Special Alert: Major news giant C-SPAN will be filming several sessions live at FreedomFest, including our Global Economic Summit where we will be debating “Trump’s Tariff-ying Trade War,” starting at 3:50 pm ET TODAY (Thursday, June 12); I’ll be moderating the panel which includes Steve Forbes and Art Laffer. See you there! For our full schedule, go to Home — FreedomFest.
“If you would not be forgotten,
As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
Or do things worth the writing.”
—Poor Richard’s Almanac
Benjamin Franklin did both — things worth reading, and things worth writing about!
He created practical inventions, like the Franklin stove, the lightning rod and bifocals. He also wrote one of the most famous autobiographies — the first Horatio Alger-style ‘rags to riches’ story — which was required reading for students until the 1920’s and is still a bestseller.
In the dozens of TV, radio and podcast interviews about my new book on Benjamin Franklin, the #1 question is “How is your book different?”
Why My Book is Different
Hundreds of books have told the rags to riches story of Ben Franklin. But my book is all about what you can learn from Franklin’s incredible career of 84 years as a businessman, entrepreneur, investor, consumer, diplomat, banker, economist, minister, fundraiser, economist, writer, soldier, medical doctor, presidential advisor, world traveler, legislator and public servant — and yes, even a family man!
Is there anyone out there who could not benefit from Dr. Franklin’s advice?
What makes a good consultant and personal advisor? Somebody who has real-world experience. And no one comes close to having experienced everything in life like this founding father. I came up with 22 careers that Franklin practiced in his life time!
He deserves to be on the $100 bill because his advice is worth more than any other president or founding father.
Having a Beer with Ben Franklin
Of all the founders, who would you like to sit down and have a beer with? Franklin wins, hands down. If you asked George Washington why he never had any children, the reserved Virginian would refuse to answer. If you asked Thomas Jefferson about his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings, he would consider it a highly inappropriate question. If you spent time with John Adams, you would end up in a verbal fight.
But Franklin always felt comfortable talking to anyone, from a struggling tradesman to the king of France. He was always, shall we say, “frank.” In his Autobiography, he confessed his “hard to govern passions” and his “errata” in life by siring an illegitimate boy named William (known as “Billy”).
His love life and amorous affairs with women are covered in the scandalous chapter, “On Love, Sex, and Marriage: Franklin’s Hard to Govern Passions.” (This chapter was in part a proposed column in Newsmax’s Franklin Prosperity Report, but was censored and rejected by the conservative publisher. But it’s reproduced in my book! See chapter 27.)
BTW, one of Franklin’s famous lines is supposed to be, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” It’s one of many fake quotes on the internet. He actually preferred wine over beer. See my chapter 66, “Franklin Said What?!” on a long list of misquotes.
On Business, Personal Finance and Investing
The first 22 chapters of my book are Franklin’s advice of being a successful businessman and investor. As an entrepreneur, Franklin learned how to stay ahead of the competition, be cost-conscious (“there is much revenue in economy”) and how to grow your business without taking on too much debt or risk.
He wrote, “No revenue is sufficient without economy… A man’s industry and frugality will pay his debts and get him forward in the world… Business not well managed ruins one faster than no business.”
Franklin was so successful as a printer and publisher that he retired at age 42, allowing him to devote the rest of his life to scientific pursuits and public service.
He learned the value of retained earnings and adopting high levels of saving during the good times so that when the bad times came, he survived, and then profited when the economy turned around.
When he lost his job as colonial agent he was earning £1,800, a substantial sum, but he was able to live on his investment income that he had saved up over the years.
What did he think of prophets of doom and gloom? See chapter 20, “On Doomsdayers and Fear Mongering.”
For more on Franklin as a financial guru, read this review by Alex Green (Oxford Club) here: Financial Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin
Franklin as an Economist
Franklin was also America’s first economist. When he was a printer in Philadelphia, he supported the printing of paper money because the British restricted the use of specie (gold and silver coins) in the colonies. He was also America’s first crony capitalist, because he won the government contract to print the paper money in Pennsylvania!
But he learned during the American Revolution that “too much paper money” was bad for the economy.
He was also a devoted follower of Adam Smith and a “free trader.” “No nation was ever ruined by trade,” he said. President Donald Trump could learn a thing or two from Franklin’s views on tariffs.
See chapter 31, “On the Benefits of Free Trade.” Send a copy to Donald Trump!
Franklin believed in limited government and low taxes. “A virtuous and industrious people may be cheaply governed,” he wrote.
I have a cool chapter 29, “Benjamin Franklin: Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand?”
