The Richest Man in Babylon

Written by George Clason

Narrated by Grover Gardner and Denis Waitley

In this program, Denis Waitley narrates the classic book written by GeorgeS. Claison in 1926, which offers financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing their personal affairs, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom, as relevant in the 21st Century as they were in antiquity.. As a result of this book, the use of parables to impart timeless wisdom that can be applied to present-day challenges in living successfully became popular, as evidenced by global best-sellers The Greatest Salesman in the World, The One-Minute Manager and other recent self-help books.
A recognized pioneer in the personal development movement, Denis Waitley is one of the most respected and listened to voices on high performance achievement. The author of 18 non-fiction books, his audio album, “The Psychology of Winning,” is the all-time, best-selling program on self-mastery. The Richest Man in Babylon, according to narrator Denis Waitley, greatly influenced his understanding of the cornerstones upon which to build financial security. A banquet of priceless knowledge on capital accumulation, both philosophical and practical.
What you will learn:
• Part of all you earn is yours to keep
• Seven cures for a lean purse
• The five laws of gold
• The goddess of good luck
• The secrets of the 5 clay tablets
• How Babylon’s history applies to today’s world

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Jul 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781469002880

George Clason

George Samuel Clason (1874-1957) 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. His "Babylonian parables" have become a modern inspirational classic.

[Bandex Bandex · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Life changing for me. Forever grateful. I recommend this to each and everyone seeking a responsible life of success

[Danila Lincod · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not the full edition of the book. But the content primarily evolves around the 10% saving.

[Rose Effah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It teaches a lot about finances and can be applied to day

[Sangeeth Prakasam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The principles in this book are so simple and easily followed. I used this knowledge from the book from when I first laid my hands on it, to guide my financial planning. It has done wonders for me and I hope to pass this on to my children from early on in life to become early wealth accumulators.

[Ernest Sage · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So many lessons learnt from this great book. Wisdom personified.

[O. Gooding · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First audio book that I've listened to. Good choice! Will be practicing what I've learnt.

[DEBORAH · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

starting today, note, I wish I heard this when I was young!!! better late than get old in dire straits!

[Josue Inurreta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s a classic For anyone looking to improve their finances

[Marivaldo Sena · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This classic helps us to manage our resolve for building a comfortable future by just changing our mentality and discipline to achieve our goals. The most important lesson is: "Pay yourself first." and "make your money to work for you." With the earnings of your earnings, build an army of slaves, that is, make your investments to work for you tirelessly and, as if they were a family, have children and their children should also work for you until you have no debts and a sufficient army to live comfortably.

[rscottm182gmailcom · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very irritating book. There is some good advice here around personal money management, but this 100-year-old book is a PIA to read. Apparently trying to give the effect of ancient wisdom, the author wrote using his conception of King James English, with lots of thees and thous, and stilted grammar.

[david_fosco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Simplistic, and engaging. The book serves the information in a way that is easy to understand for all ages.

[beatgammit · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was a nice, short read that concisely summarizes a lot of other financial books I've read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in fixing their financial situation.

[mugsynoir · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

THE RICHEST MAN IN BAYLON provides a few very basic concepts, but ones that are at the root of financial success: pay yourself first, live frugally, invest wisely, don't chase returns, and don't give out your hard-earned dollars to someone who doesn't have the skills and discipline to safeguard them as you would. Whether this is the right book for you depends on whether you enjoy reading these concepts presented in an awkward, ancient style as if you're sitting around with Yul Brynner, Charleton Heston and the golden calf waiting for the Red Sea to open. What's here is certainly shorter than most other financial success tomes on the market today, so in that regard, it provides more pop per page. Worth a read.

[jane3phillips-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting book to listen to due to the biblical style and the setting of ancient Babylon. There are great concepts in regards to money management and wealth, however nothing that I not heard before. Whilst these financial concepts to provide great tips and advice on how to become more financially secure, I feel that in today's society it is easier said than done for the average person due to the increase in economic inequality and instability. Whilst I think that one's financial habits has a lot to do with how well off a person is, I don't think this is all the story as so much depends on the financial advantages or disadvantages that a person begins with in life.

[jerenda-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If nothing else, this was an entertaining read. Reading about finances is usually dead boring. This book avoided that pitfall by presenting itself as a series of narratives focused around the principles it wanted to teach.

I'm not sure Babylon is a model I wish to emulate, given that it was considered one of the more depraved cities of the world and now stands as an allusion to pride and idolatry. Riches, yes, but great sins as well. But these tales are not, of course, actually from Babylon, so I suppose that's not much of a problem.

As for the "laws of gold" themselves, they seem fairly simple and logical. It's actually living by their principles that would be hard. The income distribution map that he highlights in the last few chapters doesn't exactly fit my purposes - I donate regularly to my church, and he has no room in his budget for tithing or taxes - but the model of self-control and of being the master of your own money is solid.

