All Quotes

# immigration27 quotes

IMMIGRATION

I applied for a US visa eight times. If I had given up after the seventh, none of this would exist.

immigrationorigin-storyEric Yuan, interview

My parents immigrated from China to work at Los Alamos National Lab. Nuclear physicists. I grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico — population 12,000. Not exactly the startup ecosystem. But the work ethic was world-class.

familyimmigrationPodcast Interview, 2022

I came to America from Palestine with nothing. That experience teaches you that opportunity exists everywhere if you are willing to work for it.

I came to Canada from India with almost nothing. This country gave me everything. The least I can do is invest in the world that shaped me.

I came to America with forty dollars. Everything I have, I earned by understanding businesses better than the people selling them.

I applied for a US visa nine times. Nine rejections. On the tenth try they said yes. That tenth try changed everything.

I came to America from India with five dollars. Now I run one of the largest companies in the world. That is the American Dream. It still works.

We came to America with nothing. We lived on food stamps. This country gave me everything. The least I could do was build something useful.

Coming to America was the defining moment in my family's life. It gave us a chance.

When I was a boy in Bulgaria, I never imagined I would start a company that would change how millions of people interact with the financial markets.

I came to America with nothing. This country gave me everything. I will never take that for granted.

My family fled Iran with nothing. In America, we built everything from scratch. I never forget that.

I came to this country with nothing. That gives you a very different relationship with risk — when you've already lost everything once, starting over isn't as scary.

immigrationresilienceInterview, 2019

I came to America with nothing from the Soviet Union. Every investment since has been a bet on freedom and markets.

entrepreneurshipimmigrationHarvard Business School speech, 2015

I arrived in America at age 9 speaking no English. Started a fund with $2.3 million. Now we manage $20 billion. The American Dream is real.

ambitionamerican-dreamIndustry event, 2022

I came from Nazareth to Michigan to Beverly Hills. Only in America.

ambitionamerican-dreamIndustry event, 2020

I moved from the south of France to Silicon Valley with no network and no connections. If you have the skills, the system eventually lets you in.

I arrived in America with $600 and sold t-shirts on Venice Beach. Now I've created shows watched by billions. The American Dream is not dead — it just requires more hustle than people expect.

I came to America with $500 and washed dishes for $1.20 an hour. This country gave me everything.

You can come from anywhere and build something in Britain. The system is not perfect, but it is more open than people think.

entrepreneurshipimmigrationLondon Business School Event, 2012

I came to America with next to nothing. The system here works if you are willing to outwork everybody else.

americaentrepreneurshipVarious media, 2015

When I left India for Carnegie Mellon, I had maybe two hundred dollars. America gave me an education and a platform. The least I can do is send something meaningful back.

immigrationindiaCarnegie Mellon alumni magazine, 2015

I left one of the best jobs in the world because I believed I could build something. That is the immigrant's calculation — you bet on yourself because no one else will.

entrepreneurshipimmigrationWall Street Journal profile, 2003

I came to America with $50 in my pocket. The American dream is real. If you work hard and you have a vision, this country rewards that.

american-dreamentrepreneurshipInterview with Inc. Magazine, 2014

My parents came here with nothing after the war. Everything we have built is because of this country and what it made possible for our family.

familyimmigrationRemarks at Holocaust Remembrance event, 2010

My parents came to this country with almost nothing. The one thing they believed in was that education is the door that opens everything. I've spent my career trying to hold that door open for more people.

ai4alldiversityThe Worlds I See (memoir), 2023

I support a United States that welcomes immigrants and refugees to apply for entry and ultimately citizenship.

immigrationpoliticsWall Street Journal op-ed, Forget the Media Caricature. Here's What I Believe., 2017