“If we care about universal principles such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law, we cannot leave them to the care of market forces; we must establish some other institutions to safeguard them.”

The prevailing wisdom is that markets are always right. I take the opposite position. I assume that markets are always wrong.

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

If I had to sum up my practical skills, I would use one word: survival. And operating a hedge fund utilized my training in survival to the fullest.

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.

Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected.

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.

The global crisis is caused by pathologies inherent in the global financial system itself.

The worse a situation becomes the less it takes to turn it around, the bigger the upside.

Markets can influence the events that they anticipate.

I fancied myself as some kind of god or an economic reformer like Keynes.

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

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

If we carry this line of argument to its logical conclusion, the meaning of life consists of the flaws in one’s conceptions and what one does about them. Life can be seen as a fertile fallacy.

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

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

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

High maintenance means a lot of care. My relationships are high maintenance, my body is high maintenance, and my soul is high maintenance.

I wish I could be more carefree. I grew up fast.

My grandma told me that to be wealthy you need at least seven streams of income, so that’s my goal. I have a big family. I want to take care of everybody.

I’ve just always been very aware and careful of everything so that I can be ready for the perfect opportunities as they come. I don’t take anything for granted or wait for anything to come to me.

What Do You Care What Other People Think?

Always be careful dealing with your cards when you have a queen of hearts in your mind.

A leader must care about the troops, but at the same time the leader must complete the mission, and in doing so there will be risk and sometimes unavoidable consequences to the troops.

This may be the fundamental problem with caring a lot about what others think: It can put you on the established path—the my-isn’t-that-impressive path—and keep you there for a long time.