[mark_oszoli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Babylon a city dating back to 1792 BC. In this book the author states that several number of stone tablets were unearthed through excavation about the city of Babylon these tablets did not just detail the everyday lives of Babylonians but gave advise on how to manage and invest ones money in order to produce wealth. Lessons which are still as viable today as they were back in Babylonian times.

[buildingabookshelf · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Although I know this book is considered a classic, I didn't find it very helpful. There was nothing in it that is new to me. For someone who is just learning to manage their money, it might be a helpful book.

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Parables about money management set in ancient Babylon, that were originally released as individual pamphlets and distributed by banks & insurance companies. I had seen this recommended a lot on the Motley Fool boards, and I can see why. Read this book to learn the secrets of making your gold into a hardworking slave.

[roxysmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading the book. A classic novel on the timeless principles of personal finances. I believe all young adults just starting out on their own should read this book. It also is a good read for those who desire to take back control of their financial but don't know where to start.

[sabs83_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book used a fable format to impart financial advice. It was a good way to get you to think about your finances from another point of view.

[markdeo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5 Stars. Inspiring. An excellent quick read about business thinking and money management. Really basic powerful principles. This book provides so much wisdom. I highly recommend.

[lilac_lily01 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just because something is old, doesn't automatically mean that it is outdated. A good example for this is "The Richest Man in Babylon". The original version was written in the 1920's yet its financial advice is as current as it was back then. I enjoyed listening to these ancient tales while noting all the important money lessons. Especially now that we are faced with a weak economy it is important to remind ourselves of some of these basic rules when it comes to handling money and building wealth.

For example:

Pay yourself first.

Live on less than you make.

Live on a budget.

Invest your money.

Diversify.

And don't go into debt.

I believe that these rules will always hold true no matter how advanced our society becomes. This book is definitely a good way to refresh some of our financial common sense. Short and straight to the point.

[hvfcentral · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book, considered a "classic" by professional networkers, home-based business owners, self-help aficionados, and Network Marketers, comes close to living up to its potential.

Written in the 1920s, it has some dated aspects which make it somewhat distracting in today's politically-correct culture. Yet, the narrative, which reads like a translation of an ancient text, actually helps set it apart from all the other books out there, dealing with personal finance.

The question is, how does one become wealthy?

And we get basically the same answer that any reputable book will provide: save some money (they use the requisite 10 percent here), and spend less than you make. But there are a couple emphases placed in this book, in which it does add some real value:

First - there are only three real major pieces of advice found throughout the book. Each of the three are sliced and diced in many different ways. But I like the simplicity of having only three major points.

The first is found everywhere else: save some money, and spend less than you earn. And the classic ten percent is recommended.

The next two, of the three, are different:

1) Increase your earning potential.

2) Pay back your debts.

I found the third to be the most instructive, and even convicting. The person that pays back debts in a timely way, may still need to ask for loans - but if you are good about attempting to pay them back, it will be easier to obtain money in the future. And personal loans from friends and family are always to be preferred over institutional loans.

So - this book is not all it is cracked up to be, but good nevertheless. You can read it in a day, and should.

Now - here's to paying back all my debts, first, and quickly!

[ti99er_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book provides the reader with sound financial advise all the while being disguised as ancient parables. The advice is practical, and is easy enough for anyone to follow in establishing ones own financial freedom.

The steps to follow are all there in black and white. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read this book. I only have one problem.......I am not financially stable. Why you may ask? I never practiced what I read. Shame on me. Hmph!!

[adamallen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

According to Wikipedia, The Richest Man in Babylon began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets. Due to their popularity, Mr. Clason compiled the most popular of these pamplets into the book that exists today.

I selected The Richest Man in Babylon as an audiobook because it's one of those classics that I'd just never gotten around to reading. As described in the previous paragraph, the book is a series of vignets about good, conservative money management. Among other things, the tales highlight the importance of: saving at least 10% of your money, choosing a conservative way to (invest) make your money grow, paying your debts, being entrepreneurial, working hard, and asking for financial guidance. This interesting thing about this book is that many others have taken one topic of the book and expanded it into a stand alone work - or even a series of works. So many examples come to mind...Your Money or Your Life, the Dave Ramsey books (The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace, etc.), the David Bach books (The Automatic Millionaire, etc.), the Suze Orman books, etc., etc.

While I found the book to be great foundational information, it's certainly dated with it's "where art", "thou", "makest", etc. language. This is intentional since it's conversation between men of Babylon. That's not really a problem so much as personal preference. There are several well written books that emphasize many of the same concepts in a more modern tone (which for me, makes it more readable). I would suggest Your Money or Your Life or The Total Money Makeover.

This book provides a very high level overview (but lacks in some details) of what must be done if you want to build wealth over the long term. It's also one of the original books on that topic. For those reasons, I gave it 3.5 stars. It is a good book and I would recommend it to others.

[heathweaver · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the best books of all time about finance. Follow the simple rules in this book and you will be wealthy.

[5crows · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great beginning primer on basic financial management