QI documents a related bank-robber remark from Paul Perritt in 1923, a Sutton credit in 1951, a reported 1952 use and Sutton’s later denial. The record is more complicated than either a secure Sutton original or a proved fabrication.
“I Rob Banks Because That's Where the Money Is” — Willie Sutton
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Provenance
What the source establishes
Documented trail
Quote Investigator, “I Rob Banks Because That’s Where the Money Is,” 10 February 2013.
Evidence
Attribution and wording limits stated below
that’s where the money is
A short excerpt from the cited source; it may differ from the popular wording above.
Read the source ↗ — QI documents a related bank-robber remark from Paul Perritt in 1923, a Sutton credit in 1951, a reported 1952 use and Sutton’s later denial. The record is more complicated than either a secure Sutton original or a proved fabrication.
The variant’s authorship and wording history remain contested; this page does not assert a reusable public-domain original.
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Willie Sutton is identified in the cited material as the bank robber. This page distinguishes the documented source trail from a claim of verbatim personal testimony.
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Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Quote Investigator, “I Rob Banks Because That’s Where the Money Is,” 10 February 2013.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I Rob Banks Because That's Where the Money Is’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-rob-banks-because-thats-where-the-money-is/