Nicolas Berggruen

Everything I do now is about growing the pot to have more to give away.

Commodity exchanges have a lot of advantages. One, you are helping transparency. Two, they are not political. It's institutional building. It can survive any environment, in theory.

Possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal.

California is a place of invention, a place of courage, a place of vision, a place of the future. People who made California what it is were willing to take risks, think outside convention and build.

I was living in Paris, which is a very beautiful, very wonderful place, but a tight place as a city, a tight place culturally. Its people are very brilliant, thoughtful, the place functions, but it's a historical place in some ways, like a big museum.

This is a bit like big-game hunting. You look for companies of a certain size that deserve to be public.

The biggest determinant in our lives is culture, where we are born, what the environment looks like. But the second biggest determinant is probably governance, good governance or a certain kind of governance makes a huge difference in our lives.

In my teens I was interested in photography. Then I decided that I should learn something about the world of commerce. And I came to America at age 17 to escape Europe. I went to NYU - nothing better than being 17 years old and coming to New York.

I wish I was a great writer or a great journalist or a great scientist or a great artist; I'm not.

Brunch is boring, but that's part of the charm of it.

I don't mind staying in one place for a while - I like to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles. It's a place where nobody goes out, where people will leave you alone. People in Los Angeles love themselves and they love what they do and they leave you alone. If you're isolated, you have a real advantage. You can work.

I tend to end relationships, so she can find somebody better than me. Because I want to be fair to people. I cannot devote enough energy and time and devotion to her. I think that is fair, no?