Do not value money for anymore nor any less than it’s worth; it is a good servant but a bad master.
—Alexandre Dumas, pere (1802–1870) French Novelist, Playwright
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
It frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
Money is always there but the pockets change.
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American Writer
Few rich men own their own property. Their property owns them.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money.
—W. C. Fields (1880–1946) American Actor, Comedian, Writer
Men are seldom more innocently employed than when they are honestly making money.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
All currency is neurotic currency.
—Norman O. Brown (1913–2002) American Philosopher
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst; the last is a real tragedy!
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
But for money and the need of it, there would not be half the friendship in the world. It is powerful for good if divinely used. Give it plenty of air and it is sweet as the hawthorn; shut it up and it cankers and breeds worms.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Money was made not to command our will, but all our lawful pleasures to fulfill; shame and woe to us, if we our wealth obey — the horse doth with the horseman run away.
—Abraham Cowley (1618–67) English Poet, Essayist
He who lends money on usury consumes his own as well as the stranger’s.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Sir, money, money, the most charming of all things: money, which will say more in one moment than the most elegant lover can in years. Perhaps you will say a man is not young; I answer he is rich. He is not genteel, handsome, witty, brave, good-humored, but he is rich, rich, rich, rich, rich—that one word contradicts everything you can say against him.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
I finally know what distinguishes man from the other beasts: financial worries.
—Jules Renard (1864–1910) French Writer, Diarist
The further through life I drift the more obvious it becomes that I am lacking in thrift.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
If you can actually count your money, then you’re not a rich man.
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) American Business Person, Art Collector, Philanthropist
Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act.
—Jack Welch (b.1935) American Businessperson
It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune, and when you have got it, it requires ten times as much wit to keep it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Economy is half the battle of life. It is not so hard to earn money as to spend it well.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
The greed of gain has no time or limit to its capaciousness. It’s one object is to produce and consume. It has pity neither for beautiful nature nor for living human beings. It is ruthlessly ready without a moment’s hesitation to crush beauty and life out of them, molding them into money.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
The goal should not be to make money or acquire things, but to achieve the consciousness through which the substance will flow forth when and as you need it.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
Those who set out to serve both God and Mammon soon discover that there isn’t a God.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
The fortune of this world is like a wheel with two buckets, the full becomes empty and the empty full.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Money doesn’t mind if we say it’s evil, it goes from strength to strength. It’s a fiction, an addiction, and a tacit conspiracy.
—Martin Amis (b.1949) British Novelist, Journalist
It was said of old Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, that she never puts dots over her I s, to save ink.
—Hugh Walpole (1884–1941) English Novelist, Short Story Writer, Dramatist
When I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know it is.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Many of the things you can count, don’t count. Many of the things you can’t count, really count.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none.
—Richard DeVos (1926–2018) American Businessman, Philanthropist
The only thing money gives you is the freedom of not worrying about money.
—Johnny Carson (1925–2005) American Comedian
I do not prize the word cheap. It is not a word of inspiration. It is the badge of poverty, the signal of distress. Cheap merchandise means cheap men and cheap men mean a cheap country.
—William McKinley (1843–1901) American Republican Statesman, 25th President
When you overpay small people you frighten them. They know that their merits or activities entitle them to no such sums as they are receiving. As a result their boss soars out of economic into magic significance. He becomes a source of blessings rather than wages. Criticism is sacrilege, doubt is heresy.
—Ben Hecht (1894–1964) American Screenwriter, Playwright
It is true that money cannot buy happiness but it does make it possible for you to enjoy the best that the world has to offer.
—George Samuel Clason (1874–1957) American Businessperson, Author
The great rule is not to talk about money with people who have much more or much less than you.
