My review

I must be honest: I feel like I haven’t learned much from this read. I was anticipating something groundbreaking, given how often I had heard about this title. The fact that it was written as parables “in language as simple as that of the Bible” intrigued me.

However, I quickly realized that this book was written about a hundred years ago, when personal finance literature was still in its infancy.

“In 1926, [George Samuel Clason] issued the first of a famous series of pamphlets on thrift and financial success, using parables set in ancient Babylon to make each of his points. These were distributed in large quantities by banks, insurance companies and employers and became familiar to millions, the most famous being “The Richest Man in Babylon,” the parable from which the present volume takes its title.”

The value of decades-old wisdom depends on the subject matter. In the case of personal finance in a capitalist world, I would recommend staying as up-to-date with the latest research as possible. There are plethora of good resources to become informed:

The book’s core message is simple: whatever income you receive, save 10% of it.

This is solid advice if you have never handled money before in your life. But in 2025, this advice is not enough to sustain you. As for the rest, I found the laws in this book either repetitive or overly praising of bankers—perhaps unsurprising given that this text was initially distributed as pamphlets by banks and insurance companies.

If you’re dreaming of traveling the world, you will not only need to save upwards of 20% of your income, but you will also need to invest it (preferably in diversified index funds). See my million dollar grid to visualize your path to financial independence.

I think you could skip this book in favor of any of the resources I have recommended above. Like Think and Grow Rich, I think this is one self-help classic we could afford to leave behind.

Félix rating:
👎

📚 Vocabulary

(p. 35) Score years: 20 years
(p. 95) Sterling woman: Woman of exceptional integrity. (Sterling is high-quality silver.)

⭐ Star Quotes

Foreword

(p. 7) Our prosperity as a nation depends upon the personal financial prosperity of each of us as individuals.

The Man Who Desired Gold

The Richest Man in Babylon

(p. 25) An old tongue loves to wag. When youth comes to age for advice he receives the wisdom of years.
(p. 26) A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn.
(p. 29) Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.

Seven Cures For a Lean Purse

(p. 53) 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.

Meet the Goddess of Good Luck

The Five Laws of Gold

(p. 77) 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.
(p. 81) Wealth that comes quickly goeth the same way.

The Gold Lender of Babylon

(p. 90) ⭐ If thou desire to help thy friend, do so in a way that will not bring thy friend’s burden upon thyself.

The Walls of Babylon

The Camel Trader of Babylon

(p. 107) Ill fortune pursues every man who thinks more of borrowing than of repaying.
(p. 116) 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?”

The Clay Tablets From Babylon

The Luckiest Man in Babylon

(p. 139) Some men hate [work]. They make it their enemy. Better to treat it like a friend, make thyself like it. […] Work well-done, does good to the man who does it. It makes him a better man.

A Historical Sketch of Babylon

(Read 120) The Richest Man in Babylon

My review

Félix rating:👎

📚 Vocabulary

⭐ Star Quotes

Félix rating:
👎