Arkad, the richest man in Babylon, once sat with his friends upon the city wall. They were men who worked hard and earned fair wages, yet none of them had become wealthy. They spoke openly to Arkad, for he had always been generous with his counsel.

They said to him, “Arkad, you are the richest man in Babylon. Yet we are men of equal ability. We labor as diligently as you once did. Why is it that fortune favors you and not us?”

Arkad listened, and then he smiled kindly, for he remembered well the days when he himself had asked the same question.

“My friends,” he said, “I will tell you how I came to be wealthy, and you shall see that it was not by chance, nor by secret knowledge given only to me.”

He told them that he had been born poor. As a young man, he worked as a scribe, earning no more than others. Whatever coins came into his hands went quickly back out again. His living costs always seemed to equal his income.

“I labored hard,” Arkad said, “yet my purse was always empty. I had fine clothes for a day, good food for a night, and nothing afterward.”

One day, Arkad said, a great dissatisfaction grew within him. He saw that others, who earned no more than he, had begun to prosper. Some owned land. Some loaned money. Some lived with comfort and security.

He asked himself, “Why should I, who work as hard as any man, have nothing?”

So Arkad went to Algamish, the richest man in Babylon, whose wealth was known throughout the city. He said to him plainly, “Algamish, you are rich, and I am poor. Tell me why fortune passes me by.”

Algamish looked at him and laughed — not in mockery, but in good humor.

He asked Arkad, “Do you keep part of what you earn?”

Arkad answered honestly, “No. I spend all that I earn. How else could it be? My earnings are small.”

Then Algamish said words that Arkad never forgot:

“If you do not keep part of what you earn, how do you expect to become wealthy? You have failed to pay yourself.”

Arkad was puzzled. “Pay myself?” he asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Algamish explained, “For every ten coins you earn, keep one for yourself. Spend only the other nine.”

Arkad objected at once. He said, “If I do this, I shall not have enough to meet my needs.”

Algamish replied, “Do not think that because you spend less you will suffer. You already spend all you earn, and yet you have nothing. If you keep one-tenth, you will not live worse than before. Instead, you will begin to live better, because you will have hope.”

Arkad thought about this deeply. He realized that his poverty had not come from earning too little, but from spending all that he earned.

So he resolved to follow Algamish’s advice.

From that day forward, Arkad said, for every ten coins he earned, he put aside one coin for himself. He did not touch it. He treated it as if it did not exist.

At first, he felt uneasy. He feared he would lack money for food or clothing. But to his surprise, his life did not become harder. He learned to manage his expenses more wisely. He found that many things he once thought necessary were not truly needed.

Soon, he felt a new sensation — the weight of coins in his purse. This weight brought him satisfaction and courage. For the first time, he felt he was working for his future, not merely for today.

After some time, Arkad returned to Algamish and told him proudly, “I have saved one-tenth of all I earn.”

Algamish praised him, but then asked, “What have you done with the gold you have saved?”

Arkad answered, “Nothing. I keep it safely.”

Algamish shook his head and said, “Gold that is stored and not made to earn will soon disappear. You must make your gold work for you.”

Arkad asked how this could be done.

Algamish told him, “Seek advice from men skilled in handling money. Invest only where your gold is safe and will bring profit. Avoid ventures you do not understand.”

Arkad followed this advice. At first, he made mistakes. He lost some gold by trusting men who were ignorant or dishonest. But he learned from each loss. He became more careful. He listened more closely. He refused ventures that promised quick gain without understanding.

Slowly, his gold began to earn more gold.

Year after year, Arkad continued the same practices. He always saved one-tenth of all he earned. He invested his savings wisely. He avoided unnecessary spending. He sought counsel from men of experience.

His wealth grew steadily. Not through luck. Not through gambling. But through discipline and patience.

As his riches increased, opportunities came to him. Men sought his advice. He loaned money carefully. He bought land. He invested in enterprises that were sound and useful.

In time, Arkad became the richest man in Babylon.

When he finished telling his story, Arkad looked at his friends and said:

“I did not become wealthy by wishing for gold. I became wealthy by first paying myself one-tenth of all I earned, and by learning how to make that gold work for me.”

He said further, “Gold comes gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.”

“And gold flees from the man who spends all he earns and invests unwisely.”