The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing household  finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. By basing these parables in ancient times, but involving situations that modern people can understand and identify with, the author presents these lessons as timeless wisdom that is as relevant today as it was back then.

The book began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets. Banks and insurance companies began to distribute these pamphlets, and the most famous ones were eventually compiled into this book. It was most recently reissued by Signet in 2004, and an updated version (using modern English instead of "King James" language) was issued by BN Publishing in March 2007. According to the 2002 edition book cover, more than two million copies have been sold.


Ahead of any person lies their future with ambitions and dreams. To fulfil those ambitions and realize those dreams, people need to learn how to be successful with money.

The basic principles of effective money management are: 

1. Save at least 10-percent of all that you earn for an investment fund for the future. 
2. Learn to live on 90-percent or less of your income. 
3. Invest your accumulated capital into projects that will provide a safe, steady income, taking full advantage of compounding of the interest received.  
4. Invest only in areas in which you have expertise or with people who are experienced. 
5. Buy the house in which you live so you don’t waste any money on rent. 
6. Have a realistic insurance program 
7. Always keep working at various ways and means of increasing your income. 

The Man Who Desired Gold

The key principle at the very foundation of any program designed to generate wealth is at least one-tenth of all that a person earns is theirs to keep.

Anyone with a desire to accumulate wealth and put it to good use requires two things:

Time

All men actually have this in abundance, but only a few put it to use making themselves wealthy. Instead of looking for constructive, useful ways to apply the resource of time, many people fill their lives with diverse activities which simply help them to pass the time.

Study

Seven Cures for a Lean Purse

1. Start thy purse to fattening
2. Control thy expenditure
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 Seven Ways of Filling Your Bag 


2. Control your expenses What we call obligatory expenses grow in proportion of our income, if we don´t do something to avoid this. Don´t confuse your desire with your needs.

3. Make your gold fructify Make your gold work for you, then its sons and the sons of this sons. Investing your gold: Loans, oportunities. Gold multiplies fast.

4. Protect your gold from any lost If you have got gold, you will be tempted to invest in any atracctive proyect. Asure your capital. Its not true romantics make a fast fortune. Ask the wise people about what they know.

5. Make your property a rental investment If you can eat grapes from your vineyard and have a nice house its inspires you to finish your duties.

6. Asure future incomes Foresee some incomes for your old age and your family. For this porpuse you can buy lands and houses.

7. Increase your hability to adquire goods More knowledge we have, more money we earn.

The Five Laws of Gold 

1.Gold comes easy and in greater cuantites to the man who safes the tenth part of his income for his future and family.

2.Gold works with speed and diligence for the wise owner that finds for it a productive use.

3.Gold mantains itself under the protection of prudent persons who invests with the counsils of wise people.

4.Gold scapes from people who invest without a pourpose in places that are not familiar.

5.Gold runs away from people who force gold to imposible profits and follows the seductive counsils of impostors.

Meet the Goddess of Good Luck

Main Idea Good luck comes to the person who accepts opportunity.

 

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Product Description

THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLING CLASSIC Read by millions, this timeless book holds the key to success-in the secrets of the ancients. Based on the famous "Babylonian principles," it's been hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift and financial planning.
ACHIEVE PERSONAL WEALTH...
This celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of-and a solution to-personal money problems.This is the original classic that reveals the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money, and making money earn even more money. Simply put: the original money-management favorite is back!

