The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing household finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom.
Bansir and Kobbi meet with Arkad, asking him why fate has favored him so much that Arkad has grown rich while they remain poor, even though they've worked harder than Arkad has. Arkad replies that he was once a hard working scribe who made a deal with a very rich man, Algamish, for the secret to wealth in return for a much needed copy of a law immediately scribed into clay. The rich man agreed and the next day, when Arkad delivered the carving, the rich man delivered in return the secret of wealth.
