Gary Cohn Quotes

Powerful Gary Cohn for Daily Growth

About Gary Cohn

Gary David Cohn is an American politician, businessman, and former economic policy advisor. Born on December 21, 1960, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he grew up in a middle-class family with Jewish roots. His interest in finance developed early, and he attended the University of Michigan where he graduated with a degree in economics. Cohn's career took off when he joined Goldman Sachs in 1990, rising through the ranks to become the firm's president and COO in 2006. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, he played significant roles in various financial transactions, including the bank's acquisition of Kidder Peabody and its merger with Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). In 2016, Cohn left Goldman Sachs to serve as the Director of the National Economic Council and Chief Economic Advisor under President Donald Trump. However, he resigned in March 2018, disagreeing with the administration's tariff policies. Cohn's influence extends beyond his professional roles. He is a vocal advocate for free trade, fiscal responsibility, and bipartisan policymaking. In 2020, he co-authored "You Are Not a Number: Inside the Fight to Defend the American Dream," a book that discusses economic policy and the state of American politics. Throughout his career, Cohn has been recognized for his contributions to finance and economics. He was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2017. Despite his success, Cohn remains humble, often citing his upbringing as a driving force behind his commitment to helping others achieve economic mobility.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I'm a big believer in saying what you mean and meaning what you say."

Gary Cohn's quote emphasizes the importance of clear and honest communication, where one's words reflect their true intentions. It suggests that integrity lies in consistently aligning one's actions with their spoken words. This not only fosters trust but also ensures accountability and credibility in relationships and professional interactions.


"When you walk into a room, you should know exactly what you want to accomplish and then go after it."

This quote by Gary Cohn emphasizes the importance of having clear objectives when entering any situation or environment. It encourages individuals to approach situations with purpose and determination, setting specific goals before taking action. The message is about being proactive, focused, and directed in one's pursuits, ensuring productive use of time and resources.


"You can't manage risk if you don't understand it."

This quote by Gary Cohn highlights the importance of having a thorough understanding of risks when making decisions or managing resources, especially in financial or business contexts. Without grasping the nature and magnitude of potential dangers, one cannot effectively mitigate them or make informed choices to minimize their impact. Simply put, ignorance about risk can lead to poor management and potentially disastrous outcomes.


"It's always better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

This quote by Gary Cohn suggests that it may be more advantageous, in some situations, to act first and seek forgiveness or understanding later rather than seeking approval or permission beforehand. The idea is often associated with the willingness to take calculated risks, innovate, and move quickly in business and life, understanding that there can be consequences that require an apology or explanation afterwards. However, it's important to note that this approach should be used judiciously, as blindly disregarding rules or boundaries can lead to negative outcomes.


"The greatest asset of the United States is not our military, it is not our economy, it is our political system and our Constitution."

Gary Cohn's statement underscores the inherent value and strength of the U.S.'s political system and its founding Constitution. The implication here is that while military might and a robust economy are crucial components, they pale in comparison to the stability, resilience, and democratic principles embodied within the country's political framework. In essence, he suggests that the United States' greatest asset lies in its ability to maintain peace through fair governance and uphold the rule of law for its citizens and as a model for the world.


Education is important. And the difference of the zip code you grow up in or the zip code you are born in and how you turn out really isn't fair to the kids of our world.

- Gary Cohn

Education, Code, Zip, Our World

Keep yourself motivated. You've got to be motivated, you've got to wake up every day and understand what that day is about; you've got to have personal goals - short term goals, intermediate goals, and long term goals. Be flexible in getting to those goals, but if you do not have goals, you will not achieve them.

- Gary Cohn

Every Day, Achieve, About, Personal Goals

China is the big economic engine in Asia, so what happens is, as China growth expands, these countries in the periphery of China, whether it be Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, they end up growing with China because they become big exporters.

- Gary Cohn

Big, Asia, Countries, Singapore

I would like to get the tax rate as low as possible so that businesses want to create jobs here.

- Gary Cohn

Want, Here, Like, Tax Rate

Our belief in free markets and a level playing field are values that make the world more free, fair, and prosperous.

- Gary Cohn

Values, More, Level, Level Playing Field

We spend millions of hours doing taxes and spend so much money doing our taxes. It should be very simple.

