Nicolas Berggruen Quotes

• The biggest determinant in our lives is culture, where we are born, what the environment looks like. But the second biggest determinant is probably governance, good governance or a certain kind of governance makes a huge difference in our lives.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Differences, Culture, Looks

  53 Copy quote

• Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world. But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we're only here for a short period of time. It's what we do and produce, it's our actions, that will last forever. That's real value.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Zero, Real, Thinking

  10 Copy quote

• At the end, the key thing is you've got to live with yourself. That's the real test. Everything else is fleeting.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Real, Keys, Fleeting

  "The New World of Nicolas Berggruen". Interview with Richard Bradley, www.worth.com. October 21, 2012.

  8 Copy quote

• Luckily the whole world is not like me, or else, there would be no world.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Would Be, World, Like Me

  "The homeless billionaire: The super-rich businessman who carries his meagre possessions in a paper bag" by Graham Hiscott, www.mirror.co.uk. April 7, 2012.

  7 Copy quote

• Other people might have family - three kids or five houses. In my case, that doesn't exist. I'm going to give everything away. Everything has been transferred to charitable trusts. There is no question about that. The question is where, not if.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Kids, People, Giving

  8 Copy quote

• I felt I was owned by possessions.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Possession, Felt

  6 Copy quote

• If you have things and if you are a perfectionist, which I am, you have to really tend to them, and it takes energy away from other things.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Energy, Perfectionist, Ifs

  4 Copy quote

• Singapore has been incredibly well-managed. It was created out of the swamp, with a strong emotional idea: a safe place for mostly Chinese, but accepting other cultures and other races.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Strong, Emotional, Race

  15 Copy quote

• I can drive. Let's just say you don't want to be in the passenger seat.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Want, Passengers, Passenger Seat

  4 Copy quote

• I don't have a house, and I don't have a lot of time for socializing, so every year I have a party for all of my friends.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Party, Years, House

  4 Copy quote

• I don't get that much enjoyment out of saying 'I own it.'

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Enjoyment

  4 Copy quote

• Everything I do now is about growing the pot to have more to give away.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Giving, Growing, Pot

  4 Copy quote

• California has something which not every place in the world has: It has what I would call a sunny side, and I don't mean just physically, but the sunny side is a future. California's worth saving, to put it bluntly.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Mean, California, World

  FaceBook post by Nicolas Berggruen from Jul 29, 2016

  8 Copy quote

• Brunch is boring, but that's part of the charm of it.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Brunch, Boring, Charm

  21 Copy quote

• California is a place of invention, a place of courage, a place of vision, a place of the future. People who made California what it is were willing to take risks, think outside convention and build.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Thinking, California, People

  6 Copy quote

• Possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Zero, Interesting, Wealth

  "Homeless Billionaire Shuns 'Unsatisfying' Material Possessions Despite $5 Billion Worth" by Jim Gardner, www.christianpost.com. October 4, 2012.

  7 Copy quote

• Commodity exchanges have a lot of advantages. One, you are helping transparency. Two, they are not political. It's institutional building. It can survive any environment, in theory.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Two, Political, Helping

  4 Copy quote

• If you erased New York, I hate to say it, if you erased Frankfurt, even London, the world would not have changed.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  New York, Hate, World

  5 Copy quote

• I wish I was a great writer or a great journalist or a great scientist or a great artist; I'm not.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Artist, Wish, Scientist

  4 Copy quote

• L.A. is very special to me, so far away from my world on the East Coast, Europe, Asia. It's a bit of an island for me - less intense, less busy; because of time difference and location, it has a calming effect. At least it used to be all that.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Islands, Europe, Calming Effect

  4 Copy quote

• Most countries in Africa have the capacity to be great agricultural producers, but they do only subsistence production. So a family will produce for themselves and nothing more. Why? Because of the systems: The markets are not there to go beyond.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Country, Capacity, Produce

  4 Copy quote

• In my teens I was interested in photography. Then I decided that I should learn something about the world of commerce. And I came to America at age 17 to escape Europe. I went to NYU - nothing better than being 17 years old and coming to New York.

  Nicolas Berggruen

  Photography, New York, Years

  "The New World of Nicolas Berggruen". Interview with Richard Bradley, www.worth.com. October 21, 2012.

  4 Copy quote

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