I had just finished watching a tour of one of those Lekki homes and was fired up like I'd been about 6 times this year to rival Elon Musk.
So, on my way and in a bout of confident motivation, I picked up The Richest Man in Babylon in a bookstore expecting to learn how to become rich… In fact, I had already shared my money amongst you, my wonderful readers.
I was going to find the secret to being rich that y’all had been hiding from me.
Naturally.
The title doesn't exactly leave much room for interpretation.
Instead, I got a book that kept telling me things I already knew.
Save money. Spend less than you earn. Invest. Avoid unnecessary debt. Make your money work for you.
I knew all of that. You probably do too.
There was a strange feeling as I closed the last page… was that… disappointment?
And yet, after a while mourning my 4,500 naira investment that would make me rich, it clicked. Somewhere between the ancient Babylonian stories in the book and the man who kept finding reasons not to save, I realised that knowing what to do with money and actually doing it are two very different things.
That's what made the book useful to me.
George S. Clason tells his financial lessons through a collection of stories set in ancient Babylon. The language is kind of old-fashioned, the characters speak like people who haven't discovered WhatsApp yet and don't know the meaning of “being cooked”, and sometimes the lessons are repeated so many times that you might find yourself thinking, okay sir, I understand. Go on please.
But I think repetition is actually part of the point.
This book isn't trying to give you a complicated investment strategy. It is trying to get a few simple principles so deeply into your head that you can remember them in a split second before every decision. They are so simple, you stop negotiating with them.
Core Principle
Pay yourself first.
When money comes in, don't treat every naira as money available for spending. Put some aside first, then live on what remains.
That sounds almost insultingly simple. But I think that's why it works.
A lot of our financial problems aren't caused by not knowing what to do. We know what to do, you and I know. They're caused by doing everything else first. (Yes, I'm side eyeing you that said you want to save since January).
Rethinking Wealth & Lifestyle Inflation
The book also made me think differently about wealth.
Wealth isn't simply the amount of money sitting in your account today or what you'll be paid tomorrow. It's what you consistently keep, grow, and make productive over time.
Earning more money doesn't automatically make someone wealthier. If your income increases and your lifestyle increases at exactly the same speed, you can make significantly more money and still feel broke.
Verdict
The Richest Man in Babylon isn't particularly sophisticated. Some of the financial advice feels dated, and I wouldn't use a book written in the 1920s as my only source for modern investing or personal finance. Especially where they suggest keeping your money in a pouch, haha.
But as a book about financial behaviour, it has aged surprisingly well.
Simple advice. Annoyingly good advice.