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.
The scope for improvement is infinite, precisely because perfection is unattainable.
The dark comes before dawn. The financial markets are under great pressure because of the lack of leadership during the transition period.
Taking this view, it is possible to see financial markets as a laboratory for testing hypotheses, albeit not strictly scientific ones. The truth is, successful investing is a kind of alchemy.
If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood which I felt I had to control, otherwise I might end up in the loony bin. But when I made my way in the world I wanted to indulge myself in my fantasies to the extent that I could afford.
Every bubble has two components: something – some real trend, and a misconception about that trend.
Stock market bubbles don’t grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality as distorted by a misconception.
We are trying to make the world a better place, but that is not necessarily what we accomplish. Many of the problems which preoccupy us are basically insoluble.
Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object is to recognize the trend whose premise is false, ride that trend and step off before it is discredited.
Short term volatility is greatest at turning points and diminishes as a trend becomes established.
There is no doubt that the countries that now have a very large debt have not introduced the kind of structural reforms that Germany did and are therefore at a disadvantage. But the problem is that this disadvantage is becoming even more pronounced through the punitive policies in place.
The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.
You could adjust the punishment to fit the infraction. Even a small fine would be enough to bring an errant government to heel.
Markets are imperfect. So you do need regulation, knowing that the regulators are also human.
When I had made more money than I needed for myself and my family, I set up a foundation to promote the values and principles of a free and open society.
It is much easier to put existing resources to better use, than to develop resources where they do not exist.
We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting caught in a quagmire.
Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman.
I am not well qualified to criticize the theory of rational expectations and the efficient market hypothesis because as a market participant I considered them so unrealistic that I never bothered to study them.
I think it is natural that every country has to take care of its interests, but there are some interests that are common to all countries. There are some human interests, or we need also international cooperation. We’ve sometimes confused it with dictation.