''The Richest Man in Babylon'' is a 1926

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

by George S. Clason that dispenses financial advice through a collection of

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

s set 4,097 years ago in ancient

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

. The book remains in print almost a century after the parables were originally published, and is regarded as a classic of personal financial advice.

Background

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". The content is from a series of

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s distributed by U.S.

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s and

insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

in 1920–24; the pamphlets were bound together and published as a book in 1926. The book is often referred to as a classic of personal financial advice, and appears in modern recommended reading lists on personal financial advice and wealth management, which has kept the book in print almost 90 years after its first edition with over 2 million copies sold. 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. The unusual structure of the book has inspired many modern derivative works providing further discussion and insights on the parables.

Structure

The original 1926 book groups the parables into general themes of advice, and particularly "The Seven Cures" and the "Five Laws of Gold". Some themes can overlap (e.g. The First Cure is similar to the First Law of Gold).

''Seven Cures For a Lean Purse''

''The Five Laws of Gold''

Other parables

The final chapters of the 1926 book cover individual parables: * The Gold Lender of Babylon. ''Better a little caution than a great regret.'' * The Walls of Babylon. ''We cannot afford to be without adequate protection.'' * The Camel Trader of Babylon. ''Where the determination is, a way can be found.'' There is then an unusual section where a contemporary archeologist reveals five clay Babylonian tablets (numbered I to V), whose inscriptions provide short parables. The final chapter in the 1926 book is on ''The Luckiest Man in Babylon''.

References

External links

*Full text of
The Richest Man in Babylon
' at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Richest Man In Babylon, The Finance books Parables 1926 books Penguin Books books