Philanthropists From The United States

"Generally speaking, I favor increased levels of support for mathematics and physical and life science. Aside from the inevitable positive impact on the world’s economy, the advancement of knowledge lifts humanity’s spirits, opening our eyes to the wonders of the universe."

"She has a grace and graciousness about her that is singular. She is remarkably unique. She’s a stunning person. I get a little nervous talking about her because the words are so flowery. But it’s truly how I feel about her."

"She said she wanted to be unapologetically black and unapologetically a woman. My life was altered by meeting her, and that’s not something I say lightly. She is such a big part of my path taken. I think she does that for everyone."

"What can I say? When I think of her, I think of grace. She’s the most unique individual. I love Mellody Hobson."

"Payne Stewart had W.W.J.D. [What Would Jesus Do?]. I have W.W.M.D."

"I was taught by both of my parents to work hard, to be passionate about whatever I did, and I felt that I did that and kind of got to where I am today because of hard work and passion and determination"

"Any achievement that I accomplished, many people attributed to the fact that I was his daughter"

"I have always considered myself to possess a sixth sense, and my mother always told me to tap into my gut, my intuition"

"I was not acting. I couldn't! I thought she was funny, charming, beautiful, intelligent every single second I ever spent with her, onstage and off. Bingo! No acting required."

"I grew up here in Washington, D.C., back during the quaint, old-fashioned "Rule of Law" period."

"Laughter is a basic human need, along with love, and food, and an HBO subscription."

"Everybody needs laughs, so the fact that I've had the opportunity to make people laugh for a living is one of the many blessings that I have received in my life."

"As a great fan of the work of Mark Twain, I was so sorry when I recently learned he was dead. My thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Twain family. Especially the wonderful Shania."

"Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as far as I was concerned, was the key to the success of the show."

"In his latest annual letter to shareholders, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon says the US should "dramatically expand" its current earned-income tax credit, a form of negative income tax that pays low-earners instead of asking them to pay income tax... Dimon's letter echoed his comments at this year's World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, where leaders took to the idea because robotic automation now looms over a growing number of jobs. Governments may need to find ways to supplement people's wages when employers no longer require the employee's specific type of work. Dimon's vision of the near future is different from how most of us think about earning an income."

"The current pandemic is only one example of the bad planning and management that have hurt our country: Our inner city schools don’t graduate half of their students and don’t give our children an education that leads to a livelihood; our healthcare system is increasingly costly with many of our citizens lacking any access; and nutrition and personal health aren’t even being taught at many schools. Obesity has become a national scourge. We have a litigation and regulatory system that cripples small businesses with red tape and bureaucracy; ineffective infrastructure planning and investment; and huge waste and inefficiency at both the state and federal levels. We have failed to put proper immigration policies in place; our social safety nets are poorly designed; and the share of wages for the bottom 30% of Americans has effectively been going down. We need to acknowledge these problems and the damage they have done if we are ever going to fix them...."

"We need to demand more of ourselves and our leaders if we want to prevent or mitigate these disasters. This can be a moment when we all come together and recognize our shared responsibility, acting in a way that reflects the best of all of us... My fervent hope is that America rolls up its sleeves and starts to attack these problems. Fixing them would better prepare us for future catastrophes, create better economic outcomes for everyone... improve income inequality, protect the most vulnerable and foster economic growth that is more resilient, which would also strengthen America’s role in the world."

"I've always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc. You pointed out the only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers, money laundering, tax avoidance. .... If I was the government, I’d close it down."

"(About the risk of a severe "correction" of the US stock market) If we talk about probabilities, I see a higher chance of market collapse than others think or than is priced into the market. If the market sees a 10% chance, I would say it's more like 30%. [...] The timing of these things is virtually impossible to predict; it could be six months or two years from now."

"we must eliminate the blatant conflicts of interest at the Fed. The reality is that the Federal Reserve has been hijacked by the very bankers it is in charge of regulating. I think most people would be shocked to learn that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, served on the board of the New York Fed at the same time that his bank received a $391 billion Fed bailout. And he is not the only example. At least eighteen current and former Fed board members were affiliated with banks and companies that received emergency loans from the Fed during the financial crisis. We can no longer allow the foxes to guard the henhouse at the Federal Reserve."

"The idea of negative income tax is novel: In effect, it's a kind of income tax that works in reverse. For those who earn below a certain amount — like the poverty line — the government pays them. The largest example of NIT is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which serves 27 million working families in the US. It was started in 1975, under President Gerald Ford, expanded once by President Reagan, and expanded further by President Clinton. The EITC functions like a big tax refund. If a family makes below a certain amount each year, the government will refund the tax that was withheld plus an additional amount."

"It's harder to give away a dollar wisely than it is to earn it."

"...the most uncomfortable and saddest times of my life. I thought my emotions were evil because that’s what they told me. You’re not supposed to feel like this."

