Howard Hughes Quotes

All those men have their price.

They shouldn’t, sir. You sold your souls and you’re going to continue selling them. You can be very moral and righteous in asking me that question sir, but there is not one of you in this room that’s going to turn down any of our money. You’re going to take it. I can only offer it…. We want to put our materials on the bodies of your athletes and the best way to do it is to buy your schools or buy your coach.

Every man has his price.

Inauthenticity is endemic in American politics today. The political backrooms where I spent much of my career were just as benighted as my personal life, equally crowded with shadowy strangers and compromises, truths I hoped to deny. I lived not in one closet but in many.

I think it's very easy to get corrupted.

There's nothing that will change someone's moral outlook quicker than cash in large sums.

No doubt, corporate CEOs who lie to their shareholders and politicians who lie to their public know and believe intellectually that lying is immoral. Why then do they lie? They lie to others because they first lie to themselves.

The great corrupter of public man is the ego. Looking at the mirror distracts one's attention from the problem.

He who thinks that anything can be accomplished with money will himself likely to do anything for money.

The first sign of corruption in a society ... is that the ends justify the means.

I did not wish to bribe myself.

Many government officials have very high moral standards at the beginning of their duties, but after a while some officials sway from the right path and easily fall into the temptation of bribery and fraud.

Governor [Myron] Herrick is not a bad man; he is simply weak. He is one of those men who can do dishonest things honestly.

Everyone has their price. You just have to find out what it is.

Everybody's always going to have some self-interest. When it passes a certain point, that's when it become corruption.

Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.

The devil is compromise.

As Members of Congress, we should not be using public office for private gain.

The 'morality of compromise' sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.

The only reason I'm in Hollywood is that I don't have the moral courage to refuse the money.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.

Have I given any symptoms of an avaricious disposition? Have I obtained any grants from the crown since I have been placed at the head of the treasury? Has my conduct been different from that which others in the same station would have followed?

What likelihood is there of corrupting a man who has no ambition?

I have often noticed that a bribe has that effect - it changes a relation. The man who offers a bribe gives away a little of his own importance; the bribe once accepted, he becomes the inferior, like a man who has paid for a woman.