the richest man in babylon

my youngest brother patrick has the mind of an entrepreneur. when he was about to graduate from high school last year, i knew quickly what to give him for a graduation present: my trade paperback copy of the richest man in babylon.

my goal was to help cultivate his personal finances side, to encourage him to handle and perceive money in ways i wish i might have at his age.  a resourceful, thoughtful, and driven boy, i knew this gift made sense and would not go to waste.

the richest man in babylon by george s. clason is one of my favorite books on personal finance. it is a simple, straightforward, entertaining, and common-sense read about how to optimally manage your finances. the ideas are not necessarily novel, appealing to our common sense or ‘oh yeaaa!’ moments. the language is not challenging, thus readable by readers of most ages.

the story takes the form of an anecdote, through the eyes of a few key characters.  the initial focus is on one individual man named arkad, who is beseeched by the king of babylon to teach the ’secrets’ of his money success to fellow townsmen so that babylon might become a wealthy city.  the powerful idea behind this is:

the way to acquire riches is available to anyone who wants to know about it, because the way can be learned.

arkad presents the lessons one a day for a week.  behind the lectures is a man who shares knowledge based on his own personal experience from poverty to wealth, through failures and successes.  the ideas are far from complex — arkad presents them as simple and definitely doable.  it is just a matter of being open to, absorbing, understanding, embracing, and using those ideas.

the lessons (or ‘cures’ as he calls them) that he covers, reworded, are as follows:

1. pay yourself (1/10th of your earnings) first
2. watch your expenditures
3. make your money work for you
4. protect your money, ie. don’t gamble
5. buy your home, don’t rent
6. plan for your retirement
7. improve yourself, skills, knowledge, abilities to increase your marketability

arkad as the main character or used in reference by other characters covers about half to 3/4 of the book.  the remaining chapters of the book offer parables of other characters who also had humble beginnings.  there are dabasir and sharri (sp?) who both used to be slaves at some point earlier in their youths, only to rise to wealth by way of hard work and determination.  or of rodan, who consults a money lender to acquire wisdom on the lending of money to others.

i found other tidbits of wisdom spread thoughout the story, such as:

• don’t take advice about something from someone who doesn’t have the knowledge about that
• you may not necessarily succeed the first time
• if you fail, learn from your mistakes and try again
• if you are determined enough, you will succeed
• enjoy work, and things will pay off for you later on
• greatness often comes with humble beginnings
• help others in need who have helped you
• kindness begets kindness

in the last few pages, the author tells us a little about the history and fall of what once used to be babylon.

the story is so simple and entertaining, and may take a reader only a few hours to read.  however, i would recommend that s/he read a lesson (chapter) a day or every few days.  in this way, the reader can allow for some time to absorb the latest idea, and think about how to implement it in his/her life as soon as possible.  then, take the necessary steps, and move on to the next lesson when satisfied and ready.

however, this may be challenging, as the stories may be so intriguing it may be hard to stop yourself from finishing the book in one sitting!

one thing about the language: the characters’ speech is in olden-days speak, with ‘thou’ and ‘thine’ and ‘thy’s.  this may or may not get tiring, but it shouldn’t confuse what they are trying to say.

i would highly recommend this book to everyone, even if personal finance is only remotely in your circle of interests!  i believe everyone can take away even one small thing from it.  many of the lessons are not necessarily limited in their application, but may be useful in other facets of your life.

i would particularly recommend this book to young people starting out in life, in young adulthood. (the baby brother was 17 at the time.)  if personal finance was a class taught in US high schools, this would most likely be on the reading list (or at least it should be) !

when i last checked in with the baby brother a few months later, he said he had begun the book and was enjoying it.

find a copy of this book at your local public library, or purchase a used copy online or elsewhere to refer to it over and over again in the future!

have you read this book? if so, what did you think of it? any favorite lessons from it ?

do you have a favorite personal finance book? if so, what is it, and why ?

what other personal finance books might you recommend?