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Peter L. Bernstein Quotes

The essence of risk management lies in maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome while minimizing the areas where we have absolutely no control over the outcome.

The essence of risk management lies in maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome while minimizing the areas where we have absolutely no control over the outcome.

Peter L. Bernstein
Lying, Essence, Risk
Peter L. Bernstein (2012). “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk”, p.239, John Wiley & Sons

The word 'risk' derives from the early Italian risicare, which means 'to dare'. In this sense, risk is a choice rather than a fate. The actions we dare to take, which depend on how free we are to make choices, are what the story of risk is all about. And that story helps define what it means to be a human being.

Peter L. Bernstein
Mean, Fate, Italian
Peter L. Bernstein (2012). “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk”, p.18, John Wiley & Sons

What if I am wrong? Any rational investment plan has to start with that question.

Peter L. Bernstein
What If, Investment, Rational

The revolutionary idea that defines the boundary between modern times and the past is the mastery of risk: the notion that the future is more than a whim of the gods and that men and women are not passive before nature.

Peter L. Bernstein
Math, Men, Past
Peter L. Bernstein (2012). “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk”, p.11, John Wiley & Sons

The Gods are unkind and deny us knowledge of what the future holds

Peter L. Bernstein
Ignorance, Economics, Deny

The prospect of getting rich is highly motivating, and few people get rich without taking a gamble.

Peter L. Bernstein
People, Rich, Get Rich
Peter L. Bernstein (2012). “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk”, p.32, John Wiley & Sons

As the worldly philosophers of the past affirmed, the goal of economics is to improve the way society functions. In The New Financial Order, Robert Shiller joins this proud tradition by directing his brilliant economic skills toward the creation of financial institutions designed to reduce the risks an unknown future visits on most members of our society and others. Shiller's imaginative and compelling analysis will appeal to all readers who share his passion for initiating not only a richer, but a better, century.

Peter L. Bernstein
Passion, Past, Order

Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable circles.

Peter L. Bernstein
Gambling, Circles, Dregs
Peter L. Bernstein (2012). “Peter L. Bernstein Classics Collection: Capital Ideas, Against the Gods, The Power of Gold and Capital Ideas Evolving”, p.321, John Wiley & Sons

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