Bernard Baruch

Bernard Baruch – Life, Influence, and Memorable Quotes

Bernard M. Baruch (1870–1965), American financier, statesman, and presidential adviser, played key roles in wartime mobilization, economic policy, and atomic diplomacy. Explore his life, ideas, and quotes that still resonate.

Introduction

Bernard Mannes Baruch is a quintessential figure of American public life in the 20th century—both as a self-made financier and as a trusted advisor to presidents. He bridged Wall Street and Washington, influencing policy in two world wars, helping shape the U.S.’s industrial mobilization, and advocating for atomic energy control. His longevity, wit, and ability to reinvent his public role make his story compelling.

Early Life & Education

• Baruch was born August 19, 1870 in Camden, South Carolina, into a Jewish family.

• His parents were Simon Baruch, a physician and former Confederate surgeon, and Belle Wolfe Baruch.

• In 1879, his family moved to New York City, where Baruch and his brothers attended public schools.

• He graduated from the City College of New York (formerly part of the City University of New York).

Baruch’s early life combined Southern roots with a northern urban environment, and his education equipped him for the financial opportunities of the era.

Business Career & Rise to Prominence

• Baruch began his career on Wall Street, working for A.A. Housman & Company.

• He purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and built significant wealth through speculation and trading—earning a reputation as “The Lone Wolf of Wall Street” for not affiliating with large financial firms.

• He also founded or invested in ventures such as the Intercontinental Rubber Company, active in the rubber market (notably the guayule rubber business).

• By the 1920s, Baruch had become one of the prominent financiers in the U.S., widely respected and consulted on economic matters.

His financial acumen and market instincts gave him both wealth and credibility, which he later leveraged into public roles.

Public Life, Policy Influence & Government Service

World War I & War Industries Board

• During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Baruch to help mobilize the nation’s economy. In 1918, Baruch became Chairman of the War Industries Board (WIB), coordinating the production and allocation of industrial resources.

• Baruch’s leadership was credited with enhancing the efficiency of war supplies production and aligning industrial output with military and civilian needs.

• He also advised Wilson during the Paris Peace Conference after the war, though he held reservations about harsh reparations demands on Germany.

Interwar Role & the Great Depression

• Baruch often served as a behind-the-scenes adviser, especially on economic policy, anticipating market shifts and cautioning against speculative excess.

• In the late 1920s, he reduced exposure to stocks, counselled restraint, and avoided being caught in the crash—sometimes attributed to his independent thinking and skepticism of insider “tips.”

• He also lent support to government planning and industrial mobilization as a public resource.

World War II & Atomic Energy

• Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Baruch advised on industrial mobilization in WWII. He was said to contribute to improving production rates for tanks, aircraft, and war materiel.

• In 1946, President Harry S. Truman appointed Baruch as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. He proposed the Baruch Plan, advocating for international control of atomic weapons to prevent proliferation. The Soviet Union rejected the plan, ending in stalemate.

• His advocacy for the plan and broader position on peace signaled that Baruch saw the control of atomic energy as a vital moral and political challenge.

Throughout his public service, Baruch kept a relatively independent posture—he was not a politician by career but a financier turned public intellectual and counselor.

Personal Life & Later Years

• In 1897, Baruch married Annie Griffin, an Episcopalian from New York.

• They had three children: Belle Baruch, Bernard Baruch Jr., and Renee Baruch.

• His daughter Belle became a noted equestrian and conservationist, and the family maintained ties to land and nature projects (e.g. Hobcaw Barony).

• Baruch remained active in public and advisory roles well into old age. A famous anecdote is that he often sat quietly on a park bench in Lafayette Park (across from the White House) waiting for calls, earning the nickname “the Park Bench Statesman.”

• He died on June 20, 1965, in New York City at age 94.

Legacy & Honors

• Baruch College (part of the City University of New York) is named in his honor.

• The Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga Race Course memorializes him.

• His writings include Baruch: My Own Story (1957) and The Public Years (1960), offers a personal and public reflection on his career and philosophies.

• His Baruch Plan remains a historical reference point in discussions of nuclear diplomacy and control.

• Baruch’s combination of financial success, public service, and personal modesty makes him a unique exemplar of an engaged citizen in the American republic.

Selected Quotes by Bernard Baruch

Bernard Baruch was known not only for his influence but also for his incisive, pithy remarks. Here are some of his best-known quotes:

1. “Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”

2. “Nobody ever lost money taking a profit.”

3. “Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. It can’t be done except by liars.”

4. “Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can’t retire his experience. He must use it.”

5. “Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.”

6. “The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.”

7. “In the last analysis, our only freedom is the freedom to discipline ourselves.”

8. “A political leader must keep looking over his shoulder all the time to see if the boys are still there. If they aren’t still there, he’s no longer a political leader.”

9. “If you get all the facts, your judgment can be right; if you don’t get all the facts, it can’t be right.”

10. “I have known men who could see through the motivations of others with the skill of a clairvoyant; only to prove blind to their own mistakes. I have been one of those men.”

These reflect Baruch’s worldview: pragmatic, self-reflective, skeptical of extremes, and grounded in observed reality.

Lessons & Reflections

• Wisdom in restraint: Baruch often emphasized listening over speaking, patience over hubris.

• Discipline as freedom: His notion that true freedom lies in self-discipline remains a powerful counterpoint to unbounded autonomy.

• Fact over opinion: Insisting that mistakes are allowable in opinion but not in facts shows his respect for truth.

• Adaptability across roles: From financier to public servant to counselor, Baruch illustrates how one’s life can evolve while maintaining core principles.

• Facing moral challenges: His proposals in atomic diplomacy and his public service during wars reveal that influence comes with moral burden.