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Created page with "{{Insert top}}{{Insert quote panel | {{The Richest Man in Babylon/random quote}} }} == Introduction == {{Infobox book | name = The Richest Man in Babylon | image = the-richest-man-in-babylon-george-s-clason.jpg | full_title = ''The Richest Man in Babylon'' | author = George S. Clason | country = United States | language = English | subject = Personal finance; Saving and..."
 
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'''''The Richest Man in Babylon''''' is a classic1926 personal-finance book by George S. Clason that teaches thrift, saving, anddispenses investmentadvice through parables set in ancient Babylon; the material began as pamphlets widely distributed by banks and insurers and was collected as a book in 1926.<ref name="PRH1989">{{cite webnews |title=TheInvesting Richestby Manthe in BabylonBook |url=https://www.penguinrandomhousewashingtonpost.com/booksarchive/business/2002/29431709/the29/investing-richestby-manthe-inbook/10eb84f2-babylonf5e4-by-george43be-s9745-clasond5fd7b4388d2/ |websitework=PenguinThe RandomWashington HousePost |publisherdate=Penguin29 PublishingSeptember Group2002 |access-date=89 November 2025 |last=Singletary |first=Michelle}}</ref> TheIt materialpackages wasrecurring firstframeworks—especially gatheredthe into“Seven bookCures formfor ina 1926Lean afterPurse” earlierand distributionthe as“Five separateLaws pamphlets; modern library records and publisherof cataloguesGold”—and noteforegrounds the long“pay reprintyourself historyfirst” approach.<ref name="NLA2002">{{cite webnews |title=The5 richesttruths manabout inmoney, Babylonfrom /a by90-year-old Georgepersonal S.finance Clasonclassic |url=https://nlawww.govbusinessinsider.aucom/nla.cattips-from-the-richest-man-in-babylon-2015-vn154815912 |websitework=NationalBusiness Library of AustraliaInsider |publisherdate=National23 LibraryDecember of Australia2015 |access-date=89 November 2025 |last=Elkins |first=Kathleen}}</ref> AThe widelyprose availableis paperbackdeliberately editionplain (Penguin/Plumeand proverbial, 30using Juneshort 1989)parables runsto 160anchor pageshabits andof carriesthrift, ISBNbudgeting, 978-0-452-26725-1and cautious investing.<ref name="GB1989">{{cite web |title=Penguin Select Classics: The Richest Man in Babylon |url=https://www.penguin.sg/book/penguin-select-classics-the-richest-man-in-babylon/ The|website=Penguin SuccessRandom SecretsHouse ofSEA |publisher=Penguin Random House SEA |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> By 2004, the Ancientsbook had sold more than two million copies.<ref>{{cite web |title=How-to-succeed books |url=https://bookswww.googleebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/how-succeed-books?id=Vi1HAAAACAAJ |website=GoogleEBSCO BooksResearch Starters |publisher=PenguinEBSCO Publishing|access-date=9 GroupNovember 2025}}</ref> It remains visible in investor reading lists, including The Wall Street Journal’s “The Best Books for Investors” (15 August 2014).<ref>{{cite news |title=The Best Books for Investors |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-books-for-investors-1408103169 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=198915 August 2014 |access-date=89 November 2025}}</ref>
 
== Chapter summary ==
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🏺 '''12 – Historical sketch of Babylon.'''
 
== Background & reception ==
 
🖋️ '''Author & writing'''. George S. Clason was a Denver businessman and map publisher who founded the Clason Map Company and issued the first road atlas of the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=George S. Clason |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/233902/george-s-clason/ |website=Penguin Random House |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> Beginning in 1926, he wrote pamphlets on thrift and financial success told as parables set in ancient Babylon; banks and insurance companies distributed them widely.<ref>{{cite web |title=George S. Clason |url=https://www.penguin.sg/book_author/george-s-clason/ |website=Penguin Random House SEA |publisher=Penguin Random House SEA |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> The most popular pieces were later collected as ''The Richest Man in Babylon'', and Clason is widely credited with popularizing the injunction to “pay yourself first.”<ref>{{cite news |title=The world’s most popular money tip came from a map-maker whose business got crushed by the Great Depression |url=https://qz.com/813644/the-worlds-most-popular-money-tip-came-from-a-map-maker-whose-business-got-crushed-by-the-great-depression |work=Quartz |date=20 October 2016 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Mangla |first=Ismat Sarah}}</ref> The book’s recurring devices—especially the “Seven Cures for a Lean Purse” and the “Five Laws of Gold”—organize advice on budgeting, disciplined saving, prudent lending, and skill-building.<ref>{{cite news |title=5 truths about money, from a 90-year-old personal finance classic |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tips-from-the-richest-man-in-babylon-2015-12 |work=Business Insider |date=23 December 2015 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Elkins |first=Kathleen}}</ref> Its voice is intentionally plain and proverbial, “in simple everyday language.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Penguin Select Classics: The Richest Man in Babylon |url=https://www.penguin.sg/book/penguin-select-classics-the-richest-man-in-babylon/ |website=Penguin Random House SEA |publisher=Penguin Random House SEA |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
 
