"I thought at the time that I wanted to go into institutional sales, selling stocks and bonds to institutions. In those days, which was the 1960s, the institutional salesman was making about $100,000 a year. I thought that was just an enormous amount of money"
About this Quote
The subtext is social as much as financial. “Institutions” means gatekeepers, endowments, pensions - grown-up money. Kravis isn’t describing a job; he’s describing entry into a class that speaks in allocations and access. The phrasing “I thought at the time” gently retrofits innocence onto what becomes, in hindsight, a ruthlessly consequential career. It’s a common billionaire move: narrate the origin story as boyish awe, not a blueprint for power.
Context matters: the 1960s are pre-leverage-buyout mythology, when Wall Street is still more club than casino, and compensation is starting to signal a new American hierarchy. The quote’s quiet punch is that it admits the motivational engine behind so much high finance isn’t ideology or innovation. It’s the early shock of realizing what people at the top get paid, and deciding you want in.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sales |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kravis, Henry. (2026, January 15). I thought at the time that I wanted to go into institutional sales, selling stocks and bonds to institutions. In those days, which was the 1960s, the institutional salesman was making about $100,000 a year. I thought that was just an enormous amount of money. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-at-the-time-that-i-wanted-to-go-into-146420/
Chicago Style
Kravis, Henry. "I thought at the time that I wanted to go into institutional sales, selling stocks and bonds to institutions. In those days, which was the 1960s, the institutional salesman was making about $100,000 a year. I thought that was just an enormous amount of money." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-at-the-time-that-i-wanted-to-go-into-146420/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I thought at the time that I wanted to go into institutional sales, selling stocks and bonds to institutions. In those days, which was the 1960s, the institutional salesman was making about $100,000 a year. I thought that was just an enormous amount of money." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-at-the-time-that-i-wanted-to-go-into-146420/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
