[Ads-l] Family of Quips: How Do You Make a Small Fortune Doing X? Start With a Large Fortune

[George Thompson]

>From the NYTimes today (online version):
There’s an old saying about the news business: If you want to make a small
fortune, start with a large one.

Billionaires Wanted to Save the News Industry. They’re Losing a Fortune.

Time magazine, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times — owned by
Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — are still losing
money.

GAT

On Sun, Nov 19, 2023 at 1:23 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> A family of jokes emphasizes the unforgiving economics of risky or
> expensive activities. Here are four examples:
>
> (1) How do you make a small fortune in social media? Start out with a
> large one.
>
> (2) The surest way to make a small fortune in the commodity market is
> to start with a large one.
>
> (3) It's easy to make a small fortune in Las Vegas . . . start with a
> large one.
>
> (4) You can end up with a small fortune in the winery business
> provided you start out with a large fortune.
>
> George Thompson told me about the first item above that occurred in an
> x-twitter message from Elon Musk dated November 17, 2022. George noted
> that similar quips had been constructed years earlier about producing
> Broadway shows, owning racehorses, and other activities. He suggested
> that it would be an interesting topic to explore.
>
> Now there is a Quote Investigator article.
> Quote Origin: How Do You Make a Small Fortune in a Risky Domain? Start
> With a Large Fortune
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__quoteinvestigator.com_2023_11_19_small-2Dfortune_&d=DwIFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=bSXZAAkiZUWoSBRkxN0oTCvSBrzy0FJhA07Bkk14LXU&m=ZgBpt-8YE1AhPBPzTJgJuGkMje5tg0UekKIq1NPCC-CW1C7tl8o6wVok1NgwxjTX&s=Mq48qJfrkbK3pjdjHdZb1OJRApZx6VhO_tLI80lfqzg&e=
>
> The earliest member of this family I have found appeared in February
> 1950 within the syndicated newspaper column of Earl Wilson. The quip
> was credited to the popular singer Leo Fuld. The remark was about the
> high cost of living in England and not about a risky activity.
>
> [ref] 1950 February 9, Courier-Post, It Happened Last Night by Earl
> Wilson, Quote Page 41, Column 3, Camden, New Jersey. (Newspapers_com)
> [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> TODAY'S BEST LAUGH: Leo Fuld, the Dutch singer who's become a big hit
> in England, asks: "Know how to go to England on a visit and leave with
> a small fortune? . . . Go there with a large fortune."
> [End excerpt]
>
> The next match was about gambling on horse racing in Hialeah, Florida.
> The punchline was attributed to an unnamed wit from Miami, Florida:
>
> [ref] 1950 April 12, The Cincinnati Enquirer, John Garretson, Quote
> Page 2, Column 2, Cincinnati, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> During the races one afternoon this winter, this chap was talking to a
> friend from the North in the grandstand at Hialeah and he told him
> that he knew a sure-fire way that this man could leave Florida with a
> small fortune every winter.
> "How can I do that?" the man from the North asked.
> "Come down here with a big one," the Miamian replied.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Barry Popik has also investigated this topic. His website is currently
> down. I think Barry found citations beginning in March 1951.I stored
> part of the pertinent webpage years ago when I performed a preliminary
> search.
>
> Feedback welcome
> Garson O’Toole
>


-- 
George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998.

But when aroused at the Trump of Doom / Ye shall start, bold kings, from
your lowly tomb. . .
L. H. Sigourney, "Burial of Mazeen", Poems.  Boston, 1827, p. 112

The Trump of Doom -- also known as The Dunghill Toadstool.  (Here's a
picture of his great-grandfather.)

https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/HOP_WOA_3851

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