Cornelius Vanderbilt II

"The man who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

"Wealth is not without its advantages and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved wholly persuasive."

"I have always believed that the way to get the best out of people is to make them feel important."

"Idleness is the parent of all vice."

"The accumulation of wealth is simply the storing up of human energy in a concrete form."

"I was taught to work for what I wanted."

"Commerce has set the mark of sovereignty upon an article by making it money."

"The man who has money has in his pocket those who have not."

"A man is not necessarily dishonest because he is unsuccessful; likewise he is not necessarily honest because he is successful."

"Life is change. Nothing is static."

"I was taught that the proper occupation for a rich man is the accumulation of wealth."

"The public has no right to know what I do with my money."

"I have not the slightest faith in the political economists."

"Great fortunes are built on great ideas."

"A man should make himself a master of whatever he undertakes."

"The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are not born that way, they are trained that way."

"I have the best of health and the fullest of lives."

"Charity should always be a work of love."

"The higher the station, the greater the responsibility."

"I am but a trustee of my property for the benefit of society."

"Commerce is the great civilizer."

"The struggle for existence is the struggle for power."

"Wealth without happiness is like sickness."

"I believe in the power of human industry and enterprise."

"The man who is too proud to learn is too poor to know anything."

"Time is the most precious commodity."

"I made my money the hard way."

"The world needs bold men of action."

"My success came from hard work, not luck."

"A man must know when to hold and when to fold."