The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason
Parables set in ancient Babylon teach basic rules of saving, investing, and building wealth. A short, easy classic of personal finance. Read the full description
Best for: Beginners in personal finance
The Richest Man in Babylon is #34 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 71 out of 100.
The Richest Man in Babylon: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Richest Man in Babylon’s reading interest has run from #52 to #83 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Richest Man in Babylon was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 649 times in the past 12 months, peaking in January 2026 with 91 (68% above its monthly average of 54). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were up 3% on the three months before. 80% of the adds were “want to read”, 14% “currently reading” and 6% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 116,364 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 11,989 views. The latest three months were down 6% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Richest Man in Babylon.
What the data says about The Richest Man in Babylon
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 54 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. January 2026 was its busiest month (91 adds), about 2.7 times its quietest, February 2026 (34).
- Attention and shelf adds move together. Months with more Wikipedia views for The Richest Man in Babylon were also months with more shelf adds (correlation 0.68), which suggests the same events, such as new editions, adaptations or social media, drive both.
- Against its genre. It had 57% fewer shelf adds than the average Business book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.6% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #53 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 1926 (100 years ago), it is older than 93% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Richest Man in Babylon on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #34 | 71 |
Is The Richest Man in Babylon rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Richest Man in Babylon ranks #61 this week, #61 this month, and #67 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Richest Man in Babylon made the Top 100
The Richest Man in Babylon made the list mainly on momentum (+26.9 points) and being read right now (+18.9 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.2). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Richest Man in Babylon
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Richest Man in Babylon open right now than 56% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Business books
It is #3 of the 6 Business books on this month’s list.
About The Richest Man in Babylon
Parables set in ancient Babylon teach basic rules of saving, investing, and building wealth. A short, easy classic of personal finance.
Why it’s here: It packs sound money basics into brief stories, so it is easy to finish.
Best for: Beginners in personal finance
At a glance
- First published
- 1926
- Genre
- Business
- Also described as
- non-fiction
- Length
- about 124 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 16 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 258 on Open Library
- Places covered
- Chicago Illinois
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Saving first
- Making money work
- Discipline
What reading it is like
Short parables set in ancient Babylon.
At about 124 pages it is a short read: roughly 2 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
The advice is simple and old-fashioned. It is about saving and discipline, not modern investing.
The premise
Set in ancient Babylon, these short parables teach simple money rules, such as saving a portion of what you earn, investing wisely, and avoiding get-rich-quick schemes.
What you’ll get
- A quick, easy read
- Timeless, simple advice
- Story-based lessons
You might skip it if you want modern investing details.
Pairs well with: Rich Dad, Poor Dad · The Psychology of Money
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #33 and #35
Questions about The Richest Man in Babylon
What rank is The Richest Man in Babylon on the Top 100 books?
The Richest Man in Babylon is #34 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 71 out of 100.
Is The Richest Man in Babylon rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Richest Man in Babylon ranks #61 this week, #61 this month, and #67 over the past year.
Why is The Richest Man in Babylon on the Top 100?
The Richest Man in Babylon made the list mainly on momentum (+26.9 points) and being read right now (+18.9 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.2).
How many people are reading The Richest Man in Babylon right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 323 readers currently reading The Richest Man in Babylon, 3,292 who want to read it and 179 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Richest Man in Babylon had over the past year?
649 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak January 2026, 91); latest three months up 3% on the prior three; 116,364 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 6% over the latest three months). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Richest Man in Babylon best for?
Beginners in personal finance.
Ask a question about The Richest Man in Babylon
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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