The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
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Book Reviews of The Richest Man in Babylon
Book Review: Secret to Obtaining and Accumulating Wealth
Summary: 5 Stars
In the pages of history, there lives no city more glamorous than Babylon, known for its lavish houses, palaces and huge city walls. Its very name conjures visions of wealth and splendor. Its treasures of gold and jewels were fabulous. One naturally pictures such a wealthy city as located in a suitable setting of tropical luxury surrounded by rich natural resources of forests and mines. It was located beside the Euphrates River, in a flat, arid valley. Babylon is an outstanding example of man's ability to achieve great objectives, using whatever available means at his disposal.
Babylon, as George S. Clason notes, it was also the cradle of modern finance: money as the means of exchange, tradable property titles, promissory notes and all forms of lending and borrowing were all highly developed. Its prosperity continued for centuries because its inhabitants were allowed to make money freely. Even slaves, if they could earn a bit on the side, could eventually buy their way to freedom.
Moreover, Babylon's success inspired Clason to write a series of parables which would demonstrate the unchanging principles of finance and wealth building. When George S. Clason's introduced these parables in a famous series of pamphlets, they became very popular (All are pregnant with practical wisdom) and were distributed by banks, insurance companies, financial institutions and other employers to teach the benefits of saving and hard work.
His advice soon provided guidance to millions of readers. Although first written over half a century years ago, these teachings are as relevant today as they were for the citizens of Babylon. The success secrets of the ancients -- an assured road to happiness and prosperity. Countless readers have been helped by the famous "Babylonian parables," hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth creation.
Acclaimed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of -- and solution to -- your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime. This is the book that holds the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money, and making money earn more money. These fascinating and informative stories have become a modern classic in their field.
The Richest Man in Babylon is a book you will want to read yourself, recommend to friends, and give to young people just starting out in life. The best advice is often free. The solutions to life's toughest problems are often the most simple. Perhaps that is why the best advice too often is ignored. It's just too simple to be believable. The advice offered by this book is so simple that it most often is ignored. Yet it reveals the only reliable secret to obtaining and accumulating wealth. It is a simple (and safe) secret for obtaining riches. It is not easy, but it is simple. It is hard to execute, but it is unfailing.
There are a lot of ways to build wealth, but there is a simple, sure way that can always work. And these are what George S. Clason made very clear in this timeless classic. His first prescription is to pay yourself first. Set aside 10% (or more) of what you earn before taxes, before expenses, and before debts. Then, tackle those debts by applying the next 20% against them until they are gone. That leaves 70% and you should live on this. Spend it and enjoy life as you can while staying within this budget. To be realistic, you must control expenditures. That is the second point, and often the biggest missing ingredient in accumulating wealth. All of a sudden expenses simply rise to meet the new level of income.
Once the debts are gone and the savings grow, and then make your money work for you by investing in money-making ventures. But guard your treasures wisely, as money slowly gained can be quickly lost by risky choices. Here is where you have to rely on experts until your own experience affords you the knowledge to make good choices.
Furthermore, Clason emphasizes that inaction is often the greatest thief of success. While building your savings be alert to good business opportunities and seize them when found. Own rather than rent and insure a future income by royalties, rents, and so on. Finally, and perhaps simplest of all, is to increase your ability to earn by acquiring additional new skills.
Conclusively, this is a small and cheap book, readable in a few hours. However, don't fall under the false impression that the lessons are too simple. The laws and parables are simple, but executing a plan takes effort and the right mindset. It is the best starting book to discover the first steps of personal wealth creation and accumulation. If you haven't heard of or read The Richest Man in Babylon yet, maybe this is a good time to grab a copy for yourself and read it.
Book Review: Even better the fifth time around!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first heard about this book 17 years ago. At that time, I was in a direct sales company and had the good fortune to attend a seminar conducted by a businessman named Jim Rohn.Mr. Rohn talked about his early mentor, a man named Earl Schoff and went on to tell us how Mr. Schoff turned him on to personal development and pointed him to the right books to read. One of the most important books, said Rohn was The Richest Man in Bablyon.