—Katharine Whitehorn (b.1928) English Journalist, Writer, Columnist
Money alone is only a mean; it presupposes a man to use it. The rich man can go where he pleases, but perhaps please himself nowhere. He can buy a library or visit the whole world, but perhaps has neither patience to read nor intelligence to see…. The purse may be full and the heart empty. He may have gained the world and lost himself; and with all his wealth around him … he may live as blank a life as any tattered ditcher.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Rule One. You must know the difference between an asset and a liability and buy assets. Poor and middle class acquire liabilities, but they think they are assets. An asset is something that puts money in my pocket. A liability is something that takes money out of my pocket.
—Robert Kiyosaki (b.1947) American Businessperson, Author, Motivational Speaker
Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.
—Warren Buffett (b.1930) American Investor
Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.
—F. H. Bradley (1846–1924 ) British Idealist Philosopher
There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose. … .
—John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) English Economist
If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.
—Billy Graham (1918–91) American Baptist Religious Leader
Money is life to us wretched mortals.
—Hesiod (f.700 BCE) Greek Poet
There is a vast difference in one’s respect for the man who has made himself, and the man who has only made his money.
—Dinah Craik (1826–87) British Novelist, Essayist, Poet
I’m not into the money thing. You can only sleep in one bed at a time. You can only eat one meal at a time, or be in one car at a time. So I don’t have to have millions of dollars to be happy. All I need are clothes on my back, a decent meal, and a little loving when I feel like it. That’s the bottom line.
—Ray Charles (1930–2004) American Singer, Songwriter, Musician
Money won’t buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a huge research staff to study the problem.
—Burton Hillis (William E. Vaughan) (1915–77) American Columnist, Author
Wise is the person at either end. Who can in due measure spare as well as spend.
—Lucian (c.120–c.200 CE) Greek Satirist, Rhetorician, Writer
A woman’s mink coat represents the sacrifice of a lot of little animals, including her husband.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The more men, generally speaking, will do for a Dollar when they make it, the more that Dollar will do for them when they spend it.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
He is a wise man who seeks by every legitimate means to make all the money he can honestly, for money can do so many worthwhile things in this world, not merely for one’s self but for others. But he is an unmitigated fool who imagines for a moment that it is more important to make the money than to make it honestly. One of the advantages of possessing money is that it facilitates one’s independence and mental attitude. The man head over heels in debt is more slave than independent.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Money makes up in a measure all other wants in men.
—William Wycherley (1640–1715) English Dramatist
All money means to me is a pride in accomplishment.
—Ray Kroc (1902–84) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Oh, I wish I were a miser; being a miser must be so occupying.
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American Writer
Money makes even bastards legitimate.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Too much money is as demoralizing as too little, and there’s no such thing as exactly enough.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Money may kindle, but it cannot by itself, and for very long, burn.
—Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Russian-born American Composer, Musician
A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.
—William Feather (1889–1981) American Publisher, Author
Money is much more exciting than anything it buys.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The love of money is the root of all evil.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done. If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
The trick is to make sure you don’t die waiting for prosperity to come.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
The money men make lives after them.
—Samuel Butler
What a man does with his wealth depends upon his idea of happiness. Those who draw prizes in life are apt to spend tastelessly, if not viciously; not knowing that it requires as much talent to spend as to make.
—Edwin Percy Whipple (1819–86) American Literary Critic
Happiness seems to require a modicum of external prosperity.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
He is rich who enjoys what he possesseth.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting.
—Jesse Lauriston Livermore (1877–1940) American Investor
Money is neither my god nor my devil. It is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it’s greedy or loving.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.
—P. T. Barnum (1810–91) American Businessperson, Entertainer
“Your money, or your life”. We know what to do when a burglar makes this demand of us, but not when God does.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Comparatively few people know what a million dollars actually is. To the majority it is a gaseous concept, swelling or decreasing as the occasion suggests. In the minds of politicians, perhaps more than anywhere, the notion of a million dollars has this accordion-like ability to expand or contract; if they are disposing of it, the million is a pleasing sum, reflecting warmly upon themselves; if somebody else wants it, it becomes a figure of inordinate size, not to be compassed by the rational mind.
—Robertson Davies (1913–95) Canada Journalist, Playwright, Academic, Critic, Novelist
The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it.
