“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business”
American automaker Henry Ford (1863-1947) ran a business that made lots of money, but he didn’t view that alone as a measure of success. His Dearborn (MI) Independent newspaper column, “Mr. Ford’s Own Page,” in January 1919 stated this now-famous line:
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. Every business ought to contribute to the daily progress of the world.”
Wikiquote: Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He was one of the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the mass production of affordable automobiles.
Quotes
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
. As quoted in News Journal [Mansfield, Ohio] (3 August 1965)
Chronicling America
10 January 1919, New York (NY) Tribune, “Ford’s Weekly Will Make Its Bow Saturday,” pg. 6, col. 4:
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. Every business ought to contribute to the daily progress of the world.”
Chronicling America
19 January 1919, New York (NY) Tribune, “Mr. Ford’s Own Page,” pg. 5, col. 4:
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. Every business ought to contribute to the daily progress of the world.”
21 July 1924, Bradford (PA) Era, “Words of Wise Men,” pg. 10, col. 6:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.
3 July 1929, The Messenger (Athens, OH), “Words of Wisdom,” pg. 11, col. 8:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.—Ford.
Google News Archive
2 May 1963, The Citizen (Chomedey, Quebec.), “Shopping Spotlight” by Bart Smuyer, pg. 4, col. 1:
She will learn to reach for her knitting instead of a cigarette, Henry Ford said that a business that makes nothing but money is a poor business, I think we have a good thing here.
Google Books
The Big Book of Business Quotations
By Editors Of Perseus Publishing
New York, NY: Basic Books
2003
Pg. 37:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.
HENRY FORD (1863-1947) U.S. industrialist, automobile manufacturer, and founder of Ford Motor Company. Quoted in The Arizona Republic (1999)
Google Books
The Quotable Billionaire:
Advice and Reflections from and for the Real, Former, Almost, and Wanna-Be Super Rich…and Others
Edited by Steven D. Price
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2009
Pg. 30:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. — Henry Ford
Google Books
Money and Wealth:
A Book of Quotations
Edited by Joslyn Pine and Peter Donahue
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
2013
Pg. 111:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.
Henry Ford (1863-1947), American industrialist and entrepreneur