The Richest Man in Town: The Twelve Commandments of Wealth (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this smug paean to extreme wealth, Jones, founder of Worth magazine, identifies the Richest Man in Town in 100 American cities and towns, and gathers their secrets of success. The profiled RMITs range from household names like Bill Gates to the lesser-known Fred DeLuca, founder of Subway; Bob Stiller, founder of Green Mountain Coffee; and Jorge Perez, real estate mogul and most successful Latino man in the country. The collected advice is organized as 12 hackneyed commandments: find your passion, be your own boss, say yes to sales and work through obstacles, with small examples throughout. Given the paucity of usable advice, it's hard to imagine who the audience would be for a book compiling the mantras of a group of people whose average net worth is $3.5 billion. This book might inspire some readers to go forth and live the American dream—as Jones points out, fully 90% of all wealth in America today is first-generation wealth, and all the subjects in the book are self-made—if they can endure the self-congratulatory tone. (May)
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Product Description

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 magazine, is about to change all that. He's traveled to one hundred different towns and cities across the country and interviewed the wealthiest resident in each. No, these are not those folks who inherited their wealth, or happen to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Rather, these are the self-made types who, through hard work and ingenuity, found their own individual paths to financial success.

Remarkably, during his research, Jones found that these successful people were not so different from one another. They all shared many of the same traits and followed what the author calls the Twelve Commandments of Wealth: stay hungry (even when you're successful) . . . you really do learn more from failing than you may think . . . absolutely be your own boss, the sooner the better . . . understand that selling is the key to success . . . where you live doesn't matter . . . never retire, and other, more surprising revelations.

Practical, unique, and inspiring, this book lets you peek inside the living rooms of dozens of America's most successful people-and shows how you, too, can become THE RICHEST MAN IN TOWN.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Business Plus; 1 edition (May 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446537837
• ISBN-13: 978-0446537834
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 100 millionaires tell you how to get rich --- why not listen?, May 6, 2009

By	Jesse Kornbluth "Head Butler" (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 the product himself.) Early work experience gives you a solid work ethic. (Your kid is 14 and still going to summer camp?) Education matters; Harvard doesn't. Take care of your health.

A lot of kids will be given this book for graduation, birthdays and holidays. Good. They'll get something out of it. And so will Randy Jones, who not only has made a very good product here but made very sure I got a copy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Top Books of 2009, June 1, 2009

By	M. Rogers (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative Motivational Book, July 28, 2009

By	LegalBeagle (Maryland) - See all my reviews

According to The Richest Man In Town by W. Randall Jones, Stephen Bisciotti is the richest man in my hometown. Do you know who is the richest man in your hometown? If you have ever wondered you can probably discover him in Jones' new book. In addition to listing the local Donald Trumps The Richest Man In Town attempts to answer how they became so successful.

To that end Jones interviews many of the richest men, from both large and small towns, to discern the twelve commandments of wealth:
-- Seek Money for Money's Sake and Ye Shall Not Find
-- Find Your Perfect Pitch
-- Be Your Own Boss
-- Get Addicted to Ambition
-- Wake Up Early--Be Early
-- Don't Set Goals - Execute or Get Executed
-- Fail to Succeed
-- Location Doesn't Matter
-- Moor Yourself to Morals
-- Say Yes To Sales
-- Borrow from the Best - and the Worst
-- Never Retire
Many above the commandments are counter-intuitive and it was interesting to read how taking the proverbial road not taken led to their success. I also enjoyed the vignettes of various wealthy men. For example, I learned that Dell Computer wasn't Michael Dell's first business. Rather he started at age twelve by selling stamps on consignment and made $2,000! Not many twelve year olds have that drive or success. The Richest Man In Town is filled with other equally awe-inspiring stories.

As in everything in life, there is a downside to being the richest man in town. For instance, Leroy Landhuis, the richest man in Colorado Springs, confesses, "I have not been successful in my personal life the way I would have liked to be. My marriage wasn't successful and at times, I have been much too occupied with business." Such candid admissions, however, are few in far between in The Richest Man In Town.

It is clear that Jones is enamored with his subjects. In fact, he admits, "as hard as I tried to be a totally dispassionate journalistic observer of these big buck creators, I found that a very, difficult, near impossible task." A little journalistic distant, however, might have led to more insights and made a more balanced view. Still if you are curious as to what it is like to cruise down the yellow brick road of success then The Richest Man In Town provides a front row seat!