Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

Too many people say to their brokers, I can't deal with this. Take my money. Do what you want. That's the worst attitude you can have.

I don't want to be on anyone's board. I just want to have good investments.

When it comes to investing, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all portfolio.

What I invest in, while not risky for me, may be too risky for most people.

I don't give investment advice.

I invested. I wanted to cushion the future. I'm a financial success!

Investing isn't a game to be won. At the end of the day, it's a way to achieve your big goals, like buying that home, starting that business, and retiring on your own terms.

Shortly after I met my mentor he asked me, ‘Mr. Rohn, how much money have you saved and invested over the last six years?’ And I said, ‘None.’ He then asked, ‘Who sold you on that plan?’

Be risky at work. Be safe with your investments.

Even with a margin of safety in the investor's favor, an individual security may work out badly. For the margin guarantees only that he has a better chance for profit than for loss - not that loss is impossible. But as the number of such commitments is increased the more certain does it become that the aggregate of the profits will exceed the aggregate of the losses.

You must never delude yourself into thinking that you're investing when you're speculating.

There is no staff. I make all the investment decisions and I do all my own analysis.

My net worth, that net works. Keep my shooters out in Brooklyn where the Nets work.

Even defensive portfolios should be changed from time to time, especially if the securities purchased have an apparently excessive advance and can be replaced by issues much more reasonable priced.

I've never invested in any airline. I'm an airline manager. I don't invest in airlines. And I always said to the employees of American, 'This is not an appropriate investment. It's a great place to work and it's a great company that does important work. But airlines are not an investment.'

Know what you own, and know why you own it.

Conventional wisdom is not to put all of your eggs in one basket. 80/20 wisdom is to choose a basket carefully, load all your eggs into it, and then watch it like a hawk.

Here's one truth that perhaps your typical investment counselor would disagree with: if you're comfortably rich and someone else is getting richer faster than you by, for example, investing in risky stocks, so what?! Someone will always be getting richer faster than you. This is not a tragedy.

An asset allocation plan is based on your personal circumstances, goals, time-horizon, and need and willingness to take risk.

I don't think you should invest in commodities. Eddie Murphy made it seem risky in Trading Places.

Diversify your investments.

If you write what you know about, you will always be on safe ground. I am very edgy and nervous about going into territories I know nothing about. That's why you don't find much high finance, group sex, or yachting parties in my stories.

Diversification is something that stock brokers came up with to protect themselves, so they wouldn't get sued for making bad investment choices for clients. Henry Ford never diversified, Bill Gates didn't diversify. The way to get rich is to put your eggs in one basket, but watch that basket very carefully. And make sure you have the right basket.

The truth is that I've got all my net worth safely in Berkshire and I will never sell a share so there is no one more concerned about what happens after my death than I am.

[My wife] has some investments and stuff.