From Mario Draghi on markets to Yanis Varoufakis on creditors: This is 2015 in quotes
It’s been an action packed year – for better or worse. We’ve had a General Election, watched Greece come close to exiting the Eurozone, witnessed a Chinese economic slowdown and near financial crash- and the year isn’t even over.
Here's what the world's good and great had to say while 2015 was happening…
Sean Rad
The Tinder exec went rogue last month, giving an interview shortly before the parent company listed. His board were none too impressed and had to issue a clarification about some of the statements made in the article – but this one they left alone. Perhaps wise.
Apparently there’s a term for someone who gets turned on by intellectual stuff. You know, just talking. What’s the word?… I want to say ‘sodomy’?
Mark Zuckerberg
In giving a vast amount of money away to charity, the young billionaire said in a note to his daughter:
If you have to wonder whether you'll have food or rent, or worry about abuse or crime, then it's difficult to reach your full potential.
Probably not something she will have to worry about – but something he is hoping to help fix with his multi-billion-dollar donation to charity.
Donald Trump
So much to choose from, so little space. Perhaps the Republican Presidential hopeful's summary of London life is the finest example from this year.
We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.
Boris Johnson
Trump's bizarre claim prompted a riposte from London's own tousle-haired celebrity. This is far from BoJo's only contribution to great quotes for the year, but gets extra points for saying what most us were thinking.
The only reason I wouldn't go to parts of New York is the very real risk of meeting Donald Trump
Charlotte Johnson Wahl
We also discovered where BoJo got his love of making outrageous statements from. His mother Charlotte told Radio Times she had never voted Tory in her life and that her children's political persuasions were "extraordinary". She also had a few words for Jeremy Corbyn – in short, that he "ought to do away with his beard". Why? "Makes him look a bit like an old wizard."
She also admitted BoJo was – of course – very keen to become PM. But her views on the role weren't all that complimentary…
Being Prime Minister looks like a ghastly job
David Cameron
Well, you had to let him have one little dig at the Conservative party conference after delivering a Conservative majority. This is what he had to say of Jeremy Corbyn's economic guru:
There’s an academic called Richard Murphy. He’s the Labour party’s new economics guru. He’s the man behind their plan to print more money … He’s written a book. It’s called The Joy of Tax. I’ve got it. I took it home, to show Samantha. It’s got 64 positions and none of them work.
Jeremy Corbyn
At the beginning of his Labour leadership, Corbyn had a sense of humour…
I notice in some of the newspapers that they have taken a bit of an interest in me. According to one headline Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the prospect of an asteroid wiping out humanity. Asteroids are pretty controversial and it is not the kind of thing I would want to rule out… without a full debate at conference and a review so can we have the debate later in the week.
Yanis Varoufakis
Remember Greece's outspoken finance minister? His tenure may have been short, but he made a big impact.
I consider it my duty to help Alexis Tsipras exploit, as he sees fit, the capital that the Greek people granted us through yesterday’s referendum. And I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride.
Barack Obama
At least the US president likes his job…
President of the United States. I cannot imagine a greater honour or a more interesting job. I love my work. But under our constitution, I cannot run again. I actually think I’m a pretty good President, I think if I ran I could win. But I can’t.
He's probably right.
Jack Dorsey
It's been a big year for Dorsey, who not only presided over the IPO of his online payments company, Square, but was also appointed chief executive of Twitter for the second time.
Early on in his tenure he faced the difficult decision of making job cuts. He told his employees:
This isn’t easy. But it is right. The world needs a strong Twitter, and this is another step to get there.
Sepp Blatter
The controversial soon-to-be-ex Fifa president shocked the world when he said:
My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody.
George Osborne
The chancellor couldn't resist alluding to a much-mocked discovery about chez Miliband as part of an announcement about the Internet of Things.
Should – to use a ridiculous example – someone have two kitchens, they will be able to control both fridges from the same mobile.
John McFarlane
The new Barclays chairman has a history of shaking things up. Asked if he fired ousted chief executive Antony Jenkins, he said:
Yes, he was definitely asked to leave and it was a board decision, fully endorsed by me.