—Tennessee Williams (1911–83) American Playwright
A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
I pity that man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth shall starve in the process.
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) American Political leader, Politician, Lawyer
We cannot gamble with anything so sacred as money.
—William McKinley (1843–1901) American Republican Statesman, 25th President
Sudden money is going from zero to two hundred dollars a week. The rest doesn’t count.
—Neil Simon (1927–2018) American Playwright
We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.
—Gloria Steinem (b.1934) American Feminist, Journalist, Social Activist, Political Activist
Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.
—C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish-born British Academic, Author, Literary Scholar
I’m just a retired guy who made a couple billion by being in the right place at the right time.
—Richard Rainwater (1944–2015) American Investor
My old father used to have a saying: If you make a bad bargain, hug it all the tighter.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
All work and no play makes jack. With enough jack, Jack needn’t be a dull boy.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
It is not how much one makes but to what purpose one spends.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
Money is the sinews of love, as of war.
—George Farquhar (1677–1707) Irish Dramatist
Capital is to the progress of society what gas is to a car.
—James Truslow Adams (1878–1949) American Historian, Writer
Money without brains is always dangerous.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
The darkest hour in the history of any young man is when he sits down to study how to get money without honestly earning it.
—Horace Greeley (1811–72) American Elected Rep, Politician, Reformer, Editor
Money will say more in one moment than the most eloquent lover can in years.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
Money won’t make you happy, but everybody wants to find out for themselves.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
If anything is evident about people who manage money, it is that the task attracts a very low level of talent, one that is protected in its highly imperfect profession by the mystery that is thought to enfold the subject of economics in general and of money in particular.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
A treasure is to be valued for its own sake and not for what it will buy.
—Graham Greene (1904–91) British Novelist, Playwright, Short Story Writer
It seems to be a law in American life that whatever enriches us anywhere except in the wallet inevitably becomes uneconomic.
—Russell Baker (1925–2019) American Journalist, Humorist, Television Host
There are people who have money and people who are rich.
—Coco Chanel (1883–1971) French Fashion Designer
But money, wife, is the true Fuller’s Earth for reputations, there is not a spot or a stain but what it can take out.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
Foul cankering rust the hidden treasure frets,
But gold that’s put to use more gold begets.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
After a certain point, money is meaningless. It ceases to be the goal. The game is what counts.
—Aristotle Onassis (1906–75) Greek Businessperson
Money is like muck, not good except it be spread.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
—John Wesley (1703–91) British Methodist Religious Leader, Preacher, Theologian
Money doesn’t talk, it swears.
—Bob Dylan (b.1941) American Singer-songwriter
Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, and don’t have any kids yourself.
—Philip Larkin (1922–85) English Poet, Librarian, Novelist
October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Business is the art of extracting money from another man’s pocket without resorting to violence.
—Anonymous
Money, or even power, can never yield happiness unless it be accompanied by the goodwill of others.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings.
—Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) American Biographer, Novelist, Socialist
Do not value money for any more nor any less than its worth; it is a good servant but a bad master.
—Alexandre Dumas, fils (1824–95) French Dramatist, Novelist
Successful people make money. It’s not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.
—Wayne Dyer (b.1940) American Motivational Writer, Author, Motivational Speaker
Nothing so cements and holds together all the parts of a society as faith or credit, which can never be kept up unless men are under some force or necessity of honestly paying what they owe to one another.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
It happens a little unluckily that the persons who have the most infinite contempt of money are the same that have the strongest appetite for the pleasures it procures.
—William Shenstone (1714–63) British Poet, Landscape Gardener
What’s the quickest way to become a millionaire?. Borrow fivers off everyone you meet.
—Richard Branson (b.1950) British Entrepreneur
The money complex is the demonic, and the demonic is God’s ape; the money complex is therefore the heir to and substitute for the religious complex, an attempt to find God in things.
—Norman O. Brown (1913–2002) American Philosopher
Friends love misery, in fact. Sometimes, especially if we are too lucky or too successful or too pretty, our misery is the only thing that endears us to our friends.
