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Showing posts from July, 2023

Hombre más rico de Babilonia

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"Money is the medium by which earthly success is measured.   Money makes possible the enjoyment of the best the earth affords.   Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.   Money is governed today by the same laws which controlled it when prosperous men thronged the streets of Babylon, six thousand years ago."  The above verse is taken from a book that was written in 1926. Irrespective of the fact that the book is 97 years old, the content inside is as fresh as a cherry blossom. It's George Clason's "Richest Man in Babylon".  Money is the most fundamental thing in our daily lives. It's not worth more than a glass of water, but it isn't less than that either. The book is an amazing collection of 146 pages that will help you accumulate, preserve, and grow your wealth. For all those who are as passionate about money as any other person out there, this book is a must. I have read it twice, and every time I

PREDICTION ADDICTION

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READ MORE HISTORY AND FEWER FORECASTS. Benjamin Graham once said that if I have noticed anything over these 60 years on Wall Street, it is that people do not succeed in forecasting what's going to happen to the stock market. Chalie Munger has famously said that you should be a business analyst, not a market, macroeconomics, or security analyst. John Kenneth Galbraith, one of the most influential figures in the investment world has been noticed saying," We have two classes of forecasters: Those who don't know, and those who don't know they don't know."  Market forecasts will fill your ears and not your wallet. Just think about the damage to your wallet since 2009 if you had listened to so-called market experts from highly sources in business media.  Jason Zweig explains the constant human urge to predict in his book Your Money and Your Brain: "Just as nature abhors a vacuum, people have randomness. The human compulsion to make predictions about the unpredi

A Blacksmiths dream.

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India has been blessed with substantial numbers of extraordinary businessmen and business families. Starting from Mr. Jamshedji Tata to Mr. Mukesh Ambani and new-age businessmen like the Kamat brothers. All have served this country with dignity and a sheer nationalistic attitude. There are so many unheard heroes who have substantially contributed to making India what it is today. The history does a biased job of highlighting only a few of them. One such contributor was Mr. Om Prakash Jindal. Even though Mr. Jamshedji Tata is called the father of the Indian steel industry, this man and his family also played a significant role in making India the world's second-largest steel producer.   Short for OP Jindal, he was the founder and Chairman of the OP Jindal Group. The Jindal group stands as one of the top 10 largest conglomerates in India, having a significant presence in cement, steel, pipes and tubes, paints, energy, iron ore, and textiles. Out of $38 billion in revenues, 70% is c

Raymond Thomas Dalio.

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The Man, The Myth, and The legend. Once bankrupt, today's company has amassed a fortune of more than $20 Billion. Owner, founder, and Chief investment officer of the world's biggest Hedge Fund, Bridgewater Associates, managing an AUM of $150 Billion. Advisor to many central banks, countries, politicians, and organizations like the World Bank and the IMF. He is one of those very few heroes who saw the financial crisis of 2008 coming and had already built a short position to take advantage of it. A believer in philanthropy and, more importantly, a humble human being. It's hard to see someone like him leading such a normal life. He is none other than, Mr. Raymond Thomas Dalio, or Ray Dalio, as he is famously called.  After getting a master's in business administration degree from the Harvard Business School and beginning his career on Wall Street, and after getting drunk and punching his boss in the face, Ray started Bridgewater Associates from his two-bedroom Manhattan a

India's Polyester King, His Son, and the empire they built.

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Yemen has been hit by a severe civil war, and Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani is left with no choice but to leave Yemen for India with his wife, Mrs. Kokila Ben Ambani, and his 1-year-old son, Mukesh. They settle in a one-room kitchen in Bhuleshwar. The family was sleeping on the floor and had no money. Cars, telephones, and electricity were luxuries. Nobody had predicted that a struggling middle-class family in 1958 would go on to live in this breathtaking building named Antilia, which is the costliest residential house in the world. Along with the house, the family rose to become one of the most powerful families in India in just one generation.   How did Mr. Dhirubhai build an unsinkable organization? If this company fails, it will take the country with it. What were their principles? What was their competitive advantage? Let's dive into one of the most mesmerizing business stories India has ever experienced.  INITIAL DAYS  Mr. Dhirubhai began a business trading in spices in the late 1950