Review by Booklist Review
Fridson offers a road map for amassing a great fortune by studying the careers, habits, and strategies of 14 titans of enormous wealth, including John Kluge, Sam Walton, John D. Rockefeller Sr., Bill Gates, and Richard Branson. He highlights their fundamental strategies, such as taking monumental risks, dominating the market, thriving on deals, "outmanaging" the competition, and investing in political influence. Key principles shared by his business figures are "Pursue the money in ideas," "Rules are breakable," "Copying pays better than innovating," "Holding on to your equity," and "Frugality pays." The final chapter, "Your Turn," pulls together the methods illustrated throughout the book and offers advice on overcoming obstacles in competition and social convention (that is, society's rules of behavior that often make success unpopular). Fridson is candid about the cost of success in terms of family life. Although everyone may not agree with him, his thought-provoking analysis and explanations offer valuable insight for aspiring billionaires as well as those aiming a bit lower. --Mary Whaley
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Fridson (It Was a Very Good Year), managing director at Merrill Lynch and Co., presents a fascinating analysis of how well-known billionaires accumulated their wealth. He focuses on explaining the key strategies that lay listeners can use in building their own strong portfolios. Among the tycoons featured are Ross Perot, John D. Rockefeller, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Sam Walton. The chapters are organized around the different methods used, while throughout are interwoven common principles, such as hard work, thrift, doing business in a new way, dominating a market, buying low, investing in political influence, and resisting unions. While many wealth-building strategies will be recognized, other unique approaches, such as Walton's supreme devotion to copying the methods of other successful discounters, are revealed. Fridson also places the magnates within their particular industry by adding brief synopses of the business arenas and trends in which these successful entrepreneurs made their fortune. The solid narration by Johanna Ward maintains interest throughout this substantial addition to the financial literature; it stands apart in a crowded genre. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
