SELF-MADE

Nobody gave me a building. Nobody gave me a contact list. Nobody gave me a family trust fund. I started with a $2 million government contract at 27 and built an $8 billion portfolio. That is what is possible in America if people get out of your way.

I didn't have money, but I had hustle. And hustle always beats money when money doesn't hustle.

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

I grew up in Brooklyn. My parents were janitors. I got into finance by being smarter and working harder than everyone around me.

I love capitalism! It's the only system that lets a plumber's kid from Long Island build something this big.

I grew up with nothing. No parents, no money, no connections. Everything I built came from taking chances others wouldn't.

I had 12 employees and $360 million in revenue. People say I'm not self-made. I say: show me another 12-person company doing $360 million.

I built this from a ski shop. With ten thousand pounds. Nobody helped me. I'm not complaining — that's just the context.

I did not go to business school. The timber yard was my business school.

I grew up in the Bronx with nothing. I had a vision of how I wanted the world to look, and I built it.

I picked cotton as a kid. Now I pick oil out of the ground. Same work ethic.

I grew up with nothing. Everything I have, I built with my hands.

I started by feeding construction workers. Now I build the towers they work on.

I grew up in Soweto. Everything I have was earned. Nothing was given.

I went to primary school. The factory was my university.

I was sleeping on the airport floor. Now I write checks. Never let anyone tell you where you belong.

I started working when other kids were playing. That was the whole secret.