Sanford Weill Interview (page: 2 / 4) Financier and Philanthropist	Print Interview

What other people inspired you in life?

Sanford Weill: As I say, I think I was influenced a lot by my Latin teacher, who was also the tennis coach. That person inspired me a lot. One of the people that I respect the most now, a person I think has done a heck of a lot for this world as a leader, is Margaret Thatcher. She helped create a world that offers us a lot of excitement as we look to the next century.

How do you think she accomplished that?

Sanford Weill: She was a very good ally of Ronald Reagan. I think she was very smart. They stood up to Russia, which finally caused the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the communist system. With that came the opening of all of these emerging countries, in Eastern Europe, in Latin America, in Asia. They're all copying our system.

I wonder how many people would have thought at the end of World War II that the capitalist system would be one that was meeting the challenges and making things better for people as we approach the 21st century. We had all these experiments in socialism, and I think it's terrific to see privatizations of all these companies. People are talking about savings, and planning for their future, and retirement. That's what they're doing in Chile and that might be copied in other countries. I think this whole world was set up by what Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan believed in, and stood up and did.

Do you think that's the wave of the future?

Sanford Weill: Yes. I think that the only people that can kill it is ourselves. To be an American and to be in business today, you have the opportunity to influence and continue these changes that are going around the world. I had dinner with President Mubarak of Egypt about a month ago when he was in Washington. It was a tiny, little party, about seven or eight people. And he was talking about downsizing government, and privatizing the companies in this country. They just got an investment-grade rating. I think it's going to continue, and I think it's just great.

What does the American Dream mean to you?

Sanford Weill: I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family.

You're a good example of the American Dream.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Sanford Weill: I've had a terrific life, from building one company to be the second largest company in the securities industry and merging that into American Express, and becoming president of that company. And not having a similar philosophy and leaving there, and starting all over again about ten and a half years ago. Having an opportunity to build, really from scratch, a company that's now one of the largest financial companies in the world. And at the same time, have an opportunity to do a lot of things that make our society better, and work with young people, and give them an opportunity to see what the American Dream is about. And get to feel better about themselves and teach them that education is the key that unlocks the door to their future.

[ Key to Success ] The American Dream

Were your parents supportive of your dreams of business?

Sanford Weill: I would say that my parents were supportive of me.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. My mother really didn't know a heck of a lot about business. She was a very good mother, that made sure we ate right and we had our cod liver oil, but didn't know a heck of a lot about what I did. I remember when we sold our company to American Express, my mother had never had a credit card. So she thought I was still a stockbroker. She really didn't know what that meant.

My father was always very supportive.

What did your father do?

Sanford Weill: My father did a lot of different things. He was in the dress business, and he was in the importing of steel. Then he worked in a store in Miami. For the last 20 years of his life he worked in the Miami office of my company, Shearson. My father liked to work.

It sounds like you got a legacy of hard work.

Sanford Weill: From both my parents, yes. Very hard workers, and they both lived good, long lives. It was terrific.

Did she work as well?

Sanford Weill: No. My mother was a mother.

Were there books that you read when you were growing up that were important to you?

Sanford Weill: Not really. I'm sure that there were, but I couldn't cite anything specifically. I read a lot, but I read about the areas that I'm interested in. You create a knowledge bank in the back of your head. When something happens, something else goes off in your head and says, this is what I should do, because you have this long memory.

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