I don't think it makes any sense for an individual to invest in common stocks unless they know the company, work at the company, and so on.

Oprah Winfrey's global influence is unparalleled. Not only has her generosity and firm belief that education is the key to a better life benefited countless women and children around the world, but her example has also inspired millions of people to give back in ways big and small.

Ideas, more than money, are really the currency for success.

While I am proud of a number of accomplishments, there are real costs to being unreasonable. Long hours. Too little time with family. A near incapacity for, as they say, stopping and smelling the roses.

I can imagine no more important contribution to our country's future than a long-term commitment to improving urban K-12 public schools.

Public education is the key civil rights issue of the 21st century. Our nation's knowledge-based economy demands that we provide young people from all backgrounds and circumstances with the education and skills necessary to become knowledge workers. If we don't, we run the risk of creating an even larger gap between the middle class and the poor. This gap threatens our democracy, our society and the economic future of America.

The first thing I started collecting was stamps. Until I started discovering girls. That was the end of stamps.