Top 44 Eli Broad Quotes

There were periods when the art market got overheated, but there is no reason it should appreciate dramatically.

I believe in the democratization of the arts. What do I mean by that? I think museums, with some exceptions, have a responsibility to educate a much broader public.

What artists think about the world is often different from how we businessmen see it, and I find that an enriching experience.

I’ve got a big ego, I admit it; I’m ego-driven.

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.

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.

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.

If people want to criticize me because it sells papers, that’s fine. I just don’t like it when it’s inaccurate.

In America, what you‘ve accomplished financially is a measurement, whether you like it or not.

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.

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.

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.

It’s hard to explain your emotions when you see a work of art.

I think the opera is one of the great cultural jewels of Los Angeles.

Collecting is more than just buying objects.

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.

Philanthropy is activism.

It’s critical that states improve how teachers are trained, recruited, evaluated, compensated, advanced, and retained.

I never stay anywhere – parties, museums, meetings – longer than three hours.

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.

The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.

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’d rather be respected than loved.

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.

I have always believed that every great city in history needs a vibrant center.

The American people frankly have been, over many, many years – to be blunt – fat, dumb and happy. If they want their children to compete with children in India, China or Korea, they better get them a far better education.

Time is the most valuable thing you have – and I’m not just talking about the minutes for which you’re paid.

A lot of executives act like their time is worth more than anyone else‘s. But I always respect an employee who guards his or her time, even from me.

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.

Being a Midwesterner, I know that many of the middle-class manufacturing jobs that had been at the heart of our economy are either gone or going, and they’re not coming back.

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.

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.

Most museums – with all their burdens to pay for exhibitions, administration, and security – really don’t have any money really to acquire art, with few exceptions.

Any city in America would like to get a museum built if they didn’t have to pay for it.

Art evokes emotion. It doesn’t have to be a thing of beauty.

Los Angeles is such a great meritocracy. Where can someone with my background – don’t have the right family background, the right religion, the right provenance or whatever you want to call it – I come here and I’m accepted. The city’s been good to me. And I want to give back.

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.’

I think over any period of time, especially if you don’t use leverage, it is difficult to continually beat the S&P 500.

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.

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.

Teach For America provides one of the most critical pipelines for bringing new talent into public education.

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.

Museums do not share their collections with other museums unless they get something in exchange. The Metropolitan will deal with the Louvre, but will they send their stuff to Memphis? No.

Civilizations are not remembered by their business people, their bankers or lawyers. They’re remembered by the arts.