James Wolfensohn
James Wolfensohn
James David Wolfensohn, KBE, AOis an Australian-American lawyer, investment banker and economist who served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth1 December 1933
CountryAustralia
discussion respect shutting wins
We respect the demonstrators' right to protest, but who wins by shutting down discussion of some of the world's most pressing problems?
collapse facing financial solution unless within
Unless a solution is found, we may be facing the financial collapse of the PA within two weeks.
issues poverty firsts
The first thing that you need to deal with is the issue of equity and poverty.
horse winning outsiders
But when someone is on a winning horse, and everything looks wonderful, it's very hard as an outsider to persuade them something is wrong.
play people looks
As you look at the flow of Muslim fundamentalism, or fundamentalism in various areas and various religions, they all play on the people who have very little.
two people dollars
We have three billion people, half the world's population today, living on less than two dollars a day.
past hands differences
The future is in our hands. We are not hapless bystanders. We can influence whether we have a planet of peace, social justice, equity, and growth or a planet of unbridgeable differences between peoples, wasted resources, corruption, and terror.
adequate commercial depend export extent fragile optimism success time
Commercial success will depend to a significant extent on adequate export arrangements. Time is short, and optimism is a fragile commodity.
arisen colleagues distress feeling problems share
I share with my colleagues the feeling of distress from the problems that have arisen on the streets,
billion certainly conclude might
It certainly is a surprise, and as you might imagine, we were just about to try and conclude our arrangements for a $3 billion package,
maybe next others plans quarter whether year
I am just going to see in the next quarter of this year what my own plans are, and see whether I can still make a contribution, or maybe there will be others who can do better than me.
billion congress consider funding immediate needs passage rest subject target
I think the immediate needs of HIPC, subject to the passage by the U.S. Congress of the U.S. contribution, are probably met, ... I think the $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion target is achievable, and then we will need to consider funding the rest of it.
afforded bring challenges continuity deep developing fighting knows mission programs remarkable team understanding work
His work in the developing world has afforded him a deep understanding of the many challenges of development. He knows what a remarkable institution this is, he appreciates its outstanding team of development professionals, and I know he will bring continuity to its programs and its mission of fighting poverty.
fragile miss next opportunity optimism regret time
Time is short, and optimism is a fragile commodity, ... miss this opportunity for change, we will regret it for the next decade.