George S. Clason’s 1926 work “The Richest Man In Babylon” presents the author and serial entrepreneur’s work about how to avoid losing, acquiring, and multiplying money. The following is a review of this notable literary work.
The Richest Man In Babylon: Review
In the 1920s, a number of insurance companies and certain banks distributed an edited anthology by George S. Clason in pamphlet form. The idea of these freely distributed works was to promote thrifty expenditures and the ability to increase financial success.
Was The Richest Man In Babylon any good though? It might be worth reading if you are interested in personal finance basics as told through Jacobean English and parables. Fans of Who Moved My Cheese and The Alchemist would probably feel a particular gravity to this work. But if the “-eths” and “thys” are not your cup of tea, you could read the 32–page contemporary rewrite of the work by Charles Conrad.
If you’d rather not read either one but are still interested in some of the key insights it offers, we invite you to read this short summation, saving you time and money. It is after all what this book is about, right?
The Richest Man In Babylon
A Summary Of The Richest Man In Babylon
Wealth accumulation isn’t challenging, but it does carry two unyielding conditions to be possible:
- You have to want money (it has to be one of your life’s priorities)
- You have to understand it (money and wealth)
Luckily, not only are these basic concepts not tough to understand, they have remained the same since the dawn of currency. The Richest Man In Babylon repeats itself quite a few times, but it is to try to answer 3 questions that underline its very premise.
- How do I get money?
- How do I avoid losing my money?
- How can I multiply my money?
Those questions constitute the basic philosophy of Clason’s writing. Therefore, his book’s summary that follows is also structured in a similarly delineated manner. Now read on to find out the secrets of wealth and even get a taste for some great quotes from The Richest Man In Babylon at the end. For more material like this, you can check out Clason’s other works including 5 Laws of Gold and 7 Cures For A Lean Purse. Now, let’s get started on the summary.
How Do I Get Money?
There is one core secret to acquiring money: working for it. This is essentially comprised of 3 steps.
- Step 1: Get a job and earn money for a living. Procrastination will never bring in funds.
- Step 2: Study your craft, practice, and become better at what you do, thus bolstering your earning power.
- Step 3: Set up a pension fund in order to keep getting money for when you are no longer ably fit to work.
See, it’s not overly complicated!
How Can I Avoid Losing My Money?
There are two ways to keep your money:
- Don’t spend the money
- Don’t invest it poorly
Let’s break those down in a bit more detail. In terms of not spending money, position your finances first. However, you may have some level of debt. If you do:
- Before you put money towards paying off debts, set aside 10% of your income.
- Repay what you can of your debt to your creditors with 20%
- Retain 70% of your earnings to live off of
Most importantly, you will need to curb expenses. To do so, you need to know what you need to spend money on, and the necessity of things, as well as staying cautious to not spend needlessly.
- List all of your current expenses
- Weed out things that are not essential and are more of a luxury
- What are things you think you need but can live without? Remove those.
- Don’t engage in spending based on any expensive habits
Losing money to bad investments is about knowing what you are doing. While some of the following may not be possible to avoid entirely, the following precautions should be exercised to their maximum.
- Avoid getting into debt
- Do not take on the financial burdens of others at your own expense
- Do not provide money to others with a repayment assurance or guarantee
- Diversify and insure your assets and income to protect it
- Invest only in those things you understand fully
- Avoid get-rich-quick schemes
- Put money only into investments that pay out cash dividends
If you don’t spend all of your earnings and dodge bad investments, the amount of money you will save should grow. Once you begin to see this happening, you will now need to think about how to multiply your money.
How Can I Multiply My Money?
There are 4 methods of exponentially increasing your wealth:
- Working Hard: This might seem very obvious, but hard work doesn’t just pay off financially on a regular, it also opens good opportunities and attracts the right people.
- Positive Peer Pressure: Surround yourself with others who are eager to earn, comprehend, and actually make good money. Let their attitudes and accomplishments drive you to be your best.
- Get Financial Advice From Experts: Family, coworkers, and friends most certainly mean well, and even have your best interest at heart. But in financial advice, they are rarely experts. So if you are looking for sound financial solutions, you should seek out investment and financial advice only from those with a lot of expertise in that arena.
- Stick To The Money-Making Plan: The plan to acquire money should never have a true endpoint. Keep earning money, don’t spend it needlessly, make good investment decisions, and appreciate compounding power. As long as you trust in what you know instead of what you see, time will accommodate the rest.
The Next Steps Of The Richest Man In Babylon
There it is, the wisdom imparted in The Richest Man In Babylon. If the original still interests you, we encourage you to read it. If you want other great reading material for money-making, check out TaoL’s The 35 Best Books On Money too. In the meantime, lets us impart some of Clason’s top helpful quotes from his books to help drive you toward your financial success.
The 7 Cures For A Lean Purse
- “Start thy purse to fattening” (Put 10% of your annual income aside.)
- “Control thy expenditures” (Spend only what you need.)
- “Make thy gold multiply” (Invest intelligently and compound those investments.)
- “Guard thy treasures from loss” (If something sounds too good or too quick to be true, it probably is. Be wary of get-rich-quick methods, focusing instead on studying and understanding your investments.
- “Make thy dwelling a profitable investment” (While this goes against personal finance writers of the contemporary age, you should own your home.)
- “Ensure future income” (Purchase life insurance and set up a pension.)
- “Improve thy ability to earn” (Hone the skills that earn your money and make wise investments.)
The 5 Laws Of Gold
- “Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.” (Put 10% of your income aside.)
- “Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.” (Make your money work for you.)
- “Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.” (Have a long-term outlook on your finances, which requires patience.)
- “Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.” (Make sure that you thoroughly understand your investments.)
- “Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.” (Don’t fall victim to get-rich schemes)
The Richest Man In Babylon: Conclusion
The Richest Man in Babylon” is a timeless classic that provides valuable insights into personal finance and wealth management. The book presents a series of parables set in ancient Babylon that offer practical advice on how to accumulate wealth, manage finances, and achieve financial independence.
The key takeaways from the book include the importance of saving at least 10% of one’s income, investing wisely, avoiding debt, seeking expert advice, and living within one’s means. By following these principles, anyone can build a solid financial foundation and achieve long-term financial success.
Are you ready to take action towards becoming a millionaire? Check out our article on “Millionaire Mind Action Steps, What You Need to Know.” This article will provide practical steps to help you develop the mindset and habits of successful millionaires. As you read “The Richest Man in Babylon Summary by George S. Clason,” keep these action steps in mind and begin to apply them to your own life. Click the link to learn more and start your journey towards wealth.
Frequently asked questions:
who is the richest man in osun state?
there is no verifiable information available regarding the richest man in Osun state. Wealth is a private matter and not all individuals disclose their net worth. Additionally, information about the financial status of individuals is not always accurate or up to date.
who is the richest man in okija?
There is no clear answer to who the richest man in Okija is as wealth and net worth are usually private information. However, Okija is known for its successful businessmen, including the founder of Innoson Motors, Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, who is one of the wealthiest men in Nigeria.
Hello, my name is Idammah, and I am the founder of Wolfionaire.com, a personal development, and finance blog focused on motivation, success, and wealth. I am obsessed with studying the world's wealthiest individuals and learning about their path to success. I believe anyone can achieve their financial goals with the right mindset and strategies, and I hope to inspire and empower my readers to pursue their own path to success.
