Book Summary : The Richest Man In Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon

Fickle Fate' is a vicious goddess who brings no permanent good to anyone.

Wealth is a power. With wealth many things are possible.

Learning was of two kinds: the one kind being the things we learned and knew, and the other being the training that taught us how to find out what we did not know?

Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings from one who is inexperienced in such matters, shall pay with his savings for proving the falsity of their opinions.” Saying this, he went away.

Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared

When you set a task for yourself, complete it.

Be careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks

Wealth grows wherever men exert energy

A part of what u earn is mine to keep

Invest thy treasure with greatest caution that it be not lost. Usurious rates of return are deceitful sirens that sing but to lure the unwary upon the rocks of loss and remorse.

Counsel with wise men. Seek the advice of men whose daily work is handling money.

Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much. If one-tenth of all you earn is as much as you can comfortably keep, be content to keep this portion. Live otherwise according to your income and let not yourself get niggardly and afraid to spend. Life is good and life is rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy

Seven Cures For a Lean Purse

One may not condemn a man for succeeding because he knows how. Neither may one with justice take away from a man what he has fairly earned, to give to men of less ability

The First Cure

Start thy purse to fattening.

There are many trades and labors at which men may earn coins. Each of the ways of earning is a stream of gold from which the worker doth divert by his labors a portion to his own purse

It is a law of the Gods that unto him who keepeth and spendeth not a certain part of all his earnings, shall gold come more easily.

The Second Cure

Control thy expenditures.

What each of us calls our 'necessary expenses' will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary.

Confuse not the necessary expenses with thy desires.

All men are burdened with more desires than they can gratify.

Just as weeds grow in a field wherever the farmer leaves space for their roots, even so freely do desires grow in men whenever there is a possibility of their being gratified. Thy desires are a multitude and those that thou mayest gratify are but few.

Let thy motto be one hundred percent of appreciated value demanded for each coin spent.

Engrave upon the clay each thing for which thou desireth to spend. Select those that are necessary and others that are possible through the expenditure of nine- tenths of thy income. Cross out the rest and consider them but a part of that great multitude of desires that must go unsatisfied and regret them not

Budget then thy necessary expenses. Touch not the one- tenth that is fattening thy purse. Let this be thy great desire that is being fulfilled. Keep working with thy budget, keep adjusting it to help thee. Make it thy first assistant in defending thy fattening purse

The purpose of a budget is to help thy purse to fatten. It is to assist thee to have thy necessities and, insofar as attainable, thy other desires. It is to enable thee to realize thy most cherished desires by defending them from thy casual wishes. Like a bright light in a dark cave thy budget shows up the leaks from thy purse and enables thee to stop them and control thy expenditures for definite and gratifying purposes.

Budget thy expenses that thou mayest have coins to pay for thy necessities, to pay for thy enjoyments and to gratify thy worthwhile desires without spending more than ninetenths of thy earnings."

The Third Cure

Make thy gold multiply.

A man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse; it is the income he buildeth, the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse and keepeth it always bulging. That is what every man desireth. That is what thou, each one of thee desireth; an income that continueth to come whether thou work or travel.

Put each coin to laboring that it may reproduce its kind even as the flocks of the field and help bring to thee income, a stream of wealth that shall flow constantly into thy purse.

The Fourth Cure

Guard thy treasures from loss

Misfortune loves a shining mark. Gold in a man’s purse must be guarded with firmness, else it be lost. Thus it is wise that we must first secure small amounts and learn to protect them before the Gods entrust us with larger.

The first sound principle of investment is security for thy principal. Is it wise to be intrigued by larger earnings when thy principal may be lost? I say not. The penalty of risk is probable loss. Study carefully, before parting with thy treasure, each assurance that it may be safely reclaimed. Be not misled by thine own romantic desires to make wealth rapidly.

Before thou loan it to any man assure thyself of his ability to repay and his reputation for doing so, that thou mayest not unwittingly be making him a present of thy hard-earned treasure.

Before thou entrust it as an investment in any field acquaint thyself with the dangers which may beset it.

Guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe, where it may be reclaimed if desirable, and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental. Consult with wise men. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable handling of gold. Let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investments.

The Fifth Cure

Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.

No man's family can fully enjoy life unless they do have a plot of ground wherein children can play in the clean earth and where the wife may raise not only blossoms but good rich herbs to feed her family.

To a man’s heart it brings gladness to eat the figs from his own trees and the grapes of his own vines. To own his own domicile and to have it a place he is proud to care for, putteth confidence in his heart and greater effort behind all his endeavors. Therefore, do I recommend that every man own the roof that sheltereth him and his.

Thus come many blessings to the man who owneth his own house. And greatly will it reduce his cost of living, making available more of his earnings for pleasures and the gratification of his desires

The fifth cure for a lean purse: Own thy own home

Owning your own house prevents from unnecessary expenses and gives you time to focus on other aspects of life.

The Sixth Cure

Insure a future income.

It behooves a man to make preparation for a suitable income in the days to come, when he is no longer young, and to make preparations for his family should he be no longer with them to comfort and support them.

The man who, because of his understanding of the laws of wealth, acquireth a growing surplus, should give thought to those future days. He should plan certain investments or provision that may endure safely for many years, yet will be available when the time arrives which he has so wisely anticipated

No man can afford not to insure a treasure for his old age and the protection of his family, no matter how prosperous his business and his investments may be.

The sixth cure for a lean purse. Provide in advance for the needs of thy growing age and the protection of thy family.

