belief not simply that free markets are the best way to run an economic system, but that free markets are the only way that will not ultimately destroy our other freedoms. "The doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism holds that the common good is best served by the uninhibited pursuit of self-interest,"36 Soros wrote. ~ Naomi Oreskes

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

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

Market prices are always wrong in the sense that they present a biased view of the future. ~ George Soros

The world is looking to us for leadership. We have provided it in the past; the main reason why anti-American feelings are so strong in the world today is that we are not providing it in the present. ~ George Soros

The scope for improvement is infinite, precisely because perfection is unattainable. ~ George Soros

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

Financial markets are supposed to swing like a pendulum: They may fluctuate wildly in response to exogenous shocks, but eventually they are supposed to come to rest at an equilibrium point and that point is supposed to be the same irrespective of the interim fluctuations. Instead, as I told Congress, financial markets behaved more like a wrecking ball, swinging from country to country and knocking over the weaker ones.It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the international financial system itself constituted the main ingredient in the meltdown process. ~ George Soros

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

Germany will always do the minimum to preserve the euro. Doing the minimum, though, will perpetuate the situation where the debtor countries in Europe have to pay tremendous premiums to refinance their debt. The result will be a Europe in which Germany is seen as an imperial power that will not be loved and admired by the rest of Europe - but hated and resisted, because it will perceived as an oppressive power. ~ George Soros

Sometimes time actually works against you if you refuse to face the relevant issues and explain to the public what is at stake. ~ 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

I think that my foundation uses the money better than the government does. In any event, I do pay taxes. ~ George Soros

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

There is a powerful case for the market mechanism, but it is not that markets are perfect; it is that in a world dominated by imperfect understanding, markets provide an efficient feedback mechanism for evaluating the results of one's decisions and correcting mistakes. ~ George Soros

We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization, can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting caught in a quagmire. ~ 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

A Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, John Edwards, Howard Dean, George Soros, or Al Gore looks - no, acts - like he either came out of a hairstylist's salon or got off a Gulfstream. ~ Victor Davis Hanson

My foundations support people in the country who care about an open society. It's their work that I'm supporting. So it's not me doing it. But I can empower them. I can support them, and I can help them. ~ George Soros

To others, being wrong is a source of shame; to me, recognizing my mistakes is a source of pride. ~ George Soros

The very first sentence of the September 2002 National Security Strategy (the President's annual laying out to Congress of the country's security objectives) reads, "The great struggles of the twentieth century between liberty and totalitarianism ended with a decisive victory for the forces of freedom and a single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise."
The assumptions behind this statement are false on two counts. First, there is no single sustainable model for national success. Second, the American model, which has indeed been successful, is not available to others, because our success depends greatly on our dominant position at the center of the global capitalist system, and we are not willing to yield it. ~ 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

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

In the case of a meltdown, the regulatory authorities may find themselves obliged to step in to preserve the integrity of the system. It is in that light that the authorities have both a right and an obligation to supervise and regulate derivative instruments. ~ George Soros

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

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

America felt victorious and generous after World War II. They had also learned from the mistakes after World War I when they imposed punishment on Germany. What became of Germany? A Nazi dictatorship which threatened the world. Today's Germany doesn't feel as prosperous and generous as America then. But actually, Germany still is very prosperous. ~ George Soros

I used to be opposed to the idea of social entrepreneurship. I said let business be business, and philanthropy be philanthropy. Keep the two separate, don't mix it up, and this is what I did, and I did that rather successfully, but I now recognize that actually you do need to mix it up and I think there is room for social entrepreneurship. ~ 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

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 see tremendous imbalance in the world. A very uneven playing field, which has gotten tilted very badly. I consider it unstable. At the same time, I don't exactly see what is going to reverse it. ~ George Soros