—Erica Jong (b.1942) American Novelist, Feminist
Wealth may be like waters gathered in a house, which, finding no outlet, drown the owner.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Simply by not owning three medium-sized castles in Tuscany I have saved enough money in the last forty years on insurance premiums alone to buy a medium-sized castle in Tuscany.
—Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) German-born American Architect, Academic
There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. The only thing that can console one for being rich is economy.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Money never made a fool of anybody; it only shows them up.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.
—Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
Let us all be happy, and live within our means, even if we have to borrow the money to do it with.
—Charles Farrar Browne (Artemus Ward) (1834–67) American Humorist, Writer
I would rather be a beggar and spend my money like a king, than be a king and spend money like a beggar.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
The price we have to pay for money is sometimes liberty.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
The higher men climb,
the longer their working day.
There are no office hours for leaders.
—James Gibbons (1834–1921) American Catholic Religious Leader, Clergyman
The contempt of money is no more a virtue than to wash one’s hand is one; but one does not willingly shake hands with a man that never washes his.
—Hugh Walpole (1884–1941) English Novelist, Short Story Writer, Dramatist
One man’s wage rise is another man’s price increase.
—Harold Wilson British Political Leader
Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the “gotta have it” scale.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
When a fellow says it hain’t the money but the principle o’ the thing, it’s th’ money.
—Charles Farrar Browne (Artemus Ward) (1834–67) American Humorist, Writer
What our country really needs most are those things which money cannot buy.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it. I call this the freedom multiplier.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.
—Zsa Zsa Gabor (1919–2016) Hungarian-born Film Actress
When you let money speak for you, it drowns out anything else you meant to say.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.
—George Samuel Clason (1874–1957) American Businessperson, Author
Money makes a good servant, but a bad master.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
The covetous man never has money; the prodigal will have none shortly.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
A man with a surplus can control circumstances, but a man without a surplus is controlled by them, and often he has no opportunity to exercise judgment.
—Harvey Samuel Firestone (1868–1938) American Businessperson
No man’s credit is ever as good as his money.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
Never was a miser a brave soul.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.
—Bob Dylan (b.1941) American Singer-songwriter
I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.
—Larry Bird (b.1956) American Basketball Player
I’ve always thought anyone can make money. Making a life worth living, that’s the real test.
—Robert Fulghum (b.1937) American Unitarian Universalist Author, Essayist, Clergyman
The Law of Triviality… briefly stated, it means that the time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.
—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–93) British Historian, Scholar, Novelist, Satirist
In its famous paradox, the equation of money and excrement, psychoanalysis becomes the first science to state what common sense and the poets have long known — that the essence of money is in its absolute worthlessness.
—Norman O. Brown (1913–2002) American Philosopher
Like all wage slaves, he had two crosses to bear: the people he worked for and the people he worked with.
—Stephen Vizinczey (b.1933) Hungarian-born Canadian Novelist, Literary Critic, Author
The chief value of money lies in the fact that one lives in a world in which it is overestimated.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Draw your salary before spending it.
—Charles Farrar Browne (Artemus Ward) (1834–67) American Humorist, Writer
Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) American Business Person, Art Collector, Philanthropist
We all need money, but there are degrees of desperation.
—Anthony Burgess (1917–93) English Novelist, Critic, Composer
The more money an American accumulates, the less interesting he becomes.
—Gore Vidal (1925–48) American Novelist, Essayist, Journalist, Playwright, Political Activist
Let us keep a firm grip upon our money, for without it the whole assembly of virtues are but as blades of grass.
—Bhartrihari (c.570–c.651 CE) Indian Hindu Philosopher, Poet-Grammarian
A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
I don’t want to make money. I just want to be wonderful.
—Marilyn Monroe (1926–62) American Actor, Model, Singer
I wish I’d said it first, and I don’t even know who did: The only problems that money can solve are money problems.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
Money is human happiness in the abstract; and so the man who is no longer capable of enjoying such happiness in the concrete, sets his whole heart on money.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher