Author | George S. Clason |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Wealth management, Self-help |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | 1926 (first edition) |
Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
Pages | 144 |
ISBN | 978-0451205360 |
The Richest Man in Babylon is a 1926 book by George S. Clason that dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set 4,097 years earlier, in ancient Babylon. The book remains in print almost a century after the parables were originally published, and is regarded as a classic of personal financial advice.
The parables are told by a fictional Babylonian character called Arkad, a poor scribe who became the "richest man in Babylon". Included in Arkad's advice are the "Seven Cures" (or how to generate money and wealth), and the "Five Laws of Gold" (or how to protect and invest wealth). A core part of Arkad's advice is around "paying yourself first", "living within your means", "investing in what you know", the importance of "long-term saving", and "home ownership". [1] [2] [3]
The content is from a series of pamphlets distributed by U.S. banks and insurance companies in 1920–24; the pamphlets were bound together and published as a book in 1926. [4] [5] The book is often referred to as a classic of personal financial advice, [1] [2] and appears in modern recommended reading lists on personal financial advice and wealth management, [6] [7] [8] which has kept the book in print almost 90 years after its first edition with over 2 million copies sold. [9] [10]
Clason himself published an illustrated hardback edition in 1930 titled The Richest Man in Babylon and Other Stories which now sells for USD 1,250. [11]
The unusual structure of the book has inspired many modern derivative works providing further discussion and insights on the parables. [12] [13] [14]
The original 1926 book groups the parables into general themes of advice, and particularly "The Seven Cures" and the "Five Laws of Gold". [3] [15]
Some themes can overlap (e.g. The First Cure is similar to the First Law of Gold). [15]
The final chapters of the 1926 book cover individual parables: [15]
There is then an unusual section where a contemporary archeologist reveals five clay Babylonian tablets (numbered I to V), whose inscriptions provide short parables. [15]
The final chapter in the 1926 book is on The Luckiest Man in Babylon. [15]
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The book has become an inspirational classic to millions of readers and despite being set thousands of years ago in the historical city of Babylon. The stories and principles seem just as applicable today as they did in ancient times.
"Without wisdom, gold is quickly lost by those who have it, but with wisdom, gold can be secured by those who have it not," writes George S. Clason in his 1926 personal finance classic "The Richest Man in Babylon," a collection of parables based in the ancient city of Babylon.
Nearly every financial consultant knows of the classic book "The Richest Man in Babylon."
"Number 6: The Richest Man in Babylon
In 1926, he combined these essays into a book titled, The Richest Man in Babylon. To this day, that book remains in print.
Denver: The Clason Publishing Co, 1930. Rare first privately printed edition of George Samuel Clason's classic work. Octavo, original cloth over marbled boards, illustrated.