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· collected 2026-08-19 · by TOI World Desk
George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, shared his philosophy on mistakes in a 1995 book co-written with Byron Wien and Krisztina Koenen. He stated "I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong... I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes" (Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve, page 11). According to Soros, it's not about being right or wrong in investments, but rather about recognizing and acting on mistakes quickly. This quote emphasizes that admitting a mistake is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Making a genuine mistake usually gets treated as something to avoid mentioning at all costs.
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Making → make → costs
At school, a wrong answer loses marks.
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answer → lose → marks
At work, a poor decision invites criticism.
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decision → invite → criticism
In business, a bad call can genuinely cost real money.
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call → cost → money
People are usually far more comfortable talking about their successes than admitting they got something wrong.
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they → talk → something
George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, took a genuinely different view of this, particularly within the world of investing.
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Soros → take → investing
"I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong," he said.
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he → know → ?
"I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes."
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I → survive → mistakes
The genuine danger came from refusing to actually recognise it once it had happened, a distinction he returned to repeatedly across his long career in financial markets.
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he → come → markets
Quote of the day by George Soros
"I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong...
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I → know → Soros
I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes"
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I → survive → mistakes
Where this quote actually comes from
This line appears in Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve, a book published in 1995 and co-written with Byron Wien and Krisztina Koenen, on page 11.
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line → come → page
In roughly the same passage, Soros put the underlying idea even more directly.
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Soros → put → idea
"To others, being wrong is a source of shame," he said.
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he → say → shame
"To me, recognizing my mistakes is a source of pride."
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recognizing → recognize → pride
That is a genuinely unusual thing for anyone to say out loud, and it captures the whole philosophy behind today's quote in a single sentence.
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it → say → sentence
Soros was not claiming to make fewer mistakes than other investors.
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Soros → claim → investors
He was claiming to notice his own mistakes faster, and to actually act on that recognition rather than quietly defending a decision that had already stopped making sense.
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that → claim → sense
Soros does not credit his own success simply to knowing which investments would eventually make money.
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investments → credit → money
He puts the real emphasis on knowing precisely when an earlier judgement had turned out to be wrong, a genuinely different skill entirely.
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judgement → put → skill
An investor can make a perfectly reasonable decision based on all the information available at the time, and still turn out to be wrong once markets shift or an assumption fails to hold up.
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assumption → make → time
Recognising that shift can be far more useful than defending the original decision purely out of pride.
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Recognising → recognise → pride
Soros' statement also says something honest about ego.
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statement → say → ego
Admitting a mistake is difficult precisely because people naturally want their earlier decisions to look sensible in hindsight, and once real money or reputation is involved, that attachment tends to grow stronger.
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attachment → admit → hindsight
What "I know when I'm wrong" actually means in practice
The key idea running through this quote was never simply about making mistakes.
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idea → know → mistakes
Everyone makes them, constantly.
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Everyone → make → them
The important part is recognising them quickly, before they compound into something larger.
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they → recognise → something
Imagine someone buys an investment because they believe a company has strong prospects.
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company → imagine → prospects
Later, circumstances change, and new information suggests the original reasoning no longer holds up.
uncertain
reasoning → change → ?
At that point, the investor has a choice.
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investor → have → choice
They can keep holding on because they do not want to admit the first decision was wrong, or they can honestly reassess the situation.
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they → keep → situation
That second option is genuinely difficult, and the same pattern shows up well outside financial markets too, in a career that no longer suits someone, or a policy that has not worked as expected.
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that → show → someone
Changing your mind in these moments can feel like losing.
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Changing → change → moments
Often it is really just an honest response to new information, and acknowledging the error does not change what already happened, but it can change what happens next, since recognising a wrong assumption stops further decisions being built on top of it.
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decisions → acknowledge → it
Why this quote still matters today
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quote → matter → ?
People today are surrounded by opinions and confidently stated views on almost everything.
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People → surround → everything
Social media makes it easy to announce a position publicly, and equally easy for someone else to dig up an old post the moment that position turns out to be wrong.
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position → make → post
That environment can make changing one's mind feel genuinely uncomfortable.
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changing → make → mind
A person may keep defending an opinion simply because they have already argued for it in public.
uncertain
they → keep → public
Soros' quote offers a different way of looking at this problem.
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quote → offer → problem
…and 23 more, not listed.
