Blockbuster CEO Rejected Netflix for $50 Million and Called It "Dot-Com Hysteria." Netflix Is Now Worth $150+ Billion.
"The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."
— John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster
Apr 13, 2026The all-time worst investment advice
"The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."
— John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster
Apr 13, 2026"Do not send in your money to Bear. Do not do it. Do not send in your money... Do not panic. Do not panic. Bear Stearns is not going down."
— Jim Cramer, CNBC Mad Money Host
Apr 12, 2026"Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
— Irving Fisher, Yale Professor of Economics
Apr 06, 2026"We have concluded that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo and its stockholders. It substantially undervalues Yahoo."
— Jerry Yang, Yahoo Co-Founder and CEO
Apr 05, 2026"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."
— Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Inc.
Apr 02, 2026"The growth of the Internet will slow drastically... By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's."
— Paul Krugman, MIT Economist (later Nobel Prize winner)
Apr 01, 2026"I think it [Dow] is going to end up between 3,000 and 5,000 a couple years from now. This is going to be a stock market peak of a lifetime followed by a crash very similar to the early 1930s."
— Harry Dent, Founder of Dent Research, on CNBC
Apr 01, 2026"The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."
— John Antioco, Blockbuster CEO, after Netflix founders pitched him on an acquisition
Mar 31, 2026"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item. I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of phones, than I would to..."
— Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Mar 30, 2026"The Telephone purports to transmit the speaking voice over telegraph wires. We found that the voice is very weak and indistinct... Why would any person want to use this ungainly and impractical..."
— Western Union internal committee memo
Mar 28, 2026"I think we can manage this risk. The inflation risk is small. I don't anticipate that inflation is going to be a problem."
— Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary and Former Federal Reserve Chair
Mar 26, 2026"They were convinced that no one would ever want to look at their pictures on a television set. Print had been with us for over 100 years, no one was complaining about prints, they were very..."
— Kodak executives (as recounted by inventor Steve Sasson)
Mar 25, 2026"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
— Ken Olsen, Founder, President, and Chairman of Digital Equipment Corporation
Mar 23, 2026"Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein."
— Dick Rowe, Senior A&R Man, Decca Records
Mar 23, 2026"We really, frankly, couldn't see much difference... the differentiation in search results were clearly not dramatic enough to justify the cultural risk."
— George Bell, CEO of Excite
Mar 22, 2026"This has the feel of Bitcoin in 2012, Amazon in 2015, or Tesla in 2016. This is a generational wealth-creating opportunity."
— Chamath Palihapitiya, Social Capital CEO, promoting his Opendoor SPAC
Mar 22, 2026"Bear Stearns is fine! Do not take your money out of Bear! That's just being silly! Don't be silly!"
— Jim Cramer, Host of CNBC's Mad Money
Mar 21, 2026"This company is ready to become the next Alibaba."
— Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group
Mar 21, 2026"Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. I do not feel there will be soon if ever a 50 or 60 point break from present levels, such as they have predicted. I expect to see..."
— Irving Fisher, Yale Economics Professor
Mar 19, 2026"We believe there is a risk of WorldCom lowering guidance again."
— Jack Grubman, Salomon Smith Barney Telecom Analyst
Mar 18, 2026"We looked at a transformative acquisition, and we bought Tumblr... I think Netflix was $4 billion and Hulu was at $1.3 billion at the time. And either of those, with hindsight being 20/20, would have..."
— Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO (2012-2017)
Mar 17, 2026"Tesla in many ways epitomises this bull market. It's a hopes and dreams stock. We just think it's ridiculously overvalued."
— Jim Chanos, Founder of Kynikos Associates, legendary short seller who exposed Enron
Mar 16, 2026"There will be 50 to 100 sizeable municipal bond defaults totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. It will be something to worry about within the next 12 months."
— Meredith Whitney, CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, on CBS 60 Minutes
Mar 15, 2026"What's the only asset that will hold value? It's got to be gold."
— John Paulson, Hedge Fund Manager and Housing Crash Oracle
Mar 15, 2026"Stocks are actually much less risky than bonds or bank CDs... The Dow should rise to 36,000 immediately."
— James Glassman & Kevin Hassett, authors of "Dow 36,000"
Mar 14, 2026"It's OK—we'll be fine."
— Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry)
Mar 13, 2026"The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in Metcalfe's law becomes apparent: most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the..."
— Paul Krugman, Economist and future Nobel Prize winner
Mar 13, 2026"We continue to believe that the proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo."
— Jerry Yang, Yahoo CEO and Co-Founder
Mar 12, 2026"It is hard for us, and without being flippant, to even see a scenario, within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing $1 in any of those transactions."
— Joseph Cassano, Head of AIG Financial Products
Mar 11, 2026"The dot-com bubble had burst. They were losing money. We said we'll consider it."
— Blockbuster executives, after Netflix co-founders offered to sell the company
Mar 10, 2026"This company is a pyramid scheme. Our target price is zero. Herbalife is the best-managed pyramid scheme in history."
— Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management
Mar 08, 2026"No! No! No! Bear Stearns is fine. Do not take your money out. Bear Stearns is not in trouble. If anything, they're more likely to be taken over. Don't move your money from Bear. That's just being..."
— Jim Cramer, CNBC Mad Money Host
Mar 07, 2026"The troubles in the subprime sector seem unlikely to seriously spill over to the broader economy or the financial system."
— Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Mar 06, 2026"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item."
— Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Mar 05, 2026"Tomorrow at 11:30 AM EST Citron will livestream the 5 reasons GameStop buyers at these levels are the suckers at this poker game. Stock back to $20 fast. We understand short interest better than you..."
— Andrew Left, Founder of Citron Research
Mar 04, 2026"I expect the S&P 500 to drop 40% from its January peak of 4800. We are looking at a recession in 2023, and I do not expect stocks to make new highs for several years."
— Leon Cooperman, Founder of Omega Advisors, Bloomberg Interview
Mar 02, 2026"Amazon could fall as low as $50."
— Jonathan Cohen, Merrill Lynch Internet Analyst
Mar 02, 2026"This is the anti-Amazon. Tesla is going to continue to lose lots of money. And continue to need more and more capital."
— Jim Chanos, founder of Kynikos Associates, legendary short-seller who called Enron
Mar 01, 2026"The company is fundamentally sound. At current stock prices, this seems to be an incredibly cheap stock. Talk up the stock and talk positively about Enron to your family and friends."
— Kenneth Lay, Enron Chairman and CEO
Feb 28, 2026"I believe that it is virtually certain that Google's stock will be highly disappointing to investors foolish enough to participate in its overhyped offering — you can hold me to that."
— Whitney Tilson, Hedge Fund Manager and Motley Fool Columnist
Feb 28, 2026"Cisco is potentially the first trillion-dollar market cap company."
— Paul Weinstein, Credit Suisse First Boston Analyst
Feb 27, 2026"Bitcoin will never hit $50,000. It is going to crash to zero."
— Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, gold maximalist
Feb 25, 2026"The S&P 500 will fall by around 70%... The printing presses being turned off will hit risk assets hard."
— Albert Edwards, Global Strategist at Société Générale
Feb 24, 2026"Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
— Irving Fisher, Yale economist and one of America's most respected financial minds
Feb 20, 2026"The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than womens fashion. Maybe Im an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? Its complete gibberish. Its..."
— Larry Ellison, Oracle Co-Founder and CEO
Feb 20, 2026"What use could this company make of an electrical toy?"
— William Orton, President of Western Union
Feb 19, 2026"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
— Ken Olsen, Founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation
Feb 19, 2026"We project approximately 900,000 cellular phone subscribers in the United States by the year 2000."
— McKinsey & Company, commissioned report for AT&T
Feb 18, 2026"U.S. recession is unlikely. Investors could see growth re-accelerating in mid-2008. The S&P 500 will rally to 1,675."
— Abby Joseph Cohen, Chief Investment Strategist at Goldman Sachs
Feb 18, 2026"I don't know how I know, I just do. SBF is a winner."
— Adam Fisher, Sequoia Capital profile of Sam Bankman-Fried
Feb 17, 2026"I could feel it coming. I just — I had to play. I couldn't help myself. I think I missed the top by an hour. I bought $6 billion worth of tech stocks."
— Stanley Druckenmiller, legendary hedge fund manager (30% annual returns, no losing years in 30 years)
Feb 16, 2026"When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance. We're still dancing."
— Chuck Prince, CEO of Citigroup
Feb 15, 2026"WeWork is like a next-generation Alibaba... Adam is a next-generation Jack Ma."
— Masayoshi Son, SoftBank CEO
Feb 14, 2026"Experienced traders should allocate 200% of their stock trading portfolios to shorting the stock market. The bear market is returning in full force."
— Robert Prechter, President of Elliott Wave International
Feb 13, 2026"Guitar groups are on the way out. The Beatles have no future in show business."
— Dick Rowe, Head of A&R at Decca Records
Feb 11, 2026"The growth of the Internet will slow drastically... most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater..."
— Paul Krugman, Economist (Future Nobel Prize Winner)
Feb 11, 2026"The Death of Equities: How Inflation Is Destroying the Stock Market."
— BusinessWeek magazine cover story
Feb 10, 2026"The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."
— John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster
Feb 10, 2026"Microsoft's offer massively undervalues Yahoo."
— Yahoo Board of Directors, official response to Microsoft
Feb 09, 2026"This is a pyramid scheme. This company is a fraud. It is our view that this company is going to zero."
— Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management
Feb 08, 2026"We considered the offer, but ultimately decided not to pursue the acquisition. Search was not core to our portal strategy."
— Excite Leadership, 1999
Feb 08, 2026"Bear Stearns is fine! Do not take your money out. If there's one takeaway, Bear Stearns is not in trouble. I mean, if anything, they're more likely to be taken over. Don't move your money from Bear...."
— Jim Cramer, CNBC Mad Money Host
Dec 15, 2024"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item."
— Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Dec 12, 2024"Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
— Irving Fisher, Renowned Economist at Yale
Dec 11, 2024