The Richest Man in Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon is a 1926 financial self-help book by American author George S. Clason. In his work, Clason shares his financial advice with the reader through a series of fictional parables set in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. In these parables, Clason’s characters face obstacles to wealth and success, including low wages, poor spending habits, indebtedness, and even enslavement, but they overcome these challenges through hard work, discipline, and a structured system of saving and spending. Clason’s book is now considered a classic source on financial advice, and 21st century readers continue to discover its lessons. This guide refers to the 2019 Kindle edition of this book.

Summary

In Clason’s foreword, he introduces Babylon as the most prosperous ancient city in the world and claims that Babylonians were particularly gifted at managing finances. Ever since the Babylonians invented currency, there have been timeless laws of finance that remain relevant today. He promises to share these with the reader through parables that provide easy, actionable tips for increasing personal wealth.

In Chapter 1, “An Historical Sketch of Babylon,” Clason explains that Babylon is noteworthy for its contributions to engineering, math, astronomy, written language, agriculture, and finance.