The Seventh Cure

Increase thy ability to earn.

Preceding accomplishment must be desire. Thy desires must be strong and definite.

The process by which wealth is accumulated: first in small sums, then in larger ones as a man learns and becomes more capable.

As a man perfecteth himself in his calling even so doth his ability to earn increase

The more of wisdom we know, the more we may earn. That man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded.

Always do the affairs of man change and improve because keen-minded men seek greater skill that they may better serve those upon whose patronage they depend

Such things as the following, a man must do if he respect himself:


"He must pay his debts with all the promptness within his power, not

purchasing that for which he is unable to pay.


"He must take care of his family that they may think and speak well of him.


"He must make a will of record that, in case the Gods call him, proper and honorable division of his property be accomplished.


"He must have compassion upon those who are injured and smitten by misfortune and aid them within reasonable limits. He must do deeds of thoughtfulness to those dear to him.

The seventh and last remedy for a lean purse is to cultivate thy own powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful, to so act as to
respect thyself

Meet the Goddess of Good Luck

In tilling the soil, in honest trading, in all of man's occupations, there is opportunity to make a profit upon his efforts and his transactions. Perhaps not all the time will he be rewarded because sometimes his judgment may be faulty and other times the winds and the weather may defeat his efforts. Yet, if he persists, he may usually expect to realize his profit. This is so because the chances of profit are always in his favor.

The spirit of procrastination is within all men. We desire riches; yet, how often when opportunity doth appear before us, that spirit of procrastination from within doth urge various delays in our acceptance. In listening to it we do become our own worst enemies.

No man can arrive at a full measure of success until he hath completely crushed the spirit of procrastination within him

Good luck can be enticed by accepting opportunity.

Those eager to grasp opportunities for their betterment, do attract the interest of the good goddess. She is ever anxious to aid those who please her. Men of action please her best

Action will lead thee forward to the successes thou dost desire.

The Five Laws of Gold

Gold is reserved for those who know its laws and abide by them

I. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earngs to create an estate for his future and that of his family.


II. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.


III. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.


IV. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.


V. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

There is no chain of disasters that will not come to an end.

Wealth that comes quickly goeth the same way.

Wealth that stayeth to give enjoyment and satisfaction to its owner comes gradually, because it is a child born of knowledge and persistent purpose.

Our wise acts accompany us through life to please us and to help us. Just as surely, our unwise acts follow us to plague and torment us.

In the strength of thine own desires is a magic power. Guide this power with thy knowledge of the five laws of gold and thou shall share the treasures of Babylon.

The Gold Lender of Babylon

If you desire to help thy friend, do so in a way that will not bring thy friend's burdens upon thyself

Humans in the throes of great emotions are not safe risks for the gold lender

Youth is ambitious. Youth would take short cuts to wealth and the desirable things for which it stands. To secure wealth quickly youth often borrows unwisely

Youth, never having had experience, cannot realize that hopeless debt is like a deep pit into which one may descend quickly and where one may struggle vainly for many days. It is a pit of sorrow and regrets where the brightness of the sun is overcast and night is made unhappy by restless sleeping.

What thy labor earns for thee and what is given thee for reward is thine own and no man can put an obligation upon thee to part with it unless it do be thy wish.

Then be not swayed by foolish sentiments of obligation to trust thy treasure to any person. If thou wouldst help thy family or thy friends, find other ways than risking the loss of thy treasure

Be not swayed by the fantastic plans of impractical men who think they see ways to force thy gold to make earnings unusually large. Such plans are the creations of dreamers unskilled in the safe and dependable laws of trade. Be conservative in what thou expect it to earn that thou mayest keep and enjoy thy treasure. To hire it out with a promise of usurious returns

is to invite loss

Seek to associate thyself with men and enterprises whose success is established that thy treasure may earn liberally under their skillful use and be guarded safely by their wisdom and experience.

Before thou let any piece of gold leave thy pouch to be sure that thou hast a safe way to pull it back again.

Better a little caution than a great regret

The Walls of Babylon

The walls of Babylon were an outstanding example of man’s need and desire for protection.


This desire is inherent in the human race. It is just as strong today as it ever was, but we have developed broader and better plans to accomplish the same purpose.


In this day, behind the impregnable walls of insurance, savings accounts and dependable investments, we can guard ourselves against the unexpected tragedies that may enter any door and seat themselves before any fireside.

We cannot afford to be without adequate protection

The Camel Trader of Babylon

The hungrier one becomes, the clearer one's mind works— also the more sensitive one becomes to the odors of food.

He who spends more than he earns is sowing the winds of needless self-indulgence from which he is sure to reap the whirlwinds of trouble and humiliation

How can you call yourself a free man when your weakness has brought you to this? If a man has in himself the soul of a slave will he not become one no matter what his birth, even as water seeks its level? If a man has within him the soul of a free man, will he not become respected and honored in his own

city in spite of his misfortune?

No man is otherwise who cannot respect himself and no man can respect himself who does not repay honest debts.

The soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to be solved and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines, 'What can I do who am but a slave?

Where the determination is, the way can be found

The Clay Tablets From Babylon

That man who keepeth in his purse both gold and silver that he need not spend is good to his family and loyal to his king.


The man who hath but a few coppers in his purse is indifferent to his family and indifferent to his king.


But the man who hath naught in his purse is unkind to his family and is disloyal to his king, for his own heart is bitter.

Therefore, the man who wisheth to achieve must have coin that he may keep to jingle in his purse, that he have in his heart love for his family and loyalty to his king