📈 '''Commercial reception'''. By 2004, the title had sold more than two million copies.<ref>{{cite web |title=How-to-succeed books |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/how-succeed-books |website=EBSCO Research Starters |publisher=EBSCO |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> Reprints have proliferated; Hawthorn issued a c.1955 edition.<ref>{{cite web |title=The richest man in Babylon |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/The-richest-man-in-Babylon/oclc/609069762 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> New American Library also published mass-market editions in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |title=The richest man in Babylon |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/richest-man-in-babylon/oclc/17971311 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> The Wall Street Journal continued to spotlight the book on “The Best Books for Investors” list (15 August 2014).<ref>{{cite news |title=The Best Books for Investors |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-books-for-investors-1408103169 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=15 August 2014 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
 
👍 '''Praise'''. The ''Los Angeles Times'' recommended the book as a “delightful set of parables that explain the basics of money.”<ref>{{cite news |title=Weekend Reading |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-16-fi-56529-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=16 July 1999 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' has called it “full of time-tested advice on saving and investing.”<ref>{{cite news |title=Give Books That Make a Difference |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2006/11/26/give-books-that-make-a-difference/daaf267c-d9ba-4d7d-afd1-059f681c63ee/ |work=The Washington Post |date=26 November 2006 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Singletary |first=Michelle}}</ref> The ''Wall Street Journal'' has highlighted it for story-driven lessons in personal finance.<ref>{{cite news |title=My Five Favorite Books to Help You Build Wealth |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-five-favorite-books-to-help-you-build-wealth-01553707279 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 March 2019 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
 
👎 '''Criticism'''. Commentators note that “pay yourself first” can be impractical for people with irregular incomes or very tight budgets and may need adaptation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Are You Paying Yourself First? Here’s What It Means and Drawbacks |url=https://www.investopedia.com/are-you-paying-yourself-first-11729093 |website=Investopedia |date=19 May 2025 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> Researchers also argue the book’s implicit “save 10%” heuristic is often too low; Brookings recommends older starters target 15–20% to retire securely.<ref>{{cite web |title=The new math of saving for retirement may boil down to this one absurdly simple rule |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-new-math-of-saving-for-retirement-may-boil-down-to-this-one-absurdly-simple-rule/ |website=Brookings Institution |date=26 June 2018 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Gale |first=William G.}}</ref> Housing analysts further caution that the book’s injunction to “make of thy dwelling a profitable investment” is not universally sound: a primary home is not reliably an investment.<ref>{{cite news |title=A House Is a Home—Not an Investment |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/a-house-is-a-home-not-an-investment/279658/ |work=The Atlantic |date=13 September 2013 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Thompson |first=Derek}}</ref>
 
🌍 '''Impact & adoption'''. ''The Washington Post'' launched its “Color of Money Book Club” in 2002 with this title as the first selection (online discussion 23 October 2002).<ref>{{cite news |title=Book Club’s First Selection |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/10/03/book-clubs-first-selection/e7b143d2-338e-489a-991a-4f18f1bf9175/ |work=The Washington Post |date=3 October 2002 |access-date=9 November 2025 |last=Singletary |first=Michelle}}</ref> The ''Wall Street Journal'' list noted above has kept it in circulation with new investor audiences.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Best Books for Investors |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-books-for-investors-1408103169 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=15 August 2014 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> University entrepreneurship resources also continue to recommend it as a concise primer.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Richest Man in Babylon |url=https://regententrepreneur.org/rceresources/the-richest-man-in-babylon/ |website=Regent University Entrepreneurial Studies |publisher=Regent University |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
 
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