"Superman has got nothing on me because my kids gave me that perspective...They don’t know what they did for me. Maybe they’ll find out now and will read about it when they are big. They’ll understand what they did for me. If they gave up their piggy bank, then I have to give mine."

"Being Ricky Martin back then and what I was feeling were not compatible...I was the sex symbol and I needed to dance and I needed to make girls crazy and I couldn't say that I was gay. It was a struggle."

"I won’t stop singing in Spanish...It’s my mother tongue. [It’s] important to let people know more about Latin culture and exchange a little bit — it’s what I’ve been doing for seven years, since I released my first solo album."

"To my mom, I was a pain in the ass. To my dad, I was the light of his eyes. And to me, I was awkward," he said. "I had glasses. I weighed two pounds. My dad always told me, and as God's honest truth, 'Son, we're ugly. Work on your personality.'"

"Each song is like a short movie...And each character is different."

"...I was born and raised in Spanish Harlem and lived in New York most of my adult life. My life, my music and career started here. The fact that I no longer live in New York doesn’t mean I don’t consider this amazing city my home. I walked and lived in these streets for most of my life..."

"I'm from the streets of New York," he said. "I have a tattoo in my handwriting that I say: Those who say, don't know. Those who know, don't say. Your power and influence is largely based on what a steel trap your mouth is.""

"Give it a chance, try to make it happen. This is our greatest asset as a nation and one that we have to continue to encourage. You don’t have to go broke, you don’t have to bet everything on it, but you can start one day at a time by taking a chance and seeing if you too can build a great company."

"Education is a journey — and getting your degree doesn’t mean you’ve finished learning."

"What I enjoy most about being an entrepreneur is making a difference. By building a business we create jobs, pay taxes, and build families and communities."

"I’ve never considered being a woman or a Latina to be an obstacle. In fact, I usually consider it to be quite an asset, in part due to the incredible entrepreneurial culture of the Hispanic community in general and my family in particular."

"It’s easy to only look forward when you move to the United States, but I believe it’s vital to look back and remember your roots, to remember where you came from."

"I also believe in the value of excellence and bringing your best self. My father used to tell me if you’re going to do something, be the best at it."

"I was the second woman to hold that position in a thirty-year period—and that wasn’t acceptable to me. Clearly, there wasn’t enough awareness of the contributions women can bring to organizations and the economy."

"There have certainly been challenges throughout my career, but instead of looking at them as drawbacks, I look at them as opportunities and blessings."

"Watching Sheldon Adelson pour millions of dollars into the campaign of the hero of American Nazism."

"It is very important to be selective about who you choose to surround yourself with, because no one accomplishes anything on their own."

"In this country [Israel] the one thing the Jews have been searching for for 3,000 years is acceptance and assimilation. And now that we've achieved acceptance and assimilation, it's turning out to be our undoing. Without Birthright, there are statistics that have been proven at least twice that there's only 42% of Jewish kids between the ages of 18 and 26 that say they marry within their religion or bring up their children Jewish. 42% is less than half the remaining. In another two or three generations there won't be any secular Jews left. So this the most important program of my lifetime. All the kids that go to Birthright – the number jumps from 42% to 76%."

"We should also implement a 10 percent surtax on the value of estates above $1 billion to break up the extreme wealth of the 540 billionaires in the United States-the wealthiest 0.0002 percent of America-and end tax breaks for dynasty trusts. This includes eliminating the so-called "grantor retained annuity trust," and the "generation-skipping tax," whose loopholes have allowed billionaires like Sheldon Adelson and the Walton family, the owners of Wal-Mart, to legally manipulate the rules for trusts passed on from one generation to the next without paying estate or gift taxes, resulting in savings of $100 billion in taxes since 2000."

"What I would say is, "Listen. You see that desert out there, I want to show you something." ... You pick up your cellphone and you call somewhere in Nebraska and you say, "OK let it go." And so there's an atomic weapon, goes over ballistic missiles, the middle of the desert, that doesn't hurt a soul. Maybe a couple of rattlesnakes, and scorpions, or whatever. And then you say, "See? The next one is in the middle of Tehran." So, we mean business."

"There is nothing more powerful than the silent example."

"[to the Iranians] You want to be wiped out? [...] Go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development. You want to be peaceful? Just reverse it all, and we will guarantee you that you can have a nuclear power plant for electricity purposes, energy purposes."

"I don't meet competition. I crush it."

"In the factory, we make cosmetics; in the store we sell hope."

"If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it."

"Islam is a cult and not a religion. Christianity and Judaism are based on love, whereas Islam is based on ‘kill the infidel,’ a thing of evil."

"Christians and Jews can have a mutual respect for each other to create a civil society. As you know, Islam cannot do that. Therefore we cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society. Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy due to their deep antagonism and bias against non-Muslims."