William E. Simon

I sometimes think that the only person fit to inherit wealth is the person who doesn't need an inheritance - the person who would create his own fortune no matter what his start in life - and have come to view inherited wealth as an affliction.

For the U.S., the primary interest is our continued access to Saudi Arabian oil in adequate quantities... at an acceptable political as well as economic price.

Productivity and the growth of productivity must be the first economic consideration at all times, not the last. That is the source of technological innovation, jobs, and wealth.

We only have politicians who are concerned with being reelected.

Infinitely more important than sharing one's material wealth is sharing the wealth of ourselves - our time and energy, our passion and commitment, and, above all, our love.

I continue to believe that the American people have a love-hate relationship with inflation. They hate inflation but love everything that causes it.

The nation should have a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose.

While Pop lived his life in comfort, he was always generous to the less fortunate.

My father's card-playing buddies treated me as a plain, ordinary, commonplace kid destined for mediocrity - or less. I suppose they expected that I would spend my life as a clerk of some sort.

The American citizen must be made aware that today a relatively small group of people is proclaiming its purposes to be the will of the People. That elitist approach to government must be repudiated.

I found that I not only tolerated taking risks, I loved it.

It is essential that the young people of this country learn to respect the right of every man and woman to seek his or her happiness with minimal interference from the government.