Billionaire Advice For 2013 College Grads: Oprah, Melinda Gates, Steve Case And More

Oprah Winfrey at the 2013 Harvard Commencement

The world’s billionaires are, by definition, some of the most successful people on the planet — often building their own companies and changing the world with a new product or a huge philanthropic endeavor. This makes them natural candidates to give advice to young college graduates who are just starting out in the world.
This year, a handful of billionaires gave commencement addresses, including media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey, global philanthropist Melinda Gates, and AOL AOL -0.69% co-founder Steve Case. Here are some choices passages from their speeches:

Oprah Winfrey: We All Want To Be Understood
“I have to say the single most important lesson I learned in 25 years is there’s a common denominator in our experience… We want to be validated. We want to be understood. I’ve done over 35,000 interviews in my career and as soon as that camera shuts off, everyone always turns to me and says, ‘Was that OK?’ I heard it from President Bush. I heard it from President Obama… I even heard it from Beyonce in all her Beyonceness!” -Harvard University

Melinda Gates: Human Connection Is Everything

Melinda Gates at the 2013 Duke University Commencement

“The people who say technology has disconnected you from others are wrong. So are the people who say technology automatically connects you to others. Technology is just a tool. It’s a powerful tool, but it’s just a tool. Deep human connection is very different. It’s not a tool. It’s not a means to an end. It is the end — the purpose and the result of a meaningful life — and it will inspire the most amazing acts of love, generosity, and humanity.” -Duke University

Shahid Khan: Don’t Take The Easy Road
“Whenever I faced an easy way or a hard way, invariably, the hard way turned out to be the right way.” -University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Steve Case: Be An Attacker
“The attackers are the people with bold, innovative ideas, who are trying to disrupt the status quo, and usher in a better way. We need to think out of the box, and be curious, and be willing to take risks.” -University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Hamdi Ulukaya: Questions Are OK
“You’re about to enter the world. You probably have question marks, you have worries. Some of you maybe worry too much that you don’t have a clear idea of what this world is going to look like. I never had that either.” -The Sage Colleges