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Book of the Week: The Richest Man in Babylon by: George S Clason3 min read

The ancient Babylonians were the first people to discover the universal laws of prosperity. In his classic bestseller, “The Richest Man in Babylon,” George S. Clason reveals their secrets for creating, growing, and preserving wealth.

Through these entertaining tales of merchants, tradesmen, and herdsmen, you’ll learn how to keep more out what you earn; get out of debt; put your money to work; attract good luck; choose wise investments; and safeguard a lasting fortune.

I first heard about this book about 25 years ago. At that time, I was a financial advisor and had the good fortune to participate in the 30 day personal power program conducted by Tony Robbins. On the tape on building wealth, Tony went on to share that one of the simplest, direct and most important books he read on creating and preserving wealth was The Richest Man in Babylon.
I read The Richest Man in Babylon and also thought it was an entertaining story that laid out the simple ingredients for building wealth. They were written as — save 10% of your money, give 10% away, use 10% to reduce your debt load, and live on the remaining 70%. Sounds simple, however many people don’t follow them.
The Richest Man in Babylon has 7 basic principles:
1) Start thy purse to fattening
2) Control thy expenditures
3) Make thy gold multiply
4) Guard thy treasures from loss
5) Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
6) Insure a future income
7) Increase thy ability to earn

 

The book also shares the Five Laws of Gold

  1. 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.In other words, a person should put away 10% of his or her income for the future as a bare minimum. This rule is so incredibly fundamental, yet only a small minority even bother to follow it.
  2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.If you invest your money well, your money will simply make more money. Again, a very simple and obvious rule, but one that many people never get to because they didn’t follow the first rule.
  3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.This rule encourages cautious investing, or at least encourages the investor to at least be informed. In today’s era, one can turn to the internet for plenty of investing information.
  4. 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 who are skilled in its keep.This goes hand in hand with the third rule: if you invest in stuff you don’t understand, you’re likely to lose money. Don’t buy the latest hot stock from your stockbroker; investigate and invest where you want.
  5. 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.The worst option is to invest in anything that promises absurdly good returns, or anything that you’re heavily pressured into buying. These investments are scams and won’t stand up to serious research.

The Richest Man in Babylon is an excellent book. 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. I would also recommend that if you have children this will be a great stocking stuffer for them to get a head start on creating wealth.