I'd rather be respected than loved.
Eli Broad
Without a doubt, stem cell research will lead to the dramatic improvement in the human condition and will benefit millions of people.
The best move you can make in negotiation is to think of an incentive the other person hasn't even thought of - and then meet it.
Someone once told me I'm a sore winner, and they're right. I rarely take more than a moment to enjoy a success before I'm moving on and looking for the next challenge.
Civilizations are not remembered by their business people, their bankers or lawyers. They're remembered by the arts.
Collecting is more than just buying objects.
Artists rarely do the same thing over and over again. Art is about the new, doing things in a new way.
I believe in two things: One, Andrew Carnegie said, 'He who dies with wealth dies in shame.' And someone once said, 'He who gives while he lives also knows where it goes.'
My family and I have been blessed with good fortune in the world of business. We've created quite a net worth. My children, two boys, have more money than they will ever need, and they aren't empire builders.
The happiest people I've found are in science. These people have three times the IQ - maybe I'm exaggerating. They have a higher IQ than I do. They love what they're doing, they have a good family life, they're satisfied.
In high school, I would drive my teachers batty. They would make a statement, and I would say, 'Why is that?' They didn't want to be questioned.
I can't think of another enterprise other than being a homeowner that can't have its debt restructured in bankruptcy. Corporations can but a homeowner can't? Now with securitization the homeowner can't go to the owner of the loan and work things out.
Oprah Winfrey's global influence is unparalleled. Not only has her generosity and firm belief that education is the key to a better life benefited countless women and children around the world, but her example has also inspired millions of people to give back in ways big and small.
Managers are responsible for setting workplace policies under which teachers can succeed. Managers are responsible for negotiating contracts that create the conditions under which teachers can succeed.
If you have poor management that's not doing the right job, you end up with unions filling the void and... page after page of work rules and thicker and thicker contracts.
I'm strong-willed. Architects are strong-willed. You get the best results with a strong client and a strong architect working together.
How absurd that our students tuck their cell phones, BlackBerrys, iPads, and iPods into their backpacks when they enter a classroom and pull out a tattered textbook.
School district policies and practices have not kept pace with student and teacher needs.
I have always believed that every great city in history needs a vibrant center.
Anything I do, I spend a lot of time. I do it with passion and intensity. I want to be in charge.
The first thing I started collecting was stamps. Until I started discovering girls. That was the end of stamps.
The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.
I've got a big ego, I admit it; I'm ego-driven.
As the son of a union activist and a lifelong Democrat, I've always thought that privatizing our public schools is not the answer. We must strengthen public schools.
I think the opera is one of the great cultural jewels of Los Angeles.
My wife was the first art collector in the family, and I didn't become interested until around 1973. The first important artwork we bought was a Van Gogh drawing of two peasant houses in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Any city in America would like to get a museum built if they didn't have to pay for it.
The first dream I had was just to get a college education. I got through college in three years, taking extra classes in summer school.
Philanthropy is activism.
The biggest barrier we've seen to student progress is this: School policies and practices often prevent good teachers from doing great work and even dissuade some talented Americans from entering the profession. This needs to change.
I don't see myself as a great discoverer of artists, like Charles Saatchi.
I believe that a newspaper is a great civic asset and that ownership is best in the hands of foundations or wealthy families that want to own it for reasons other than maximizing profits. I also believe newspapers should remain in local hands.
People think it's strange how briskly I move through museums. Sure, I could stand in front of each piece and stare at it for a good long time. But that's not me.
I never stay anywhere - parties, museums, meetings - longer than three hours.
Art evokes emotion. It doesn't have to be a thing of beauty.
I don't think it makes any sense for an individual to invest in common stocks unless they know the company, work at the company, and so on.
Frankly, I'm not sure how far I would get if I attended public school today. It's not just that public schools aren't producing the results we want - it's that we're not giving them what they need to help students achieve at high levels. K-12 education in the United States is deeply antiquated.
If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status quo. I want to help people, to work with institutions or create ones when they don't exist.
I've never been one who enjoys maintaining the status quo. I'm always pushing for new ideas, whether it's in business or philanthropy.
Twombly, frankly, was an acquired taste. I was not in love with Twombly the first time I saw one of his paintings.
Los Angeles is one of the four cultural capitals of the world, but we don't attract as many cultural tourists as New York, London or Paris. I want to change that.
To me, unconventional thinking is approaching a problem and asking, 'Why not? Why can't something be done?' If someone can't give me a good reason why you can't do something, I find a way to do it.
It's hard to explain your emotions when you see a work of art.
You can have great teachers, but if you don't have a good principal, you won't have a good school.
Teach For America provides one of the most critical pipelines for bringing new talent into public education.
If people want to criticize me because it sells papers, that's fine. I just don't like it when it's inaccurate.
Unfortunately, the boards of art institutions tend to be populated with well-meaning supporters of the arts who often lack any business background or appetite for imposing appropriate discipline.
School boards are, for the most part,made up of political wannabes who see a board seat as a stepping stone for political office, or well-meaning parents who represent an ethnic group or geography, or have some other narrow interests. Few people on them understand what governance is about.
For businesses to be successful, they need to constantly ask the question: 'How can we provide value to our customers?' At the end of the day, that is what matters.
The unions no longer control the education agenda of the Democratic Party.