Rohn had made and lost a fortune but came back and made another fortune and gave credit to the principles in The Richest Man in Bablyon for helping him accomplish that feat.
I read The Richest Man in Bablyon and have to admit, I hated it! I thought it was stupid, like feel good stuff that has no substance. When ever friends came over, I hid the book. I felt so ridiculous.
But Mr. Rohns words of wisdom kept echeoing in my mind. So I read it over and over untill the principles were imbedded into my conscious and subconsious mind.
Soon, after the fifth reading, the the principles became habits for me. My wealth esculated at a very rapid rate. I was no longer wasting money. I was now investing the first 10% of my income, tithing 10% and investing another 10% in capital like no load mutuals, real estate, discounted mortgages, tax liens and my own business.
The Richest Man in Bablyon has 7 basic principles:
1) Start thy purse to fattening - save/invest
2) Control thy expenditures - watch out for self serving brokers
3) Make thy gold mutiply - use powerful investments
4) Guard thy treasures from loss - watch out for brokers with
their hot tips.
5) Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment - rental properties, your own home---but stay within your means.
6) Insure a future income - do work that you love to do. Become excellent at it.
7) Increase thy ability to earn - education never stops. Keep reading good books like this one, The Millionaire Next Door, Rich Dad Poor Dad and so on.
The Richest Man in Bablyon is an excellent book. Although only 145 pages, it is packed with powerful information that can be life changing. It has helped some people like Jim Rohn and others become millionaires.
George Samuel Clason was born in Louisiana, Missouri, on November 7, 1874. He attended the University of Nebraska and served in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. Beginning a long career in publishing, he founded the Clason Map Company of Denver, Colorado and published the first road atlas of the United States and Canada. In 1926, he issued the first in a series of pamphlets on thrift and financial success, using parables set in ancient Bablyon to make each of his points.
These were distributed in large quantities by banks and insurance companies and became familiar to millions, the most famous being "The Richest Man in Bablyon," the parable which has impacted the lives of millions of people. These "Babylonian Parables" have become a modern inspiritional classic.
The Richest Man in Babylon is must reading for anyone who wants to achieve maximum financial success. Highly recommended.
Book Review: Just common sense (which is rare!)
Summary: 5 Stars
I do not usually appreciate "self-help" books, but the points made in "The Richest Man in Babylon" seem to be mostly just common sense. Unfortunately, most people completely lack common sense about money.
One of the main ideas that most people never seem to get is that it is better, and more interesting, to make money from your MONEY than to make money breaking your back. However, this leads us to the first difficulty: in order to make money from your money, you have to have some.
As we supposedly "all know," we cannot have our cake and eat it, too. But most people spend every penny in their paychecks, and then some run out and charge more on their credit cards. They live from hand to mouth, from paycheck to paycheck, and they never even dream of actually saving 10 percent (or more) of what they earn.
But how can you have money if you don't have any money? Let us imagine some typical American, earning (say) $40K per year. Saving 10 percent of his salary would give him "only" $4,000 in the bank at the end of one year. This looks pretty miserable, until you stop to wonder just how many people could actually lay their hands on $4,000 in cash WITHOUT doing a cash-advance on their credit cards. By the end of the fifth year, this fictional person would have $20,000 in the bank, assuming no interest and no investment income.
But now this person is in a position to actually begin making investments, and watch his money work for him. And the profits from that should just be plowed right back into "the money tree."
My personal opinion: if you think there is another way to "financial freedom," you are simply deluding yourself. Win the lottery? Gee, how many rich people do you know who got their start that way?
Answer: none. Lottery winners usually run out and spend their winnings faster than they come in. Consider winning "a million dollars" in some phony lottery which does not actually hand you a million dollars, but doles you out $50,000 per year over 20 years. Most people turn this into a sort of middle-class welfare, and wind up as broke as they ever were. But, if you did NOT quit your job, and put that money in the bank, faithfully, over a 20-year-period, you would (after investing it) have a whole lot more than a million dollars.