Customer Reviews

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I first heard about this book 17 years ago. At that time, I was in a direct sales company and had the good fortune to attend a seminar conducted by a businessman named Jim Rohn.Mr. Rohn talked about his early mentor, a man named Earl Schoff and went on to tell us how Mr. Schoff turned him on to personal development and pointed him to the right books to read. One of the most important books, said Rohn was The Richest Man in Bablyon.
Rohn had made and lost a fortune but came back and made another fortune and gave credit to the principles in The Richest Man in Bablyon for helping him accomplish that feat.
I read The Richest Man in Bablyon and have to admit, I hated it! I thought it was stupid, like feel good stuff that has no substance. When ever friends came over, I hid the book. I felt so ridiculous.
But Mr. Rohns words of wisdom kept echeoing in my mind. So I read it over and over untill the principles were imbedded into my conscious and subconsious mind.
Soon, after the fifth reading, the the principles became habits for me. My wealth esculated at a very rapid rate. I was no longer wasting money. I was now investing the first 10% of my income, tithing 10% and investing another 10% in capital like no load mutuals, real estate, discounted mortgages, tax liens and my own business.
The Richest Man in Bablyon has 7 basic principles:
1) Start thy purse to fattening - save/invest
2) Control thy expenditures - watch out for self serving brokers
3) Make thy gold mutiply - use powerful investments
4) Guard thy treasures from loss - watch out for brokers with
their hot tips.
5) Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment - rental properties, your own home---but stay within your means.
6) Insure a future income - do work that you love to do. Become excellent at it.
7) Increase thy ability to earn - education never stops. Keep reading good books like this one, The Millionaire Next Door, Rich Dad Poor Dad and so on.
The Richest Man in Bablyon is an excellent book. Although 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.
George Samuel Clason was born in Louisiana, Missouri, on November 7, 1874. He attended the University of Nebraska and served in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. Beginning a long career in publishing, he founded the Clason Map Company of Denver, Colorado and published the first road atlas of the United States and Canada. In 1926, he issued the first in a series of pamphlets on thrift and financial success, using parables set in ancient Bablyon to make each of his points.
These were distributed in large quantities by banks and insurance companies and became familiar to millions, the most famous being "The Richest Man in Bablyon," the parable which has impacted the lives of millions of people. These "Babylonian Parables" have become a modern inspiritional classic.
The Richest Man in Babylon is must reading for anyone who wants to achieve maximum financial success. Highly recommended.

I first read "Richest Man in Bablyon bac in 1975. At first I was taken back by it's compact size and story book style. This book should be read by everyone from grade school to the college level students, employees, executives and the self employed. In todays's society, where people spend most if not all of what they make, this book is mre valuable than ever. Other books I would recommend are; "The Millionaire next Door" by Dr. Stanley et all, "More Wealth without Risk" and "Financial Self-Defense" by Charles Givens. Great book. A must read for anyone seeking financial independence,
I am continually amazed at how a book so small can contain so much content and be so powerful. This book should be mandatory reading beginning at the grade school level through college and should be given as a gift right along with a diploma.I took the advice of acde1034@yahoo.com who recommended 'The Millionaire next Door" and "More Weath without Risk" and bought and have read both. Both of these books are in the same status as "The Richest Man in Bablyon" and should also be required reading by anyone who is serious about their financial future. I am now giving "Richest Man in Bablyon" as a accessory gift to a cash gift at weddings and graduations.

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Kitano Gempo, abbot of Eihei temple, was ninety-two years old when he passed away in the year 1933. He endeavored his whole life not to be attached to anything. As a wandering mendicant when he was twenty he happened to meet a traveler who smoked tobacco. As they walked together down a mountain road, they stopped under a tree to rest. The traveler offered Kitano a smoke, which he accepted, as he was very hungry at the time.

"How pleasant this smoking is," he commented. The other gave him an extra pipe and tobacco and they parted.

Kitano felt: "Such pleasant things may disturb meditation. Before this goes too far, I will stop now." So he threw the smoking outfit away.

When he was twenty-three years old he studied I-King, the profoundest doctrine of the universe. It was winter at the time and he needed some heavy clothes. He wrote his teacher, who lived a hundred miles away, telling him of his need, and gave the letter to a traveler to deliver. Almost the whole winter passed and neither answer nor clothes arrived. So Kitano resorted to the prescience of I-King, which also teaches the art of divination, to determine whether or not his letter had miscarried. He found that this had been the case. A letter afterwards from his teacher made no mention of clothes.

"If I perform such accurate determinative work with I-King, I may neglect my meditation," felt Kitano. So he gave up this marvelous teaching and never resorted to its powers again.

When he was twenty-eight he studied Chinese calligraphy and poetry. He grew so skillful in these arts that his teacher praised him. Kitano mused: "If I don't stop now, I'll be a poet, not a Zen teacher." So he never wrote another poem.

Matajuro Yagyu was the son of a famous swordsman. His father, believing that his son's work was too mediocre to anticipate mastership, disowned him.

So Matajuro went to Mount Futara and there found the famous swordsman Banzo. But Banzo confirmed the father's judgment. "You wish to learn swordsmanship under my guidance?" asked Banzo. "You cannot fulfill the requirements."

"But if I work hard, how many years will it take to become a master?" persisted the youth.

"The rest of your life," replied Banzo.

"I cannot wait that long," explained Matajuro. "I am willing to pass through any hardship if only you will teach me. If I become your devoted servant, how long might it be?"

"Oh, maybe ten years," Banzo relented.

"My father is getting old, and soon I must take care of him," continued Matajuro. "If I work far more intensively, how long would it take me?"

