How to Be Rich is very easy to read. Written as a series of essays for Playboymagazine, it feels like a casual conversation with a very rich friend.
“Although there are no sure-fire formulas for achieving success in business,” Getty says, “there are some fundamental rules to the game, which, if followed, tip the odds of success very much in the businessman’s favor.”
Those rules include:
- The best way to make a fortune is to own your own business.
- The central aim of every business is to produce more and better goods (or more and better services) to more people at a lower cost.
- A sense of thrift is essential for success in business.
- Legitimate opportunities for expansion should not be overlooked.
- The business owner must run his own business. He cannot expect employees to run it for him.
- The business owner must be constantly alert for new ways to improve his products and services and increase his production and sales.
- Nothing builds confidence and volume faster than a reputation for standing behind one’s product.
- The book is loaded with practical advice for business owners and employees who want to share in the profits of their businesses.