Cornelius Vanderbilt: Quotes by The Most Powerful Man in America |American Tycoon | Catch the wave

What distinguished him in a moment of crisis was his self-command. If he had learned anything from his parents, he learned that business was a matter of relationships. He did have his beliefs, chiefly in his own genius. If I had learned education, I would not have had time to learn anything else. A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money. I don't care half so much about making money as I do about making my point and coming out ahead. In history, as in so much of life, you pays your money and you takes your choice. I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so. I'm tired of working for somebody else. Tricks ain't good business. There is no friendship in trade. Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. I've never found time to indulge more than a single ambition. My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance, but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. I don't aim to stop with one steamboat. All you have to do is attend to your own business, then go ahead. It is not according to my mode of doing things to bring a suit against a man that I have the power in my own hands to punish. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. You've got to make folks believe you'll always run. If they can depend on you, they'll deal with you. I guess I've built a hundred steamships and steamboats. I never paid a dollar of insurance. Good vessels and good masters, that's the best kind of insurance. Why should I pay somebody else to carry my risks? There ain't nothing to it, except work and giving folks what they want. I'm going to show Emma. You wait and see. Ain't got time to be sick. My system of railroading is to take care of it just as careful as I would of my own household affairs. Handle it just as though it was all mine, and take good care of its income, that is my aim, you know, and give that to the stockholders. Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those will be thy best friends, not to whom thou hast done good, but who have done good to thee. Say nothing and jump quick. Never tell anyone what you are going to do till you have done it. Pay ready money for everything you buy, and never sell anything you don't own. Never be a minion, always be an owner. Confrontation was the stuff of daily life. We made it, I knew all it needed was guts. I just know I could make me a heap of money. I have been insane on the subject of money making all my life. I am not afraid of my enemies, but by God, you must look out when you get among your friends. The speed of transportation largely determined the speed of information. Commodore Vanderbilt, born May 27, 1794, Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York. U.S. died January 4, 1877, New York, New York, was American shipping and railroad magnate who acquired a personal fortune of more than $100 million. Thanks for watching. If you like please share and subscribe.