Steve Ballmer Quotes

I have to get my will in order. I have to get the Macondo Foundation going. I want to invest the money and resources that I've gotten from working so hard so that it's shared and it has its life beyond me.

Wouldst thou multiply thy riches? diminish them wisely; or wouldst thou make thy estate entire? divide it charitably. Seeds that are scattered increase; but, hoarded up, they perish.

There's no point in trying to hoard money after life, so better really to share with people.

It is logical for a U.S. person to give their money away while they are alive, as the government will take it from you when you die in taxes.

Save one-third, live on one-third, and give away one-third

Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.

Live rich, die poor; never make the mistake of doing it the other way round.

Money can add very much to one's ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others. My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale. The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

I decided to leave most of my wealth to my charitable foundation, which is not to be confused with my charity. My charity helps children directly. The charitable foundation will receive most of my legacy when I die.

One of the great responsibilities that I have is to manage my assets wisely, so that they create value.

I've done pretty well in my career, and I've watched colleagues who have spent most of the paychecks they receive on shoes and cars rather than bricks and mortar, and that's not me.

Trust funds can never be a substitute for a fund of trust.

I have tried to teach people there are three kicks in every dollar: one, when you make it; two, when you have it. The third kick it when you give it away - and it is the biggest kick of all.

I have about half a million dollars more than my family will need. What is the best thing I can do with it for the State.

I don't want to outlive my money.

Obviously, the bulk of my Nike shares have been set up in a trust.

I've always thought that people who left a great deal of money in their will never enjoyed the great honor and privilege and heart-rendering feeling of giving to others during their lifetime, because they were too selfish to give to others while they were alive, so they made sure they were dead and couldn't use it anymore.

At what age did Warren Buffett come into philanthropy? At 76. He gave a very good reason. He said his wife was considerably younger than him. And all Americans believe they would live till 80, and they do live till 80. He told his wife that when he is gone, she should take care of whatever they need to do.

Don't hoard your wealth. Instead, live the life you want with the wealth you have been blessed with, but also make it beneficial for the good of the larger community.

With inheritances, it's really important not to give the impression that you're extorting your children, and one way you can not do that is to make it clear to them that you're not leaving the whole of your estate to them at all, but to various charitable organizations.

I'm aware of my value as a player, of course. But do I need to buy a holiday home that I'm only going to use two weeks every year? Course not. It's a waste. Why not give the money to people who could do with it.

What's success all about? What's philanthropy all about? Let's think of our legacy, following in the footsteps of some great Americans like the Carnegies and the Mellons who used their wealth for quality purposes.

We're thrifty. We can live off our interest, save the principal, and let the kids go off and have a hoot.

Proportion thy charity to the strength of thine estate, lest God proportion thine estate to the weakness of thy charity. Let the lips of the poor be the trumpet of thy gift, lest in seeking applause, thou lose thy reward. Nothing is more pleasing to God than an open hand and a closed mouth.

I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them.