School boards are, for the most part ,made up of political wannabes who see a board seat as a stepping stone for political office, or well-meaning parents who represent an ethnic group or geography, or have some other narrow interests. Few people on them understand what governance is about.

Civilizations are not remembered by their business people, their bankers or lawyers. They're remembered by the arts.

I never play golf because it takes too long, and the business connections it produces can be made just as easily over an early breakfast.

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

I don't think the market can keep going up. In the U.S., we see real estate not going up.. houses are selling at lower prices. You can't have anything going up 10 percent to 20 percent to 30 percent indefinitely.

Philanthropy is activism.

The biggest barrier we've seen to student progress is this: School policies and practices often prevent good teachers from doing great work and even dissuade some talented Americans from entering the profession. This needs to change.