Commodity exchanges have a lot of advantages. One, you are helping transparency. Two, they are not political. It's institutional building. It can survive any environment, in theory.

Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world. But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we're only here for a short period of time. It's what we do and produce, it's our actions, that will last forever. That's real value.

If you have things and if you are a perfectionist, which I am, you have to really tend to them, and it takes energy away from other things.

I don't have a house, and I don't have a lot of time for socializing, so every year I have a party for all of my friends.

California is a place of invention, a place of courage, a place of vision, a place of the future. People who made California what it is were willing to take risks, think outside convention and build.

Everything I do now is about growing the pot to have more to give away.

I wish I was a great writer or a great journalist or a great scientist or a great artist; I'm not.