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: A Few Good Ideas, Beaten to Death
Summary: 2 Stars
I am going out on a limb and disagreeing with the mass of reviewers who have raved over this book. I just can't see what the big deal is. Yes, it does present some great advice in a creative way, but I wasn't awestruck by how entertaining it was or what deep wisdom it takes to tell people to save money. I'll also mention that I'm not down on "The Richest Man in Babylon" because it makes me feel guilty or inadequate; I was already practicing the principles Clason preaches when I read it. First I will comment on the writing and style, and then give my reaction to the book's message.
This book wasn't written as a book, but as a series of pamphlets, and it shows. The style is consistent, but the points get very repetitive. This isn't the author's fault, since he wasn't trying to write a book for reading in one sitting, but it reduced my enjoyment. The writing style is highly affected. To give a flavor of antiquity, the dialogue is written in the style of English used in the time of Shakespeare and King James--the same king whose name was given to the King James Bible. I think this is a device that works better in small doses; I quickly found it pompous and tiresome. I have read a lot of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and I much prefer the real thing to this pale imitation. I will note that one story/pamphlet is set in modern times and is mostly written in modern English. Looking past the style, Clason is a decent storyteller, and I found the chapters with a plot were entertaining, but many chapters are more lectures in fictional settings than stories, and I found these to be monotonous.
The wealth-building system that is advocated ad nauseam is to devote 10% of income to debt reduction and 10% to investments. The fictional version of Babylon isn't equipped with modern markets, so the characters are more entrepeneurs than investors, but there is lots of flowery language about the power of compounded earnings. Along the way there is the obligatory call for home ownership, but the subject of renting vs. buying isn't covered in depth. The main message of the book is motivational rather than financial: it's basically a series of lectures on the benefits and satisfactions of being in control of your financial life, with a candy wrapping. I thought the book totally ducked the part of the system that's the hardest for most people, which is to live on 80% of your income. The attitude that I perceived was a cavalier "anyone can do it." Well, anyone who is reasonably well off can do it, but some people have to choose between buying food and medicine, and not all of them are wasteful spendthrifts. But maybe people in such straits don't read this kind of book, so maybe it doesn't matter.
I was already investing over 10% of my income and living debt-free (except for the obligatory mortgage) when I read this book, so it didn't change my life. If my finances were a mess and I was inclined to do something about it, I can imagine I would be inspired by the ideas in this book. On the other hand, if my finances were a mess and I was not inclined to reform, I can't imagine this book would change my behavior any more successfully than a modern tell-it-like-it-is book. Obviously people are inspired by different approaches, and this book has inspired many reviewers, but if I knew anyone seeking inspiration to straighten out their financial life, I would suggest they skim "The Millionaire Next Door", which shows how modern real people successfully manage finances, and skip "The Richest Man in Babylon".
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: Good principles; mediocre writing
Summary: 3 Stars
I won't bore you with details in this review as other reviews have covered the details and some even include spoilers to the story.
Some reviewers seem to think that it's much harder to live off of a portion of your income than this book suggests. One even suggested that it's difficult for most people to live on "80% of their income". Nonsense. It's not difficult to do. I have been in severe poverty to the point of "couch surfing" and not even owning a bicycle (read: homeless and walking)...Yet, I was able to do it. The difficulty level is only mental for the vast majority of people. One needs to have the discipline to say "no" to themselves and live below their means. Those who are too poor to use the principles in this book are only those who don't even have an income to begin with. Those people have to start at square one and get an income. I don't think one has to be "reasonably well off" to follow the principles in this book, but one does need a regular income--even a very small one. Step one: Get a full-time job.
All that said, the book isn't too bad; however, the writing style comes off as being corny and silly. The first printing of this book that I'm aware of was in 1926; however, it attempts to use language from 1626. Unfortunately, the use of Middle English in this book is not entirely correct, accurate, or well done. Anyone who grew up on a King James Bible (or Shakespear) will probably find the writing silly and annoying. I thought it took away from the story and was a bit distracting. At the least, it is an unnecessary literary tool that is a distraction to the reading. At the most, it can be difficult for modern readers to understand and will cause readers to miss important information.
Otherwise, the book seems to provide more of a starting point and an "imagine yourself rich" motivational story than a step by step guide to all aspects of gaining wealth. Fortunately, most people who need this introductory motivation more than anything else seem to also be those who have very little financial knowledge. Those who are confident and highly motivated to gain wealth have already done their homework and already know how to work the details. Those types of people probably won't need this book as they are already past it in my opinion.
I'd recommend this book to the financially naive who can understand Middle English (e.g. graduates from private Christian schools, high schoolers who can understand Shakespear, etc). I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not familiar with that archaic language or who already has some financial smarts.