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Summary: Missing Fractional Reserve Billionaires, Still A Great Book!
Review: A great book! The author steps away from judging these mostly rather ruthless people who have become billionaires and allows us to understand their overall motives as it pertains to increasing their wealth this lifetime.One of the more interesting methods was Warren Buffett's using his Bershire Hathaway company to acquire insurance companies and then use those companies insurance premiums to extreme advantage (like a 4 or 5 to 1 ratio!) which in his case translated into extreme profits which ultimately returned to the Bershire Hathaway shareholders.Those of us who remember the Oil Depletion Allowance and didn't get it back in the 70's should be delighted to know that this scam originated in conjunction with the federal income tax which came with the Revenue Act of 1913. These are just some the methods that were used by formerly rich and not so rich to become super-rich. One that was not mentioned at all was the fractional reserve system in banking which figures because that's perhaps one of the fastest ways to attain billionaire status since the formulation of the bank of Amsterdam back in 1609 and its still dominant offspring, the Bank of England in 1694.But that's just quibbles for other books such as "The Gods of Eden" by William Bramley tell those stories and others. Enjoy "How To Be A Billionaire" and don't let the author con you into thinking these guys are the Olympic Metal Champions of wealth! They are not. The Rothschild's were never mentioned in this book and it's hard to imagine such a wealthy family that owned much of the world during the last century not to be substantially richer than any Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. I suspect there are trillionaires out there that we as a society do not hear about at all. Would you want anyone to know if you had that much power? Leland Roth
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Summary: Business, not Lightening
Review: Contrary to its title, this painstakingly researched and entertaining book does not belong to the genre of financial self-help. Rather, it chronicals the business successes (and some failures) of a group of self-made billionaires. It is not celebrity biography, either, which tends to treat these individuals as pure anomolies, as if their wealth descended from heaven on lightening bolts. Rather, Fridson explores the histories the ultra-successful as actions of extraordinary businessmen operating in the ordinary economy. This brings their achievements to human scale and provides useable lessons for would-be billionaires, even if some of the advice seems toung-in-cheek ("dominate your market" - If I knew how to do that ....) Perhaps it is self-help, after all.
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Summary: This book cuts to the chase!
Review: How To Be A Billionare is a book that doesn't bore you with biographies on celebrity businessmen or feed you a bunch of new-age psychobable. With chapters on how to influence politicians and deal with unions, this is a must read for anyone serious about getting rich.
Rating: 
Summary: a pleasant read, but disappointing
Review: I bought this, not foolishing thinking it would actually tell me how to become a billionaire, but thinking it would offer some meaty insights, given the lofty financial position the aauthor holds (Merrill Lynch Managing Director), and because of his previous exceptional book on financial analysis. But it was pretty disappointing. Based around 9 trite truisms such as buy low and outmanage the competition, it never tells you how to achieve this. And the chapters describing each billionaire who is supposed to exemplify each truism are thin, filled with social commentary (who cares if Richard Branson throws people into swimming pools?) and few insights. But the books most glaring void - and the method most accessible to anyone really wishing to be (or is that become?) a billionaire - is its failure to focus on a new and certainly proven method of achieving the titles promise...develop a great internet business idea and take it public. In that the authors place of business has itself helped create a number of these makes this omission even more glaring.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthwhile Read
Review: I found this a very enjoyable study of the characteristics and practices of great wealth builders. The ideas here are applicable to building great businesses, whether you aspire to the Wealthy 100 list or not. For the most part the biographies both amplify the principles put forth and give interesting insights into the essence of the personalities behind these successes.Use this book to refine your focus on the personality skills you need to further develop to attain the level of financial success you desire.
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Summary: Well written, but appeals to very few people
Review: I had a difficult time with this book. I found the writing to be exceptional and the documentation to be very good as well. The problem I have with the book is that I fail to see how anyone other than a few extraordinary business people can find any use for the information contained in this book. I found the ideas to be sound, but let's be realistic. How many people reading this book are really going become billionaires? You're not going to do it by simply investing in the stock market as the author points out. There's really no other way than to start a business, dominate your market and go from there. I would classify this book more as a book of profiles of billionaires. It mentions Bill Gates, Sam Walton, John D. Rockefeller and other living and dead billionaires. I found many of the stories interesting, but the title of the book kept throwing me off. According to the title, this book is supposed to tell me how to be a billionaire. I suppose by following the information contained in this book, that might very well happen. Then again, I'll never get married and have kids as a result. Not much to look forward to if you ask me. I don't recommend this book to the average lay person at all. I do recommend this book to entrepreneurs and business owners. I found some useful information in here, particularly in Chapter 5 about dominating your market. The problem I have is that the two examples offered in this chapter are Bill Gates and John D. Rockefeller. Whenever I think of these guys, I think of my computer crashing and high gas prices. If you're a serious entrepreneur, you will probably find some information in here you can use or at least some inspiration. It's not written for the lay person. It's pretty heavy stuff, but if you read through it, you might find something useful. I'm giving this book only 2 stars because it really doesn't appeal to a large segment of the population. Unless you're a big fan of big business, you won't find it interesting at all. The author is obviously very intelligent and the book is impeccably researched. As a business owner all of my short life, I found some good stuff in here but not a lot. If you're looking to become a billionaire, by all means read this book, but for me, I would rather have a life.
