Louis Brandeis: Taking Others’ Golden Eggs
on Sunday, November 8, 2015Louis Brandeis 1913 Money Quotation saying it is more efficient to take other people’s golden eggs than to wait for yours to be laid by the goose. Louis Brandeis said:
“The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden eggs laid by somebody else’s goose. The investment bankers and their associates now enjoy that privilege” — Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis seems to be criticizing the business practices of investment bankers during his time. He suggests that while owning a successful business that generates profits (“lays golden eggs”) can be very lucrative, it is even more profitable to exploit the success of other people’s businesses without contributing meaningful value yourself.
Brandeis implies that investment bankers of the era were excessively focused on extracting profits from companies they did not create, rather than adding real value through their work.
His remarks portray investment banking as privileging profiting off the work of others over creating businesses and economic opportunities themselves through innovation and risk-taking.