- Gary Cohn

Doing, Hours, Very, So Much Money

We want to go back to a tax system where Americans sit down at their kitchen table, and they do their taxes on a single sheet of paper. That's what we should have in this America.

- Gary Cohn

Want, Go, Back, Kitchen Table

Going to school is not really education. It's really who's in front of the classrooms and who's endearing themselves to the kids and who's making the kids want to learn and who's inspiring them to be curious about any topic in the world.

- Gary Cohn

Education, Curious, Making, Endearing

I did get introduced to the financial markets while I was in college. And I think I learned also how to sort of filter out all of the nonrational, or nonsensible, noise and sort of concentrate on what matters, and that's really what markets are about.

- Gary Cohn

Financial, College, I Think, Filter

Gary Cohn doesn't care about the estate tax, I can guarantee you. I can guarantee you.

- Gary Cohn

About, Estate, Gary, Estate Tax

Many people are smart enough to know how to manage themselves out of the estate tax.

- Gary Cohn

Enough, Tax, Estate, Estate Tax

On the estate tax, if you look at the couple of groups who are the biggest advocates for repealing the estate tax, it really is the pass-through business, and it's the farmers.

- Gary Cohn

Business, Couple, Repealing, Estate Tax

We do not believe that death should be a taxable event.

- Gary Cohn

Death, Believe, Should, Taxable

I've thought about it many times, I really have, because it defined who I am. I wouldn't be where I am today without my dyslexia.

- Gary Cohn

Thought, About, Many, Defined

The one trait in a lot of dyslexic people I know is that by the time we got out of college, our ability to deal with failure was very highly developed. And so we look at most situations and see much more of the upside than the downside.

- Gary Cohn

College, Very, By The Time, Dyslexic

Every time you get into a new job, new location, you have an amazing opportunity in front of you. You get to play dumb for as long as people will allow you to play dumb. You get to ask all the dumb questions, you get to ask multiple people the dumb questions, and you get to make mistakes. That's how you stand out in the crowd.

- Gary Cohn

Play, Crowd, Allow, Every Time

There is a finite group of major financial players... and overall, the best thing for all of us is to be in an industry that's well respected, well regarded, and well thought of.

- Gary Cohn

Financial, Thought, Finite, Respected

Have a goal. Know where you want to end up. Knowing where you want to end up is a lot easier than figuring out how to start and how to get there. You will figure out how to get there. Do not chart your career. Trust me; you do not want to chart your career.

- Gary Cohn

Trust, Career, Figure, Figuring

When our economy grows, it is good for the world. When the world economy grows, it is good for the United States.

- Gary Cohn

World, United States, Grows, World Economy

We want to keep a preferred rate for capital gains - we think it is important to encourage investment.

- Gary Cohn

Think, Important, Capital, Preferred

I know from my experiences in life that educators had an enormous impact and influence on me. And fortunately or unfortunately, I had a lot of experience with different educators.

- Gary Cohn

Impact, Had, Unfortunately, Fortunately

Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.

- Gary Cohn

Freedom, Never, Standing, Standing Up

If we get a tax system that is competitive, we will hire people. When you hire people, you have to compete for labor. When you compete for labor, you drive wages.

- Gary Cohn

Will, Compete, Hire, Tax System

We need to get a business tax system that makes us competitive to the rest of the world.

- Gary Cohn

Rest, World, System, Tax System

As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post as director of the National Economic Council because I feel a duty to fulfil my commitment to work on behalf of the American people.

- Gary Cohn

Work, Director, Patriotic, Post

Upon graduation, believe it or not, I had no job. I had no interviews. I had no prospects. I had no worries. What I did have, I had passion. I had enormous passion. I had passion for financial markets. I had fallen in love with financial markets.

- Gary Cohn

Love, Financial, Prospects, Fallen

Investment in America does not just benefit the United States - it benefits the world.

- Gary Cohn

Benefits, United States, Benefit

I don't think it's good for anyone to be in the public light - for negative reasons.

- Gary Cohn

Think, Reasons, Public, Negative

I don't drink hot beverages.

- Gary Cohn

Hot, Drink

I was a horrible student.

- Gary Cohn

Student, Horrible

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