Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water. The other third is covered with auditors from headquarters.

If the Earth could be made to rotate twice as fast, managers would get twice as much done. If the Earth could be made to rotate twenty times as fast, everyone else would get twice as much done since all the managers would fly off.

Most projects start out slowly - and then sort of taper off.

One cannot legislate problems out of existence. It has been tried.

When you look at the money spent by labor unions for Democrats, it comes as no surprise the Democrats crafted a campaign-finance 'disclosure' bill with the thresholds adjusted to exempt unions.

If you get to think of sharing wealth with people who need it and the purposes that need it, it gives a very different sense of satisfaction. I think I can build an institution which is very unlike the Gates' foundation. Gates' foundation is totally project-driven, that will serve a specific purpose and then self-destruct.

I created this character that I still have of a guy who is a little bit of a nincompoop - I'm poking fun at street hustlers. I didn't quite make as much money as one would gambling, but it was a lot safer.

It was always a challenge for me to prove that a Russian financial investor can be as successful in the West as back at home in Russia.