Michael Steinhardt Quotes

In North America, the greatest threat to the Jewish people is not the external force of antisemitism, but the internal forces of apathy, inertia and ignorance of our own heritage.

— Michael Steinhardt

“I was happier when pursuing success than I was when savoring its fruits; the attraction, perhaps the addiction, was in the process, as much as in its end.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“The Orthodox believe in Jewish literacy, and most of the rest of us couldn't care less. Rabbis and other creatures have a monopoly on Judaism. This is a turnoff in a world that is increasingly secular and that has turned away from religion. Jews are simply turning away from Judaism.”

— Michael Steinhardt

If you see a wonderful archaic Greek marble object in a museum, it's not only that it's beautiful, but what comes to your mind is the fact that it's 2,600 or so years old, and it was done by a human being at that time who you have such a limited ability to grasp - and yet you have this enormous ability to grasp.

— Michael Steinhardt

“A little part of my life is built around ancient art.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“Part of my attraction to ancient art is that there is an element of risk, of speculation.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“Art is a form of asset. Hedge-fund managers who have made money fast should diversify into other areas.”

— Michael Steinhardt

Speculative joy, the joy derived from being right and being rewarded, may well be similar to the rush felt by a winning gambler.

— Michael Steinhardt

“Good investing is a peculiar balance between the conviction to follow your ideas and the flexibility to recognize when you have made a mistake.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“The hardest thing over the years has been having the courage to go against the dominant wisdom of the time to have a view that is at variance with the present consensus and bet that view. The hard part is that the investor must measure himself not by his own perceptions of his performance, but by the objective measure of the market. The market has its own reality. In an immediate emotional sense the market is always right so if you take a variant point of view you will always be bombarded for some time by conventional wisdom as expressed by the market.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“The balance between confidence and humility is best learned through extensive experience and mistakes.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“The markets are always changing, and the successful trader needs to adapt to these changes.”

— Michael Steinhardt

You have to be intellectually honest with yourself and others. In my judgment, all great investors are seekers of truth.

— Michael Steinhardt

“Time and again, in every market cycle I have witnessed, the extremes of emotion always appear, even among experienced investors. When the world wants to buy only [bonds], you can almost close your eyes and [buy] stocks.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“In the 1950s and 1960s, the heroes were the long-term investors; today the heroes are the wise guys.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“A good trader has to have three things: a chronic inability to accept things at face value, to feel continuously unsettled, and to have humility.”

— Michael Steinhardt

“Brokerage firms don't sell customers stock so much as they sell those horrible mutual funds”

— Michael Steinhardt

When your views are truly contrarian, they are inevitably uncomfortable. Courage and the ability to withstand pain are required,

— Michael Steinhardt