quotations about wealth
The man who is possessed of wealth, who lolls on his sofa or rolls in his carriage, cannot judge the wants or feelings of the day-laborer. The government we mean to erect is intended to last for ages. The landed interest, at present, is prevalent; but in process of time, when we approximate to the states and kingdoms of Europe, -- when the number of landholders shall be comparatively small, through the various means of trade and manufactures, will not the landed interest be overbalanced in future elections, and unless wisely provided against, what will become of your government? In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability.
JAMES MADISON
attributed, Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787
Wealth is nothing more or less than a tool to do things with. It is like the fuel that runs the furnace or the belt that runs the wheel -- only a means to an end.
HENRY FORD
Theosophist Magazine, February 1930
A healthy desire for wealth is not greed, it's a desire for life.
JEN SINCERO
You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
In every well-governed state, wealth is a sacred thing; in democracies it is the only sacred thing.
ANATOLE FRANCE
Penguin Island
Let none admire
That riches grow in Hell; that soil may best
Deserve the precious bane.
JOHN MILTON
Paradise Lost
Those who spend too fast never grow rich.
HONORE DE BALZAC
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket
No, wealth isn't created at the top. It is merely devoured there.
RUTGER BREGMAN
"No, wealth isn't created at the top. It is merely devoured there", The Guardian, March 30, 2017
Long term wealth is built brick by brick from the decisions you make every day.
DAWN RIDLER
"Big wealth killers", Biz News, March 30, 2017
Never respect men merely for their riches; but rather for their philanthropy: we do not value the sun for its height, but for its use.
WILLIAM SCOTT DOWNEY
Proverbs
If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.
EDMUND BURKE
Letters On a Regicide Peace
There is no get-rich-quick scheme equal to a poor girl marrying a rich man.
EDGAR WATSON HOWE
Country Town Sayings
Among the idle rich, boredom is one of the most common causes of unhappiness. People who have difficulty in earning their living may suffer greatly, but they are not bored. Wealthy men and women become bored when they depend upon the theater for their enjoyment instead of making their own lives interesting.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS
An Art of Living
Being wealthy when no one else is is like being the only one at the party with a drink.
TIM ALLEN
Esquire, November 2011
Three courses open lie to wealth, to give, enjoy, or lose,
Who shrinketh from the former two, perforce the third doth choose.
BHARTRHARI
"On Wealth"
Wealth is clearly not the absolute good of which we are in search, for it is a utility, and only desirable as a means.
ARISTOTLE
Nicomachean Ethics
If it is well with your belly, chest and feet, the wealth of kings can give you nothing more.
HORACE
Epistles
When did it become an either/or situation? If you partake in the pursuit of wealth, it's not like you shall never again attend a family barbecue, hug a puppy, or tiptoe through the tulips. In fact, if you do it correctly, you'll be able to afford to spend even more time on such merriments. And do it in style! Not to mention pay for the gas to put in your car to get to the family barbecue, buy the hot dogs, show up wearing clothes, and marvel at Uncle Carl's famous card tricks unfettered by thoughts of your crushing debt or how you're going to hit him up for a loan to cover your rent this month as soon as he's had a few beers.
JEN SINCERO
You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
My conception of America is a land where men and women may walk in ordered freedom in the independent conduct of their occupations; where they may enjoy the advantages of wealth, not concentrated in the hands of the few but spread through the lives of all; where they build and safeguard their homes, and give to their children the fullest advantages and opportunities of American life; where every man shall be respected in the faith that his conscience and his heart direct him to follow; where a contented and happy people, secure in their liberties, free from poverty and fear, shall have the leisure and impulse to seek a fuller life.
HERBERT HOOVER
speech, October 22, 1928
The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money.
JOHN HENRY JOWETT
attributed, 365 Devotions
The way to cure hatred of the rich is to accumulate some property yourself.
LEWIS F. KORNS
Thoughts