The Richest Man in Town: The Twelve Commandments of Wealth

by W. Randall Jones and Randall Jones

Book Overview

Secretly, if not overtly, almost everyone in America desires to become rich: to make it big, to enjoy the fruits of the most successful life imaginable. But unfortunately, most of us don't have a clue how to reach these all too elusive goals. Quite simply, there's no definitive road map for getting there, no proven plan, and certainly very little access to those who have become "the richest man in town." But now W. Randall Jones, the founder of Worth...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446537837
• ISBN13: 9780446537834
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Business Plus
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A modern Think and Grow Rich

This book is very similar to Think and Grow Rich as the author interviews millionaires, asking for the "secret" to their successes. Good advice for people trying to build wealth. Practical things that will help you do that. Not sure if this would work for the guy off the street though. If you're into making money and success at business, you're probably already doing these things, but you'll get the concepts mentioned from a different perspective. This book will help you tweak more than establish them, I'd think. If you're brand new to business though, you still might get something out of it. I think it's a great idea for a book and well executed. I wish more people would do books along these lines, not just on this subject, but any subject where mastery has occurred and people are willing to share how they did it.

One of the Top Books of 2009

A really fun and informative ride. One part Biography. One part Self-Help. The Richest Man In Town is a modern book that picks up where Napolean Hill leaves off and takes the secrets of success to a new level. Randy Jones interviews and deconstructs the characteristics that define the most successful self-made men and women in 100 cities and towns across America. What drives them? What do they have in common? Jones underlines the keys to their success and provides a map for anyone to follow in their footsteps. This is NOT a bible for the greedy. It's a book that clearly shows the results for the hard-working, early risers who have balanced their passions with what they are really good at. Some RMITs include Carl Icahn, Bill Gates, John McAfee, Fredrick Smith, Michael Dell, Bernard Marcus, and so on... The book is organized into 12 commandments that encourage you to Wake Up Early, Be Your Own Boss, Fail to Succeed, Say Yes to Sales, Never Retire, etc., etc... Some of them seem obvious although some may surprise you. Jones weaves through them using the experience of his wealthy subjects and includes a countless number of inspirational quotes to push you on your way. Most success manuals will tell you that if you work hard enough and set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Jones says that's not true and backs it up with his counter-intuitive commandment to "Find Your Perfect Pitch". This is a book for anyone who loves real life stories of success. Where else can you get the bullet points from the biographies of the wealthiest people in America? As Mal Mixon, the RMIT of Cleveland, Ohio says, "Don't procrastinate because in only two days, tomorrow will be yesterday." I highly recommend - Read it soon.

Outstanding

this book is worth it. the ideas are not truly 'deep' but then again, you don't have to be deep to learn how to be rich. buy the book. it's worth it.

Loved it! The 12 Step REALISTIC Program for Making it Big! (ie., No shortcuts)

As an entrepreneur I could not stop nodding my head in agreement while reading The Richest Man in Town. Everything I believe to be true about making it big was outlined and reinforced through dozens of examples and endless insight from the nation's most successful business minds. I'm a fan of biographies and I love reading about others who have done it. Somehow the author convinces the most successful people in the nation to talk to him, which can't be an easy feat. And then he distills the methods in which these leaders made it into 12 awesome commandments. Be a founder. Following your passions. Have integrity. It reinforces your confidence in the hard work it requires to do things the right way. All of these RMITs worked their tails off for dozens of years. As we all know, there are no shortcuts. You won't find any Enron or over-paid Bank of America CEOs, but true American success stories. A refreshing read in these hard times to know that you can do it. And that we all have time since the average age of a RMIT is in their 50s--the founder of Home Depot didn't even start until he was 49! If you want a book about tricks to get rich or the latest buzz words and theories or a bunch of mathematical equations, then this is NOT your book. But if you want to be inspired by a fun and well written book on those who have really done it and the 12 commandments in which they all did it, then this is your book. Well worth the money and then some. And I like that the author does not claim to be a management or consultant guru. He is much more than that. He somehow gains access to the best minds in the nation (and probably all of business in the world) in order to give us invaluable insight. That is impressive. And the results leave me wanting more. I want more info from the 100 RMITs. More insight, more of their time. Again, this is not a get rich quick book. But a more valuable tool that inspires and delivers extraordinary insight and motivation.

100 millionaires tell you how to get rich --- why not listen?

Have you noticed that almost no one ever seems to ask the rich about the subject they know best? No, on the "Fiddler on the Roof" theory --- "When you're rich, they think you really know" --- the rich get to sound off on all manner of topics outside their expertise. We're regularly served their views on inheritance taxes, wars, medical research and the arts. What's harder to ferret out: what they know about becoming and staying rich. Randy Jones --- W. Randall Jones to you, but I once worked for him when he was the publisher (and founder) of Worth Magazine --- got interested in money when he was a kid in Georgia. As far as I can tell, he has amassed piles of it. In addition to the duplex in Manhattan, there's a house in Westchester. I doubt his kids have ever been shamed by clothes from The Gap. And his wife needed an operation on her earlobes a while back, thanks to decades of wearing earrings encrusted with massive diamonds. (No. Not really. But you get the idea.) A few years ago, Jones decided to write a book about his favorite obsession: how you make money. In 'The Richest Man in Town: The Twelve Commandments of Wealth', he crisscrosses America to interview a slew of self-made millionaires. (Actually, the poorest of the people he interviews has at least $100 million.) Then he divides their knowledge into buckets --- "the twelve commandments of wealth". It's a simple structure. It's a simple book. There's almost nothing here that you haven't read, heard or thought before. So why aren't you rich rich rich? For one thing, you may be confused. "It's good to be rich" is not the same as "Greed is good", but because so many of the visible rich are selfish bastards who would greatly benefit from a stunning increase in the tax rate, it's easy to think that wealth and bad values go hand in hand. "Yeah, I'll have no money worries if I get rich," you think. "But I'll also be a jerk." Not so, Jones says. Wealth is the byproduct of worthy activity. It's what happens when you perform a useful service or make a decent product, then market it aggressively and treat customers decently. It's about Right Livelihood, not pursuit of money. Sharks may score big for a while, say Jones and his interviewees, but over the long haul it's the good people who win biggest. And good people don't put "success" and "wealth" in the same sentence. They measure success by satisfaction: their pleasure in the enterprise they've created, in the work they do each day, in their families and their causes. The high life in the big city? Most shudder at the prospect --- they're still living in their hometowns. Each chapter in "The Richest Man in Town" is peppered with anecdotes, and they serve that chapter's commandment. Don't work for other people. Trust yourself. Be obsessive. (Robert Stiller sold his first company --- he made EZ Wider "cigarette" papers --- and started Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which required him to use every dollar he ever made and go out to sell