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Who really said it

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Not Steve Jobs — actually Stewart Brand Stewart Brand b. 14 December 1938 · American writer and editor; creator of the Whole Earth Catalog
Disputed In copyright

The words were the farewell sign-off Brand wrote on the back cover of the Whole Earth Epilog (October 1974), beneath a photo of an early-morning country road. Steve Jobs quoted it — and explicitly credited it to Brand — in his 2005 Stanford commencement address, which is why it is now popularly pinned on Jobs.

Last verified 7 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed — copy with the correction

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” 'Stay hungry. Stay foolish.' — Stewart Brand, Whole Earth Epilog, back cover (October 1974); later quoted and credited by Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement, 2005.

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Stewart Brand / Whole Earth Catalog). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Stewart Brand — writer, editor and founder of the Whole Earth Catalog. Theme: "Stay hungry, stay foolish". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Stay hungry, stay foolish". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where it really comes from

Publication
Whole Earth Epilog
Issue
Final issue, October 1974 — back cover
Author
Stewart Brand, editor
Popularized by
Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement, 12 June 2005

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

On the back cover of the final Whole Earth Catalog was a photograph of an early-morning country road — the kind you might hitchhike on — and beneath it these four words, as the editors signed off for good. Brand later explained he had in mind the frame of mind of a young hitchhiker at dawn: “You’re always a little bit hungry and you know you are being completely foolish.”

Whole Earth Catalog — history and the 1974 sign-off

How we verified this

  • The four words were the sign-off on the back cover of the Whole Earth Epilog, the final issue of Stewart Brand’s catalog, in October 1974.
  • Steve Jobs recited them — naming Brand and the catalog — at the close of his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, seeding the modern misattribution.
  • Brand has said he meant the free, slightly hungry, faintly foolish mindset of a young hitchhiker at dawn.
In copyright

The line is a 1974 publication and remains under copyright; it is quoted here for commentary and identification. Credit belongs to Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog.

Fact-check

Why people credit Steve Jobs

The line is one of the most-quoted things Steve Jobs ever said — but he was quoting someone else, and said so plainly.

Steve Jobs

Jobs made the phrase famous by ending his 2005 Stanford commencement address with it, but in the same breath he credited “a fellow named Stewart Brand” and the Whole Earth Catalog. He did not originate it.

The four words were Stewart Brand’s farewell sign-off on the back cover of the final Whole Earth Catalog in 1974 — Jobs popularized them, but the words are Brand’s.

Context

Why it mattered

The Whole Earth Catalog was, in Jobs’s words, “one of the bibles of my generation” — a pre-internet compendium of tools and ideas for building a self-directed life. Its 1974 sign-off distilled that ethos into four words about staying curious, restless and willing to look foolish in pursuit of something interesting.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

More on Brand’s meaning

Brand has explained the image behind the line: a young hitchhiker on a country road at dawn, in one of the freest frames of mind there is — a little hungry, and knowingly a little foolish. Jobs adopted it as a personal mantra and passed it to the Stanford class of 2005, giving Brand’s farewell a second, far larger life.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Courage Growth Creativity

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish — origin of the phraseen.wikipedia.org

Confirms the phrase appeared on the back cover of the October 1974 Whole Earth Catalog and was popularized by Jobs in 2005.
Stewart Branden.wikipedia.org

Biography of the writer and editor who authored the farewell message.
Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford speech — transcriptroxinekee.com

Full transcript showing Jobs credit the Whole Earth Catalog and Stewart Brand for the closing line.
The origins of 'stay hungry, stay foolish'medium.com

Traces the phrase to Brand and records his hitchhiker explanation of what he meant.

The true author

Who was Stewart Brand?

Stewart Brand

b. 1938 · writer, editor and founder of the Whole Earth Catalog

Stewart Brand (born 1938) is an American writer, editor and entrepreneur who launched the Whole Earth Catalog in 1968 as a countercultural “access to tools” guide for self-sufficient living. He edited its various editions and wrote the farewell message on the back cover of the final issue in 1974. Brand went on to co-found The WELL online community and the Long Now Foundation, and remains an influential figure in technology and environmental thought.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Stewart Brand, ed., Whole Earth Epilog: Access to Tools (Menlo Park, CA: Point/Portola Institute, October 1974), back cover.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’?” Last verified 7 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/stay-hungry-stay-foolish

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