The Richest Man in Babylon

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Summary: The Richest Man in Babylon
Review: Title: The Richest Man in Babylon
ISBN: 045116520
Author: George S. Clason

Babylon, lying near Euphrates river, was once a flourishing kingdom. The Babylonians had great achievements in agriculture and construction and they knew secrets of becoming a rich.

You may think the secrets are cliche or even common sense, like spending-wise, investing in premises, don't lend money to unexperienced proprietors etc.. But take an example, like investing in premises, there're at least two benefit to us. First, for the hard-workers, they'll have revenue from rent; secondly, for the less hard-workers, this involuntary kind of saving is definitely benefitial to them.

People in modern society spend too much valuable time in day-dreaming to be a millioniare while doing nothing pratical and forget about hard-working and saving, two very important characteristics of being a rich. Yet saving time and improve own knowledge are important too, on my view, accumulating capital, seeking advice from experienced investors and investing in items that we know well is the rule of success. So we must not spend than we earned, too eager to upgrade our living standards and having a shortsighted financial outlook of our own country.

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Summary: Good basic personal finance.
Review: Some good tips on building a nest egg and paying off debt.

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Summary: Changed my life
Review: .......which is a pretty strong statement, but it's so very true. I recommend everybody read this little gem of a book that's filled with truth and is essential for any "type A" personality. It's a cute biblical story that is made up of serious life-lessons aimed towards properity.........NOT just money, but anything pertaining to self; ie: time, love, health, savings, possessions, income, etc. I used to own and run 3 retail stores with subcontractors, sales clerks, bookkeepers, service routes, product education seminars, on, and on and on. After reading this book, I realized that my time and health is as valuable as the money brought in, which a lot of times was paid out for overhead. I still own the same company, but I've geared WAY DOWN. It was a hard decision to make and I prayed real hard about what and how to do. We actually now live in a bigger house, enjoy each other more, and are a lot happier about life.......Amazing what reading a tiny little book can do for a life! The point of this story is to work smart and to put yourself first-----Oh, I still hate to say that-----because that's how you'll be more prosperous and more helpful to your family, friends, and all others.

It's a short, quick book and I highly recommend reading it.

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Summary: The Richest Man in Babylon
Review: This book was orignally given to me as a gift when I was a child by my father. My father told me that that within it's pages were the secrets that had made him a wealthy man. As a child I read the book and tossed it to the side.

Later, my father died at the age of 52, and left my mother with enough money invested that she never needed to work.

It took me a while, but I finally picked up the book again. I've started to apply it's simple rules to my life and have found that even though they seem too simple to make much of an impact... they do work!

Now I am giving copies of this book to anyone who I think will read and benefit from it... just like my father did.

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Summary: Timeless if sometimes tedious
Review: An excellent precursor to "The millionaire next door", Clason uses of parables set in ancient Babylon to illustrate methods for accumulating wealth. Start with "pay yourself first", which means saving should precede consumtion. Might be better for a younger audience, with its Arabian Nights feel. For a modern, empirical explanation of the wealth-building process, see "Millionaire".

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Summary: Simple and Effective
Review: I must admit that the rebel in me cringes that I bought and read this book, but you know, I'm following its principles anyway and I am pretty amazed at how my debt has started to melt away and that I have a nice little savings account. My father works at a bank and scoffed at the simplicity of the book when I showed it to him. But now he is designing a financial planning program at work and was partly inspired by the book!

What I really like is that it has helped me to feel more secure, just knowing this powerful little formula. You don't have to be a millionaire to feel wealthy and secure.

This just seems like one of those books that everyone should read.

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Summary: Only for the Financially Challenged
Review: Before reading Clason's The Richest Man in Babylon, I had high expectations. How could I not given the lofty Amazon rating (5 stars strong with many reviewers) and the book jacket's promise as "the book that holds the key to personal wealth"? This book does not disappoint

I would recommend the book because the parables do help describe Clason's points in an engaging way.

To help in your purchase decision, the following is a summary of the book's contents:

(1) Save a portion of your income (Put away X% of your income every paycheck)

(2) Control your expenditures (Don't spend more than you need to)

(3) Invest your money (If you are unable to invest effectively, get someone else to invest your money)

(4) Purchase a home

(5) Increase the amount of money you earn

(6) Protect your wealth against losses

In effect, the book can be summarized by the following statement:

Maximize your wealth inflows (Points: 1, 3, 4, 5) while minimizing your wealth outflows (Points: 2, 6).

If this all seems very basic to you, then this is NOT the book for you. If you scratched your head on one of the above points, I would get the book.

Paul Erdos

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Summary: GOOD ADVICE, BUT PRIMARILY OLD-FASHIONED COMMON SENSE!
Review: To the book's credit, it was worth reading; much of the content was based around good, old-fashioned common sense - hard work, investing, spending wisely and saving for the future. Great advice, but nothing unique that will set the world on fire either. I had hoped the book would depart some deeper knowledge, something that would be so enlightening to the reader one could say,"Ah, now I have learned a signigicant lesson, something of value." Alas, that did not happen.

The major drawback to the book was simply its length - far to short. The book is extremely elementary and if that is what you are looking for this is it. However, if you are searching for a book with more a deeper meaning, one that can be used as a learning tool particularly in teaching teens the value of a dollar, I highly recommend, "Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Indepndence" by Dr. John E. Whitecomb (a five star plus!)

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Summary: It's your money-READ ON:
Review: This is a great book for anyone who would like to be rich, and recognizes the consumerism programming that modern day media forces down our throats. It reiterates common sense viewpoints about the handling of money that you probably already know, but just need to be reminded of.

The book is an entertaining read and not too 'heady'. Although it is not a how-to book, nor does it provide any specific 'do this' ways to gain and hold onto more of your money, you will find yourself contemplating your money and making more of the 'right' decisions about it.

Read this book, live long and prosper!

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Summary: A Timeless Classic.
Review: George Clason's "The Richest Man in Babylon" is just as much a revelation today as it must have been over half a century ago when it was first written. In its pages we are admonished to save, invest, work hard, and continually better ourselves by increasing our ability to earn.

Much of "The Richest Man in Babylon" may seem like good old-fashioned common sense, and it is. What makes this book so special, though, is the beautiful and inspirational manner in which it was written. If you are a fan of Og Mandino's work then you will be right at home with "The Richest Man in Babylon."

Very few books are still in print and widely read more than 50 years after they are first published. When they are, it must be for a reason. I seriously doubt that anyone will be reading "Rich Dad/Poor Dad" in 50 years.

Buy this book, it's inexpensive and easily read in one day. Give it to your children and grandchildren. By doing so, you will be giving them something far more valuable than gold: You will be giving them knowledge. As Benjamin Franklin once said: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."