Ken Langone Quotes

“The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.”

“It wasn't just wealth itself that put me in that position; a lot of it was sheer stubborn curiosity. Whenever I served on a corporate board, I was notorious for asking more questions than any other director on that board. I didn't give a shit if my question showed how stupid I was. A lot of people are scared to ask questions because they don't want people to know how dumb they are. I've never had that problem.”

“Income inequality is a terrible problem in this country, and I don't have a magic solution. I don't know about mandating a higher minimum wage. I do know that nobody can live on $20,000 a year. But I worry that mandating a higher minimum might hurt the people you want to try to help: the more you increase the costs of any factor of production, the more incentive you give owners to figure out a way to change that factor of production.”

“Capitalism is brutal. It's survival of the fittest. What's a successful business? More money coming in than going out. If it's the other way around, you're out of business—simple as that.”

“A great person doing a great job will be a great investment.”

“If you gave me six months I couldn't list all my failures.”

“There's nothing quite like a sense of self-worth and a sense of self respect.”

“As a little boy, my first job was delivering newspapers, and then I had a variety of different jobs. I worked in a butcher shop. I worked in a supermarket. I worked in construction. I dug ditches on the Long Island Expressway in 1954, 1955, 1956.”

“I can't think of anyone that stands up to Frank as a CEO of any corporation I've ever been involved in. Home Depot is one of my successes. But if you gave me six months I couldn't list all my failures.”

“When you lose your integrity and your belief in yourself, you've lost everything.”

“A kid asked me one time, what's your net worth? I blurted it out — I never thought about it. "My net worth is what good I do with what I have," and I believe that.”

“Capitalism works. Let me say it again: It works! And — I'm living proof — it can work for anybody and everybody. Blacks and whites and browns and everybody in between. Absolutely anybody is entitled to dream big, and absolutely everybody should dream big. I did. Show me where the silver spoon was in my mouth. I've got to argue profoundly and passionately: I'm the American Dream.”

“The three most powerful things in business: a kind word, a thoughtful gesture, and passion and enthusiasm for everything you're doing.”

“Nobody works for you, everybody works with you. The greatest leaders can get other people to do something they never thought they could do.”

“My net worth is what good I do with what I have.”

“I learned early how essential it was to love the work I was doing. Sometimes I look back and wonder, how did all this happen? Then the answer comes. Shit, I know how it happened: I was at a place where I was having the time of my life!”