Explore Quotes by George Soros

My main concern is with the world order

Playing by the rules, one does the best he can, irrespective of the social consequences. Whereas in making the rules, people ought to be concerned with the social consequences and not with their personal interests.

When a long-term trend loses it’s momentum, short-term volatility tends to rise. It is easy to see why that should be so: the trend-following crowd is disoriented.

I rely a great deal on animal instincts.

The generally accepted view is that markets are always right -- that is, market prices tend to discount future developments accurately even when it is unclear what those developments are. I start with the opposite view. I believe the market prices are always wrong in the sense that they present a biased view of the future.

The world order needs a major overhaul.

The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.

Unfortunately, the more complex the system, the greater the room for error.

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.

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

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

Making an investment decision is like formulating a scientific hypothesis and submitting it to a practical test. The main difference is that the hypothesis that underlies an investment decision is intended to make money and not to establish a universally valid generalization.

The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.

I called gold the ultimate bubble, which means it may go higher. But it’s certainly not safe and it’s not going to last forever.

It is much easier to put existing resources to better use, than to develop resources where they do not exist.

Misconceptions play a prominent role in my view of the world.

If investing is entertaining, if you're having fun, you're probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.

The collapse of the global marketplace would be a traumatic event with unimaginable consequences. Yet I find it easier to imagine than the continuation of the present regime.

A global economy is characterized not only by the free movement of goods and services but, more important, by the free movement of ideas and of capital.

Globalization has rendered the world increasingly interdependent, but international politics is still based on the sovereignty of states.

I passionately disagreed with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's plan to bail out the banks by using a public fund called the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to help banks take toxic assets off their balance sheets. I argued that it would be much better to put the money where the hole was and replenish the equity of the banks themselves.