"Without new profits, the market can't go anywhere," said independent research consultant David Darst.
"Luck helped me every day of my life. And I'd rather be lucky than smart 'cause a lot of smart people ain't eatin' regular," said wildcatting oil pioneer Sid Richardson about his success in business.
"U.S. stock performance will be good in 2017, but is set to be outperformed by Japan, Europe, and emerging markets," said a top manager at bond giant PIMCO.
"We can lead, but we cannot carry," said Mike Ryan, chief investment strategist at UBS, about America's role in the global economy.
"Economists say we're having 2.5% growth. That's a lie. The reality is that we have 5% growth for the top 20% of the economy, and 0% growth for the bottom 80% of the economy," said Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute.
"The longer you wait to fire someone, the longer it has been since you should have fired them," said Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Space X and Tesla Motors.
"Amazon isn't happening to the book business. The future is happening to the book business," said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
"Without profits, the market can't go anywhere," said independent research consultant David Darst.
"Getting information off the Internet is akin to trying to sweep back the ocean with a broom," said Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google.
"If a cop follows you for 500 miles, you're going to get a ticket," said Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett, in reference to Bank of America's many legal problems.