Honestly, the world of personal finance is a mess. You’ve got TikTok "gurus" yelling about crypto, suit-and-tie bankers pushing high-fee mutual funds, and your broke uncle giving you real estate advice at Thanksgiving. It’s noisy. It's exhausting. But almost every single one of those modern experts owes a debt to a skinny little book from 1926 called The Richest Man in Babylon.
George S. Clason, the author, wasn't a financial theorist. He was a map maker. He noticed that people worked themselves to the bone and still had empty wallets at the end of the month. So, he started writing these short pamphlets for banks and insurance companies. They were basically little stories set in ancient Mesopotamia.
He didn't use spreadsheets. He used parables.
The "keyword" here isn't just the title; it's the concept of timelessness. While the world has changed since the 1920s, humans haven't. We still overspend. We still chase get-rich-quick schemes. We still procrastinate on our retirement. That’s why The Richest Man in Babylon is still being read today. It addresses the "lean purse" we all feel at some point.
What Actually Happens in the Book?
The story kicks off with two guys, Bansir the chariot builder and Kobbi the musician. They’re annoyed. They work hard, yet they’re broke. They decide to visit their childhood friend, Arkad, who—shocker—is the richest man in Babylon.
Arkad wasn't born with a silver spoon. He was a scribe. He was just as broke as they were until he met a money lender named Algamish. Algamish gave him the secret, which sounds almost too simple to be true: "A part of all you earn is yours to keep."
The Seven Cures for a Lean Purse
Arkad eventually gets hired by the King of Babylon to teach the city how to be wealthy. He holds these classes in the "Temple of Learning," and he breaks it down into seven specific "cures."
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1. Start thy purse to fattening
This is the famous "pay yourself first" rule. Before you pay the landlord, the grocer, or the guy at the coffee shop, you take 10% and put it away. If you earn ten coins, you only spend nine. It sounds small. It is small. But that’s the point.
2. Control thy expenditures
Arkad makes a stinging observation: "What each of us calls our 'necessary expenses' will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary." We call it lifestyle creep now. You get a raise, and suddenly you "need" a better car. Arkad says to look at your habits and realize most of what you buy isn't a necessity.
3. Make thy gold multiply
Saving is just the start. If your money just sits in a jar, it's lazy. You have to put it to work. In the book, this meant lending to shield makers or investing in merchant ships. Today, it’s compounding interest in an index fund or a high-yield account.
4. Guard thy treasures from loss
This is where people get burned. Arkad tells a story about how he gave his first year of savings to a brickmaker to buy rare jewels from the Phoenicians. The brickmaker got scammed with pieces of glass. The lesson? Don't ask a brickmaker for advice on jewels. Only invest with people who actually know the field.
5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
Clason was big on homeownership. He argued that paying rent is just giving money away, whereas owning a home gives a man "confidence" and reduces his cost of living over time. People argue about this today (renting vs. buying is a whole debate), but in the context of 1920s stability, it was bedrock advice.
6. Insure a future income
Think of this as your 401(k). You need to provide for your family and yourself for when you're "no longer young."
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7. Increase thy ability to earn
This is the most "hustle culture" part of the book. Arkad says you have to become smarter and more skilled. If you're a craftsman, learn to make better products. If you're a clerk, learn the business. More skill equals more gold.
The Five Laws of Gold: The "Hidden" Rules
Later in the book, we follow Arkad’s son, Nomasir. Arkad didn't just hand him a pile of money. That would be too easy. Instead, he gave him a bag of gold and a clay tablet with the "Five Laws of Gold" engraved on it.
Nomasir, being a young guy, immediately loses the gold on a bad horse race and a fake business deal. He’s left with nothing but the tablet. Only when he's starving does he actually read the laws.
The laws basically reinforce the cures, but with a warning: Gold flees the man who seeks "impossible earnings" or follows the "alluring advice of tricksters." If a deal sounds too good to be true—like a 20% guaranteed return in a week—the "gold flees." It’s basically a 4,000-year-old warning against Ponzi schemes.
Where the Book Gets It Wrong (or Just Shows Its Age)
Let's be real. The Richest Man in Babylon isn't perfect.
First, the language is... a choice. Clason used this "thee" and "thou" pseudo-biblical style. It was a marketing gimmick in the 1920s to make the advice feel ancient and authoritative. It works for some, but for others, it’s a bit of a slog to read "thou shalt" fifty times a page.
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Second, the gender dynamics are non-existent. There are barely any women in the book, and when they do appear, they’re usually sisters or wives in the background. It reflects the 1920s, sure, but it's a glaring omission for a modern reader.
Also, the "Own Your Own Home" advice is complicated now. In 2026, with interest rates and property taxes what they are, buying isn't always the "profitable investment" Arkad claimed it was. Sometimes, the maintenance costs and lack of mobility make renting a smarter financial move.
Why You Should Still Read It
Even with the quirks, there’s a reason this book is on every billionaire’s nightstand. It focuses on psychology rather than mechanics. Most money problems aren't "math" problems; they're "behavior" problems.
We know we should save. We know we shouldn't buy things we can't afford. But we do it anyway. The parables in The Richest Man in Babylon stick in your brain better than a pie chart ever will. You remember the story of the camel trader who worked his way out of debt because it feels human.
Actionable Steps: The "Babylonian" Plan for 2026
If you want to actually use this book, don't just nod along. Do this:
- The 10% Rule: Set up an automatic transfer the day you get paid. If you never see the money, you won't miss it. That is your "gold" for the future.
- The Debt Snowball (Babylonian Style): Clason actually has a specific chapter on debt. He suggests 10% for savings, 70% for living, and 20% to pay back creditors. It’s a clear, sustainable ratio.
- Audit Your "Experts": Before you buy that crypto or that stock, ask yourself: Is this person a "brickmaker" or a "jeweler"? If they haven't actually made money in the specific thing they're selling you, run.
- Invest in the "Earning Power": Take a course. Read a technical manual. Get a certification. The best return on investment is always your own ability to command a higher salary.
The book ends with a letter from a modern professor (well, modern for 1934) who found the Babylonian tablets and used the advice to get out of debt. It’s a bit cheesy, but the point stands: the "laws" of money are like the laws of gravity. They don't care if you're in ancient Babylon or a high-rise in New York. They just work.