"Oh, maybe thirty years," said Banzo.

"Why is that?" asked Matajuro. "First you say ten and now thirty years. I will undergo any hardship to master this art in the shortest time!"

"Well," said Banzo, "in that case you will have to remain with me for seventy years. A man in such a hurry as you are to get results seldom learns quickly."

"Very well," declared the youth, understanding at last that he was being rebuked for impatience, "I agree."

Matajuro was told never to speak of fencing and never to touch a sword. He cooked for his master, washed the dishes, made his bed, cleaned the yard, cared for the garden, all without a word of swordmanship.

Three years passed. Still Matajuro labored on. Thinking of his future, he was sad. He had not even begun to learn the art to which he had devoted his life.

But one day Banzo crept up behind him and gave him a terrific blow with a wooden sword.

The following day, when Matajuro was cooking rice, Banzo again sprang upon him unexpectedly.

After that, day and night, Matajuro had to defend himself from unexpected thrusts. Not a moment passed in any day that he did not have to think of the taste of Banzo's sword.

He learned so rapidly he brought smiles to the face of his master. Matajuro became the greatest swordsman in the land.

A Zen master named Gisan asked a young student to bring him a pail of water to cool his bath.

The student brought the water and, after cooling the bath, threw on to the ground the little that was left over.

"You dunce!" the master scolded him. "Why didn't you give the rest of the water to the plants? What right have you to waste even one drop of water in this temple?"

The young student attained Zen in that instant. He changed his name to Tekisui, which means a drop of water.

Zen teachers train their young pupils to express themselves. Two Zen temples each had a child protégé. One child, going to obtain vegetables each morning, would meet the other on the way.

"Where are you going?" asked the one.

"I am going wherever my feet go," the other responded.

This reply puzzled the first child who went to his teacher for help. "Tomorrow morning," the teacher told him, "when you meet that little fellow, ask him the same question. He will give you the same answer, and then you ask him: 'Suppose you have no feet, then where are you going?' That will fix him."

The children met again the following morning.

"Where are you going?" asked the first child.

"I am going wherever the wind blows," answered the other.

This again nonplussed the youngster, who took his defeat to his teacher.

"Ask him where he is going if there is no wind," suggested the teacher.

The next day the children met a third time.

"Where are you going?" asked the first child.

"I am going to the market to buy vegetables," the other replied.

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

When Bankei was preaching at Ryumon temple, a Shinshu priest, who believed in salvation through repetition of the name of the Buddha of Love, was jealous of his large audience and wanted to debate with him.

Bankei was in the midst of a talk when the priest appeared, but the fellow made such a disturbance that Bankei stopped his discourse and asked about the noise.

"The founder of our sect," boasted the priest, "had such miraculous powers that he held a brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his attendant held up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida through the air. Can you do such a wonderful thing?"

Bankei replied lightly: "Perhaps your fox can perform that trick, but that is not the manner of Zen. My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink."

Zengetsu, a Chinese master of the T'ang dynasty, wrote the following advice for his pupils:

Living in the world yet not forming attachments to the dust of the world is the way of a true Zen student.

When witnessing the good action of another encourage yourself to follow his example. Hearing of the mistaken action of another, advise yourself not to emulate it.

Even though alone in a dark room, be as if you were facing a noble guest. Express your feelings, but become no more expressive than your true nature.

Poverty is your treasure. Never exchange it for an easy life.

A person may appear a fool and yet not be one. He may only be guarding his wisdom carefully.

Virtues are the fruit of self-discipline and do not drop from heaven of themselves as does rain or snow.

Modesty is the foundation of all virtues. Let your neighbors discover you before you make yourself known to them.

A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldom displayed and of great value.

To a sincere student, every day is a fortunate day. Time passes but he never lags behind. Neither glory nor shame can move him.

Censure yourself, never another. Do not discuss right and wrong.

Some things, though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since the value of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need to crave immediate appreciation.

Live with cause and leave results to the great law of the universe. Pass each day in peaceful contemplation.

A rich man asked Sengai to write something for the continued prosperity of his family so that it might be treasured from generation to generation.

Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote: "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies."

The rich man became angry. "I asked you to write something for the happiness of my family! Why do you make such a joke of this?"

"No joke is intended," explained Sengai. "If before you yourself die your son should die, this would grieve you greatly. If your grandson should pass away before your son, both of you would be broken-hearted. If your family, generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, it will be the natural course of life. I call this real prosperity."