--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I told you once before that there were…" description: "\"“I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction. Slow mone..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/margaret-mitchell-692_destruction_i-told-you-once-before-that-there-were-t_181371.jpg" --- # I told you once before that there were two times for… ![“I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction. Slow money on the up-building, fast money in the crack-up. Remember my words. Perhaps they may be of use to you some day. (Rhett Butler)” quote by Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/margaret-mitchell-692_destruction_i-told-you-once-before-that-there-were-t_181371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/margaret-mitchell-692_destruction_i-told-you-once-before-that-there-were-t_181371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/margaret-mitchell-692_destruction_i-told-you-once-before-that-there-were-t_181371.jpg) > ““I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction. Slow money on the up-building, fast money in the crack-up. Remember my words. Perhaps they may be of use to you some day. (Rhett Butler)”” [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealth can be earned slowly during a nation's growth or quickly during its collapse, highlighting different risk‑reward dynamics. **In simple terms:** Money comes slow in growth, fast in crisis. Key Takeaway Recognize timing and risk in investments. Themes economics risk opportunity history politics Mood cautious analytical Type advice historical When to use this quote - investment strategy - political analysis - historical study - crisis management Key Concepts capital cycles speculation macro trends Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you willing to accept for quick profit? - How can you balance long‑term growth with short‑term opportunities? A Different Perspective Fast gains often involve ethical and stability risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Gone with the wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-with-the-wind/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Rhett butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhett-butler/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“In the dull twilight of the winter afternoon she came to the end of a long road which had begun the night Atlanta fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/in-the-dull-twilight-of-the-winter-afternoon-she-came-to-the-end-of-a/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Life is a gamble, we scramble for money, I might crack a smile, but ain't a damn thing funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/life-is-a-gamble-we-scramble-for-money-i-might-crack-a-smile-but-ain/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [My money slow, my money stupid, money ditzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/my-money-slow-my-money-stupid-money-ditzy/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“What most people don't seem to realize is that there is just as much money to be made out of the wreckage of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/what-most-people-don-t-seem-to-realize-is-that-there-is-just-as-much/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Madam, you flatter yourself. I do not want to marry you or anyone else. I am not a marrying man. - Rhett Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/madam-you-flatter-yourself-i-do-not-want-to-marry-you-or-anyone-else/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [A new baby! Why, Scarlett, this is a surprise!” he laughed, leaning down to push the blanket away from Ella Lorena's small ugly face."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/a-new-baby-why-scarlett-this-is-a-surprise-he-laughed-leaning-down-to/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Why be an ostrich?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/why-be-an-ostrich/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Indeed? Well, I shall bring you presents so long as it pleases me and so long as I see things that will enhance your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/indeed-well-i-shall-bring-you-presents-so-long-as-it-pleases-me-and/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Dear Scarlett! You aren't helpless. Anyone as selfish and determined as you are is never helpless. God help the Yankees if they should get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/dear-scarlett-you-aren-t-helpless-anyone-as-selfish-and-determined-as/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“My! How the grapes are sour today!" -Rhett Butler”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/my-how-the-grapes-are-sour-today-rhett-butler/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Well, my dear, take heart. Some day, I will kiss you and you will like it. But not now, so I beg you not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/well-my-dear-take-heart-some-day-i-will-kiss-you-and-you-will-like-it/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Talking to Rhett was comparable only to one thing, the feeling of ease and comfort afforded by a pair of old slippers after dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/talking-to-rhett-was-comparable-only-to-one-thing-the-feeling-of-ease/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-m-not-asking-you-to-forgive-me-i-ll-never-understand-or-forgive/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Scarlett, always save something to fear—even as you save something to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/scarlett-always-save-something-to-fear-even-as-you-save-something-to/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/until-you-ve-lost-your-reputation-you-never-realize-what-a-burden-it/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## More by Margaret Mitchell > [I won't think of it now. I can't stand it now. I'll think of it later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-won-t-think-of-it-now-i-can-t-stand-it-now-i-ll-think-of-it-later/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“I don't want any money for it," he said. "It's a gift." Scarlett's mouth dropped open. The line was so closely, so carefully drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-don-t-want-any-money-for-it-he-said-it-s-a-gift-scarlett-s-mouth/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Until you lose your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/until-you-lose-your-reputation-you-never-realize-what-a-burden-it-was/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [And apologies, once postponed, become harder and harder to make, and finally impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/and-apologies-once-postponed-become-harder-and-harder-to-make-and/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“There was a glow of grim pride in her usually gentle face, approbation and a fierce joy in her smile that equaled the fiery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/there-was-a-glow-of-grim-pride-in-her-usually-gentle-face-approbation/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/her-lips-on-his-could-tell-him-better-than-all-her-stumbling-words/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [The way to get a man interested and to hold his interest was to talk about himself, and then gradually lead the conversation around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-way-to-get-a-man-interested-and-to-hold-his-interest-was-to-talk/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [She was as forthright and simple as the winds that blew over Tara and the yellow river that wound around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-was-as-forthright-and-simple-as-the-winds-that-blew-over-tara-and/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-very-mystery-of-him-excited-her-curiosity-like-a-door-that-had/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“He had never once crossed the borders of friendliness with her and, when she thought of this, fresh anger rose, the anger of hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/he-had-never-once-crossed-the-borders-of-friendliness-with-her-and/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“The husband is always the last to find out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-husband-is-always-the-last-to-find-out/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [People must do what they must do. We all don't think alike or act alike and it's wrong to-to judge others by ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/people-must-do-what-they-must-do-we-all-don-t-think-alike-or-act/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [All you have done is to be different from other women and you have made a little success of it. This is unforgivable sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/all-you-have-done-is-to-be-different-from-other-women-and-you-have/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“She felt puzzled and ashamed, as always when people attributed to her emotions and motives they possessed and thought she shared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-felt-puzzled-and-ashamed-as-always-when-people-attributed-to-her/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“I do not want to marry you or anyone else. I am not a marrying man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-do-not-want-to-marry-you-or-anyone-else-i-am-not-a-marrying-man/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) [Explore all 391 Margaret Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction. Slow money on the up-building, fast money in the crack-up. Remember my words. Perhaps they may be of use to you some day. 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