The most cost-effective investment society can make is in the first five years of a child's life. Nothing else comes close.

early-childhoodpovertyGeorge Kaiser Family Foundation report, 2014

I did not create my own good fortune. I was given a huge leg up by having been born in the United States to a family that could provide education, nutrition, and safety.

opportunityphilanthropyGiving Pledge letter, 2010

I want Tulsa to be the best place in the world to be a poor child. Everything else follows from that.

early-childhoodphilanthropyTulsa World interview, 2016

In business, I have always looked for sustainable competitive advantages. In philanthropy, I look for the same thing — what intervention creates a lasting change in outcomes, not just a temporary improvement.

competitive-advantagephilanthropyStanford Social Innovation Review, 2013

The accumulation of wealth is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. And the end should be more than your own comfort.

givingpurposeOklahoma philanthropy summit, 2017