Book Review: The Richest Man in Babylon

• Author: George S Clason
• This is a classic from 1926. One of the things that I realize is that - the typical questions that one faces about money and savings have remained pretty much the same. If one were to extrapolate, since the book uses parables from Babylonian times, maybe we could say that the questions have been the same from those times.
• The concepts in the books are familiar ones.
• The language - especially dialogues between folks in the stories - is archaic. Will take some time to get used to.
• If the stories about the clay tablets and the contents mentioned, are true (I did not go and research further), then it is definitely fascinating education about the advanced civilization that seem to have thrived in Babylon.
• I am summarizing just some of the brief concepts here:
  • Put a minimum of 10% of your earnings as savings. Try to live your life within the 90% as thought that much is your earnings.
  • If you have earlier debt, after you keep aside your 10%, keep 20% of your earnings as debt clearance. Go and renegotiate with everyone you owe money to and establish some a credible new repayment schedule.
  • Gold (money) should multiply and not idle.
  • One should not be miserly either. Keep aside for saving and enjoy within the remaining means.
  • Work hard and increase your ability to learn. I found this interesting - because it explicitly states that strengthening your skills by working hard can increase how much you can earn.
  • Keep money aside for old age and dependents.
  • Lend money to credible folks whom you know will multiply that money for you. (Interest) - the story of the cattle and the ass, told by the money lender, is a pretty interesting one.
  • Wherever you are in the financial strata, you can bounce back, if you put your heart and sole into it. Story of the slave who later became a camel trader

It is a fairly easy to read and a good revision of familiar concepts. I had been wanting to read this book, which has been on my book shelf for long. The first few chapters might seem daunting, mainly because of the archaic language. But once, you chug through them, you will get used to them.