The author of this book was clever: he set it in ancient Babylon. The point was that reality, in many important respects, does not change.
I would agree with all that there are many ways to be wealthy: in learning, in money, in love, in friends, and so on. But it is very difficult to attain those other happinesses if you can't make the rent.
This is actually a good book. It has never gone out of print, and that may mean something.
Book Review: Power in your pocket.
Summary: 5 Stars
It often seems that the publishers are rather fond of sticking 'million best seller' on the front of their books, as if 'thousands' have now miraculously become 'millions' and every book is selling by the crate-load. Sometimes I read book with that claim and there ponder, 'Did XXmillion people REALLY read this literary effort?' I guess there must be a lot of bored people at airports with a poor judgement of cover-copy as I!
So, what of TRMIB, is that worthy of the 'more than two million sold' stuck on the front of my book? the answer is YES! Yes indeed it is! I discovered TRMIB by accident and decided to give it a look over, neither in debt having any problems in the financial department per se. I was still spurred on by the other Amazon reviews into giving it a glance over; and how glad I am. Though I say "having no financial problems per se." if the truth be told, I guess we could use a kick in the wallet and a 6 A.M. roll-call in that department. If you are in need of that then look no further. What this book offers you is a fool-proof formula to financial success, based not upon get-rich-quick-pull-rabbit-from-hat school of economics and good housekeeping. No, what Clanson has done is to develop pre-war spendthriftness into a simple yet effective Art. he has taken the basic principles of financial success and laid out clear rules towards that goal. What he has NOT done it to kid you that if you read this book you'll be an instant millionaire, or any such fictitious claims. Presented in the format of a series of fictitious conversations and tales Clanson time and time again relays the basic truths to financial security and financial success, based not upon external forces; rather based upon your own abilities to keep what you EARN (you have to work for your success) in your wallet, and not in someone else's. In the case you do find yourself in financial jam and have the desire to get yourself out Clanson offers a formula for that too.
What I thought was impressive about this text was the simplicity of the ideas, the logical and rational way they were laid out and presented and the sheer accuracy of his approach. Maybe in this age Clanson's views will find less receptive ears, but anyone who can walk the path he guides us too can shortly achieve financial independence and attain victory over their leaky wallet. A great book.
Book Review: Start Your Financial Library with The Richest Man in Babylon
Summary: 5 Stars
Walk into any better bookstore, make a beeline to the personal finance and investment section, pick up any of over two or three dozen books, rip off the cover and boil it down it's main points, and you'd be left with one book: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Name authors you will - Suze Orman, Ric Edelman, David Bach, Dave Ramsey - none, and I mean none, have improved on the simple and timeless principles laid out in these pages.
The book began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets written in parable form. The parables, set in ancient Babylon, follow the travails of Bansir, the journey of Arkad, and the lessons of Old Kalabab and offer a financial plan to put readers on the road to riches. The principles, repeated often throughout the book, make the promise that "A lean purse is easier to cure than to endure."
While that may, or may not be true, the book should resonate with readers regardless of their financial status. Most readers will recognize that they've been where the parables take us, on the downside and on the upside, and quickly realize what steps should be taken to move forward. In that sense, this book is a fantastic guide to the laws that govern money. For, as the book suggests, "Money is truly governed by the same laws which controlled it when prosperous men thronged the streets of Babylon, six thousand years ago.
Taken further, I view Clason as an ideological precursor of modern financial planners, who take a role similar to Old Kalabab and attempt to impress upon clients the very same principles Clason deftly weaves throughout the book. The terms are different, but the lessons identical. The importance of saving by paying yourself first, budgeting by controlling your expenses, intelligent investing with wise and experienced counsel, insuring yourself against catastrophic loss, and planning for your golden years are as sound for the time and place of the book's parables as they are today.
While newer books may have flashier covers and contain three times as many pages, for those seeking to improve their financial condition and, better yet, accumulate wealth, I don't know of a better investment. The Richest Man in Babylon is a book you should not only read, but study.