George Soros Quotes

Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes.

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

There is no point in being confident and having a small position.

It's not whether you're right or wrong that's important, but how much money you make when you're right and how much you lose when you're wrong

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

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

Now that I have called you on your false accusation, you are using additional smear tactics.

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.

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

The sovereignty of states must be subordinated to international law and international institutions.

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

Unfortunately, the more complex the system, the greater the room for error.

Although I have made a fortune in the financial markets, I now fear that the untrammeled intensification of laissez-faire capitalism and the spread of market values into all areas of life is endangering our open and democratic society. The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.

The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios... The idea that you can actually predict what's going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.

There is very little difference between speculation and investment. The only difference is basically that investments are successful speculations because if you successfully anticipate the future you make a speculative profit.

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

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

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

I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

The hardest thing to judge is what level of risk is safe.

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.

Making an investment decision is like formulating a scientific hypothesis and submitting it to a practical test.

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

Most of the poverty and misery in the world is due to bad government, lack of democracy, weak states, internal strife, and so on.

Short term volatility is greatest at turning points and diminishes as a trend becomes established

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.

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

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.

Everything adds up to a major crisis. Humanity is faced with a global energy crisis ... The core of the crisis lies in the increasing shortage of oil.

These public-private partnerships are very, very dangerous. The most rotten part of the financial system in the US consisted of the government sponsored entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They really kicked off this crisis. The state should set the rules and enforce them - but not become involved as a market player.

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.

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

Revolutions usually start with enthusiasm and end in tears.

Discount the obvious, bet on the unexpected

President George W. Bush is endangering the United States and the world's safety while undermining American values.

In politics, manipulating reality can take presidence over finding reality.

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.

I am for maximum supervision and minimum regulation.

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

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

As an anonymous participant in financial markets, I never had to weigh the social consequences of my actions ... I felt justified in ignoring them on the grounds that I was playing by the rules.

The strength of this country lies in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and the freedom of speech and thought.

Once a trend is established it tends to persist and to run it’s full course.

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