The Richest Man In Babylon

Money problems aren't new.

Four thousand years ago, in the dusty streets of Babylon - the wealthiest city of the ancient world - people worried about the same things you worry about today. Too much month at the end of the money. Debts that wouldn't go away. The nagging feeling that everyone else knew something about building wealth that you didn't.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a collection of parables set in that ancient city. And here's what makes it remarkable: the financial advice inside is as true now as it was then.

You'll meet Arkad, the richest man in Babylon, who wasn't born wealthy. He started with nothing but a burning desire to understand how money works. Through stories within stories, he passes on what he learned to those willing to listen.

The lessons are simple enough to fit on one hand:

• Start thy purse to fattening: Pay yourself first. Before you pay anyone else, save at least one-tenth of everything you earn.
• Control thy expenditures: Learn the difference between needs and wants. Your wants will always expand to swallow whatever you earn unless you stop them.
• Make thy gold multiply: Saved money isn't working money. Put it to work. Invest wisely.
• Guard thy treasures from loss: Not every investment is a good one. Get advice from those who know.
• Own thy own home: A roof over your head that you own is a form of wealth.
• Ensure a future income: Plan for the day you can no longer work.
• Increase thy ability to earn: The more you know, the more you can earn. Skill is a form of wealth.

There's no complicated jargon here. No get-rich-quick schemes. Just seven principles that have worked for thousands of years because they're built on human nature, not market conditions.

For the Pakistani reader - whether you're just starting your first job in Karachi, running a business in Lahore, or saving for your children's future in Islamabad - this book gives you a foundation. It doesn't matter what the rupee does next year. It doesn't matter which stocks are hot. The principles in this book will outlast every financial fad you'll ever see.

George Clason wrote these parables in 1926 as a series of pamphlets distributed by banks and insurance companies. A century later, they're still in print, still selling, still changing lives. That's not an accident.

The Richest Man in Babylon is available now at Kitab Markaz. We deliver across Pakistan - so the wisdom of the ancients can find its way to your bookshelf.

Format: Paperback