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Summary: Good Biographies.......Not Much Else Though
Review: I rate the books I read by how well they draw me in and how easy they are to understand. If you want to learn about the lives of such big-boy billionaires as Bill Gates, Ross Perot, Warren Buffet and Sam Walton, then this is the book for you. I'm very picky with the books I read. I like the "How To" books that tell me how to accomplish my specific goal(s). Like the title to my review says, there are numerous biographies in this book about the most famous billionaires in the world. If you're interested in adding some zeros and commas to your bank account balance, I suggest you choose another book to invest in. The wealth-building strategies explained in here are pretty basic. The book was written well though.
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Summary: A Good Read!
Review: If you ever wondered how Bill Gates, Warren Buffet or even John D. Rockefeller got so rich, rest assured it took hard work and restless individualism. Martin S. Fridson profiles self-made billionaires and describes the principles and strategies they used to achieve their wealth. The profiles illustrate how these billionaires succeeded. Fridson identifies nine fundamental strategies, which become the basis for each of his chapters. His ideas may sound familiar - as may some of the stories he cites, such as the rise of Rockefeller and Bill Gates. However, Fridson combines these ideas and images compellingly, highlighting the major strategies and providing vivid portraits. We at getAbstract.com recommend this book to general readers, as well as executives, company owners and anyone who feels driven to get very, very rich.
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Summary: A bold book. Strategies. Principles. Lives of Billionaires.
Review: Imagine having the courage to write a book that is aimed at budding entrepreneurs who want to be billionaires. Millionaires, sure. But billionaires? How many of us would be willing to even discuss with our friends the thought of giving it a shot by taking a systematic approach to making billions? It is fascinating that someone would seriously spend that much time researching the strategies that were purportedly used by billionaires like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ross Perot, etc. Even more amazing that they would write a book about it. That alone convinced me to buy the book. Okay, I also got it during the after-christmas sale at amazon.com for 70% off, but frugality is one of the key principles followed by the billionaires. When you start reading the book, you realize that the author is very serious about teaching you how to be a billionaire if that is your goal. The book follows this format - the first chapter which is 28 pages long is definitely worth reading multiple times. It introduces the concept of 'Overcoming the Levelers' which in this day and age are the 'Menace of Competition' and the 'Obstacle of Social Conventions' and some ideas to overcome these. This chapter also talks about the obvious and not so obvious paths that have NOT been taken by billionaires, like 'playing the stock market' or 'salary'. The different key principles shared by the billionaires along with some of the strategies they followed are briefly described. Most importantly, this chapter provides some very deep insights into how these very successful people did it. The rest of the book goes into the 9 different strategies that were employed by the billionaires in reaching their current position. This is a fascinating journey into the details of how they became so successful. There are also a couple of important chapters on choosing the right industry and some tidbits for the readers who are putting their own plans together. For those of us who spend a lot of time staying on top of the world financial news and trying to figure out how certain mergers end up in 'the whole is more than the sum of the parts' situation will find this book a treat. There are examples of these mergers where the author explains the theories behind high stock valuations. And it is all a very easy read. I have been unsuccessfully tyring to figure this out on and off for about 3 years and this book helped me understand this concept in just a few minutes. As the authors rightly point out, a lot of people on the planet are very interested in making enormous sums of money - as witnessed by the popularity of state lotteries across the country and the world. Of course, most of us don't aspire to actually make this the central focus of our lives (lottery addicts excluded) for good reasons - lack of information on how to do it being the number 1 reason. There may be more certainty in taking the path to become a sports star, movie star or earn a doctorate than in making enormous sums of money. It just isn't clear how one can do it. That is obviously why there are so few billionaires in the world. But this book is a fascinating read that can help you decide whether to really pursue this dream or set less lofty goals (like making enough money for a comfortable retirement) and stop trying to convince your spouse that you are going to become a billionaire some day, if only the economy would turn around or if only someone would give you a chance or if only ... This book has been helping me set clearer targets for myself by coming to terms with the fact that it is an almost impossible task to make that kind of money from nothing. Instead, it has helped me define a path and set a goal that is in tune with my own capabilities. Get a copy of this book and read it cover to cover if spend more than 2 hours a week talking to friends about making a lot of money. I wish you the best of luck with this very important pursuit!
Rating: 
Summary: All Common Sense, nothing you don't already know
Review: In the first chapter, the author makes a point on how vague early get-rich books are so he assures I am holding the manual that will teach me how to be a "billionaire". He also stresses how autobiographies/biographies are merely stories and lack the emphasis of key principles that are essential to becoming a "billionaire". After reading this book, I realized the author is a complete hypocrite. What's more, he works at a paper-pushing job at an investment bank...hardly a credible author for this type of subject! Not only is this book vague, but it is just a compilation of short biographies. The chapters are organized into the key principles that the author believes are necessary for becoming a "billionaire". But this is misleading. Each chapter just goes about telling stories of one or two billionaires without any in-depth discussion on the principle. This is horribly, unfocused writing. The style of writing makes it hard to digest also. Most of the principles are pretty commonsense, too. For example, one principle is "Dominate Your Market". Duh! Now, if you tell me how to do that, I will gladly do it! Another one is "Invest in Political Influence". Most of us would not have the money to do that and if we did, we probably do it without anyone telling us to. In the end, the author tells us to think rich, inspire yourself, take action, enjoy life, and don't give up. This is acceptable if I wanted to read one of those inspirational self-help books, but I wanted to know how to be a billionaire.
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