He would be appalled by the size and scope of government in today’s welfare state. He wrote, “I am quite of the opinion that our independence is not quite complete till we have discharged our public debt.” Is anyone listening Washington?
Franklin as a Diplomat and Public Servant
Ken Burns considers Franklin “America’s greatest diplomat.” But it took time for him to learn the skill of diplomacy. He used to get into heated arguments with legislators and business people. He turned an enemy into a friend by borrowing one of his books, and returning it.
He decided “never to speak ill of anyone” in public, but learned to listen to others, and see where they could agree. He would write angry letters, but then never send them.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump could learn from chapter 64, “On Winning Friends and Influencing People.”
He was so successful as a fundraiser that he singlehandedly convinced the French to loan millions to the Americans during the War of Independence, the only commissioner to France to do so.
See chapter 61, “On Fundraising.” A must read for anyone running a non-profit organization.
Franklin on Religion
Franklin’s views on religion changed over the years. He was considered a heretic and religious skeptic by his friends. He was not a regular churchgoer, although the supported financially most churches in Philadelphia and was an active Mason. But the American Revolution changed his views from a deist to an active theist, stating before the Constitutional Convention in 1784, “God governs in the affairs of men.”
He believed in good works more than a good sermon. He wrote a friend, “Doubtlessly, faith has its use in the world; I do not desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavor to lessen it in any man. But I wish it were more productive of good works than I have generally seen: I mean real good works, works of kindness, charity, mercy, and public spirit; not holiday-keeping, sermon-reading or hearing, performing church ceremonies, or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments, despised even by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity.”
See chapter 67, “On the Benefits of a Useful Religion.”
Why You Should Read My Book: Make America Proud Again!
In an age of divisiveness and the image of the “Ugly American” is returning abroad, now more than ever we need Dr. Franklin’s sage advice.
“THE GREATEST AMERICAN” is 380 pages and published by Republic Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster.
Here’s my press release: Mark Skousen, America’s Economist, Revives Ben Franklin’s Wisdom for Today’s President — World News Report — EIN Presswire
#1 On Amazon’s New Release List!
The hardback is now available at your favorite bookstore, or online at The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, History’s Most Versatile Genius by Mark Skousen on Amazon. Feel free to write a review on Amazon.
Many subscribers are buying multiple copies as gifts to friends, relatives and clients. You pay only $24 for the first copy, $19 for all additional copies at Skousen Books at Discount. All copies are autographed and mailed at no extra charge inside the 50 states.
I’ve had many investors buy two, four, 10, 15 and even 24 copies at a time.
John Mackey (former CEO, Whole Foods Market) says, “Of all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin is my favorite. He was America’s first conscious capitalist, achieving financial independence by meeting the needs and well-being of his customers. He then used his wealth to improve the community and played a crucial role in saving the country during its darkest hours. More than any other writer, Mark Skousen illustrates why Franklin has come to be regarded, both by citizens and historians, as the greatest American.”
Be free, AEIOU,
Mark Skousen
You Nailed it!
The Benefits of a Social Life
by Mark Skousen
“I find I love company, a chat, a laugh, a glass and even a song, and relish the grave observations and wise sentences of old men’s conversations.” — Benjamin Franklin
Friends, colleagues and speakers started showing up early at this year’s FreedomFest in Palm Springs. It reminded me why this conference is the highlight of my life every year. It’s an opportunity to meet old friends, meet new ones and engage in some lively conversation and even a strong debate from time to time.
On Tuesday night, before FreedomFest began, my wife and I had dinner with Alex Green, editor of the Oxford Club; Marc Eliot, Hollywood’s biographer; Jim Green, a boyhood friend who was a professional pilot for the Navy and Continental Airlines; and Eric Weiner, a writer and philosopher who has written books on Greek philosophy and Ben Franklin (called “Ben & Me”). In his book he has a chapter on the “social Ben.”
If there was a party going on in London or Paris, Franklin was the center of attraction. He wrote a friend, “I find I love company, a chat, a laugh, a glass and even a song, and relish the grave observations and wise sentences of old men’s conversations.”
We discussed all kinds of subjects over several hours, including philosophy, music, politics, business and poetry. Everyone learned something new, and we found that we could disagree without being disagreeable.
I read a Harvard study recently that concluded that there was an epidemic of loneliness spreading across America, despite the explosion in social media.
FreedomFest is a place where loneliness disappears and new friends are discovered. We’ve even had people get married after meeting at our conference. No one is ever bored because there’s so much going on.
Franklin said it best: “A true friend is the best possession.”
