Anybody who gives away money is mostly looking at things where they think they can make a difference. I'm trying to help people who helped me, educational institutions that helped me with scholarships, or organizations that were very useful to me in growing up.

As the baby boomers like me are retiring and getting ready to retire, they will spend whatever it takes - and theyre the wealthiest generation in our country - to make themselves live an enjoyable life in their retirement years.

My father worked in a post office and never made probably more than $8,000 a year as an employee of the post office, so when people can rise up from very modest circumstances and do well economically, I think that's a good thing about America, and we should encourage that kind of activity.

When I worked in the White House for President Carter, we tried to do comprehensive tax reform and we made some progress, and other presidents have as well.

Persist - don't take no for an answer. If you're happy to sit at your desk and not take any risk, you'll be sitting at your desk for the next 20 years.

People used to think that private equity was basically just a compensation scheme, but it is much more about making companies more efficient.

I'm on a lot of nonprofit boards, but if I didn't enjoy it I wouldn't do it. I haven't yet done anything that's transformational in philanthropy. But I hope at some point to target two or three causes or organizations and really make transformational gifts.