About the book
Set in ancient Babylon, George S. Clason's parables pass on money advice through characters such as Arkad, once a poor scribe and later the wealthiest man in the city. The stories first circulated as pamphlets handed out by U.S. banks and insurance companies before they were bound into a book in 1926. Arkad's lessons are grouped as the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse, on earning money, and the Five Laws of Gold, on keeping and investing it, with themes such as paying oneself first, living within one's means and long-term saving. Later chapters add stand-alone tales, including The Camel Trader of Babylon and The Gold Lender of Babylon.
Grant Cardone praised its insistence on reliable income streams and on never confusing needs with wants, and David Heinemeier Hansson called it the 1920s ancestor of later get-rich books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad.
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This book has 6 recommendations
Daymond John (Founder/FUBU)
This book was recommended by Daymond John on page 324 of "Tools of Titans".
David Heinemeier Hansson (Co-Founder/Basecamp)
This is a 1920s classic version of How To Get Rich. The ancestor of all the pale imitations, like Rich Dad/Poor Dad, that came since. And while I scoffed at plenty of the allegories from ancient Babylon that presents the lessons, it was still a neat package. And at least ancient Babylon is a more interesting backdrop for teaching lessons about money than some suburban house flipper. I ended up liking it more at the end than I did at the beginning. It’s also a really interesting tie-in with that debt history book.
Yaro Starak (Founder/Entrepreneurs-Journey.com)
You get this one idea about your finances that you take forward like Richest Man in Babylon – you know, save 10% of your money every year and make sure it grows 10% every year, and that’s how you can become wealthy long-term, because of compounding – a simple idea.
Tiffany Aliche (Founder and CEO/The Budgetnista)
The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason - it reads like a Shakespearean play, but it has all of the tenets for a successful financial life.
Grant Cardone (Investor, Entrepreneur, Author)
This book emphasized the need to get reliable income streams and to never ever confuse your necessary expenses with the things you want. It’s a timeless classic that every school in America should have in their curriculum.
Recommended by Mark Moses (Founder, CEO/CEO Coaching International)
Source: Interview with Mark Moses
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Often recommended alongside
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (4 shared recommenders)
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter (2 shared recommenders)