Wisdom in fragments

The polarising EU referendum brought much of this to a head. Let me be clear: I do not, by any stretch, feel that people that voted to leave the EU were racist- but it's clear that UKIP, EDL, and their peers realised the power of the race card, and played it to their advantage.

For the first time in over 20 years, I feel brown… I find myself being extra careful in terms of how I dress, where I go, how I speak, what I carry and how I behave; not to conform to any new social norms- but rather, so that people don't mistake me for a terrorist, or make assumptions about my intentions.

I guess like any other entrepreneur, but Brown? – this may seem inconsequential, but sometimes, the 'them and us' in society only becomes apparent when pointed out.

I assumed this was just a fact of life in the UK, but because I saw the warmth of some people's welcome in the business community in particular, I overlooked it…

We need a blue revolution to match the green revolution. This means investing in water infrastructure, technology, and governance with the same urgency we once applied to food security.

Water resources engineer and global leader in sustainable water management and governance

The water crisis is not a future threat - it's a present reality. Every minute we delay action, two children die from preventable water-related diseases. This is not just an environmental issue, it's a moral emergency.

Water resources engineer and global leader in sustainable water management and governance

Climate change isn't just warming the planet - it's fundamentally rewiring the hydrological cycle. Wet places are getting wetter, dry places drier, and the timing of water availability is becoming increasingly unpredictable.

Hydrologist & water security expert; founded Pacific Institute

We've entered the age of Peak Water - where the easy sources are already being used and future supplies will be harder to find, more expensive to develop, and come with greater environmental and social costs.

Hydrologist & water security expert; founded Pacific Institute

Water is like energy - it can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed. But unlike energy, water is essential for every single biological process. We're not just managing a resource, we're managing life itself.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist and U.S. Energy Secretary

We have enough water on this planet for everyone's needs, but not for everyone's greed. The crisis is fundamentally about distribution, access, and governance - not absolute scarcity.

International Labour Organization Director-General from 2012 to 2022

I believe many of our new generation of entrepreneurs put too much significance on money, and not enough on ideas. If you have a great idea, and the skills to execute that idea, the money will come.

The key to being successful in business is trust, you have to trust the people you work with. This trust must co-exist with competence. Many people weigh trust higher than competence, however competence is absolutely key.

If you are someone who has generated wealth, you have the responsibility to make sure this money is used to benefit the community. This is something that exists in all philosophies, cultures, and all religions. You have an obligation to the people around you, and your society.

Just before my father passed away, the company had grown considerably. He said to me, 'I have six children, and who would have believed that you, Frederik, out of all my children would have been the one that succeeded!' I'm not sure that was a compliment!

Today, entrepreneurship is fashionable, it's something you can develop in your character and strengthen. I'm not so sure… I believe that entrepreneurship is something you're born with, or not. I've met many highly intelligent, and incredibly bright people who have not been able to develop their ideas into sensible businesses. Entrepreneurship is not related to intelligence, it's something you have or don't have.

By founding my own charities, I solved that problem. Charity occupies around a third of my life, it's a big challenge and a big responsibility. Around eight years ago, I decided to donate at least half my wealth to charitable causes during my lifetime or upon my death.

Billionaire British entrepreneur and founder of Phones 4u mobile retailer