Mark Burnett Quotes

I have no complex about wealth. I have worked very hard for my money; producing things people need.

Madam Walker was a woman who transformed herself in a very American, rags-to-riches way.

I want all Latinos to know the American dream is alive. I believe in economic liberty. I believe there's no demographic more suited to achieving the American dream than Latinos.

The United States is probably the most [socially] mobile society in the history of the world. The virtues that are most valuable in it are diligence, discipline, ambition, and a willingness to take risks. Education and credentials are most important in government; elsewhere most skills are learned on the job.

Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: the idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country. And in fulfilling this promise, entrepreneurs also play a critical role in expanding our economy and creating jobs.

My father was a successful entrepreneur.

I really feel that my life story is a continuation of the Great American Dream - the immigrant who comes to this country and is allowed to excel. How many other countries would let me do that?

I believe in the American Dream because I have lived the American Dream.

If achieving the Hong Kong dream becomes a vanishing hope, then our society will suffer. What would the Hong Kong dream be? It's no different from the American dream, whereby an everyday man on the street who works hard would be able to make good savings and use those savings as equity for their future small business.

Every business decision I ever made I learned from my grandfather Papa Sam. He moved here from Russia when he was a boy. He worked his way up selling newspapers and ladies' handbags, and eventually, he became Cadillac Sam, one of the biggest car dealers in Chicago.

I am a human being. I started out with virtually nothing. I worked my way up like so many businesspeople have and made ourselves great in this country. And that is what we have to make sure we preserve for our grandchildren and future generations all the way through.

Rich Americans are more likely to have made their own fortunes than to have inherited them.

The things I learned from my parents, what was deeply ingrained in their generation, is this idea of opportunity and the freedom to have an opportunity. The way the United States was thought of is as a place you can have this chance to do anything, to say, 'This is my idea, and I get to offer it to you, and if you like it, I can profit from it.'

This is the essence of the American Dream - in the land of opportunity, if you have a good idea, create a solid plan, and work hard, you should be able to reinvent yourself and get ahead.

I came here because I wanted to live the American dream that I had heard of. And I'm a perfect example. I came to New York; I knew no one. I've made a career, a life, so I still believe in that.

America is still the land of opportunity, and hard work is still a pathway to success.

I am the American Dream.

I'm actually an American success story.

When you look at billionaires, many of them share one characteristic: They were not born billionaires.

America is fascinated with seeing people have nothing and turn it to something.

Donald Trump is living proof of the American Dream. A kid from Queens, New York, who made it big. And, yeah - he'll be the first to tell you he isn't perfect. But who is?

The self-made man is often proud of a poor job.

You can get into the greatest business in the world because you can manufacture money by yourself on the field.

The best way to make money is not to have money as your primary goal. I've seen great people come into the business world primarily motivated to make money. Almost without exception they failed.

My father stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room. That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, goes to the essence of the American miracle - that we're exceptional not because we have more rich people here. We're special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, come true here.