Quotes from Philip Anschutz

Long a student and admirer of the American West, its history, its art, its culture, its cast of personalities, I'm aware that in the West a great confluence of events and people combined to create something unique in the annals of human history.

Why do you keep calling me 'Billionaire Philip Anschutz?' My mother never called me 'Billionaire.'

My gift to the Elton John Foundation is intended to emphasize that we support freedom of all people to live their lives peacefully, without interference from others.

I must have had an early leaning toward business. Not that I had an understanding of this when I was 10 years old, but when you see what can be done, the possibilities, you want to be involved in something. You want to own it.

Sexuality is among the most personal of issues, and it has never been my intent to weigh in on people's private lives.

It must operate at a profit. You can't have any structure, especially not a long-term one, that does not have under it a firm financial foundation that can ensure its longevity.

Nothing communicates with the people who make real decisions in Hollywood like spending your own money and showing that you can make profitable films.

Four or five years ago I decided to stop cursing the darkness - I had been complaining about movies and their content for years - and instead to do something about it by getting into the film business.

Both the Anschutz Foundation and I contribute to numerous organizations that pursue a wide range of causes.

We will be in the railroad business, first and foremost.

Furthermore, I don't believe you have to be quite that competitive to compete effectively. Beyond a certain point, all that bearing down is self-defeating.

Oil and gas was an up-and-down business, at best.

My reasons for getting into the entertainment business weren't entirely selfless. Hollywood as an industry can at times be insular and doesn't understand the market very well. I saw an opportunity in that fact.

We are fortunate to employ a wealth of diverse individuals throughout our family of companies, all of whom are important to us - the only criteria on which they are judged is the quality of their job performance; we do not tolerate discrimination in any form.

Hardly a week goes by that I don't get opportunities to buy a hotel.

The world is full of nice hotels, but it is not full of great hotels.

If I have a reputation for anything, it's for keeping a low profile.

In Denver, if you get a reputation for being too competitive, people don't want to play with you or do business with you.

It doesn't do any good to sit on the sidelines all the time.

I'm not in the practice commonly of writing checks just for the fun of writing them.

People want to do authentic things. They want to go horseback riding, fishing, shooting or searching for turtle nesting spots on the beach.

Some of the early speculation I saw in the press was that I am a rail fan. I'm not. This is not a hobby. This is a full-time business, and a very serious one at that. We're making this railroad work.

My friends think I'm a candidate for a lobotomy, and my competitors think I'm naive or stupid or both. But you know what? I don't care.

I unequivocally support the rights of all people without regard to sexual orientation.