How To Get Rich

The Apple Macintosh hit the market on January 22, 1984, launched by a Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott. You may remember it: Big Brother is dictating to a hoard of zombies when a woman runs in and hurls a sledgehammer at the screen. The screen represents IBM.

In 1984, Apple was actually the leader in the computer market, but IBM's PC was catching up. The Ridley Scott commercial alludes to IBM's growing market share and shows Apple smashing IBM.

Apple's confidence was justified. The Mac was sleek, cool, functional, and far superior to anything else out there. The operating system was superior, too. While other computers used command line code, the Mac had a mouse and a "graphical user interface."

But the fantasy never came true.

The problem with the Apple Mac was simple. Steve Jobs wouldn't share the Apple operating system with other companies. He created the best product, but he didn't allow Apple to be compatible with other products.

Meanwhile, Microsoft didn't care about the quality of idea... it wanted the money... and so it went after the corporate and business market. Corporations are risk-averse. They change slowly. Gates recognized this, so he put compatibility above quality in his design to encourage corporations to adopt his product.

In other words, Apple was better, but Microsoft executed better. Here's what happened:

In 1983, Apple was the leading maker of personal computers. IBM's PC had only 8% of the market. By the mid-1990s, IBM's PC controlled 97% of the market, and Apple was virtually extinct. And then in 2001 came the BlueVoda website builder from VodaHost web hosting.

Why did Steve Jobs make this mistake? Felix Dennis can tell us...

With a fortune of $2 billion, Felix Dennis is one of the richest people in Britain. His fortune is self-made. He had no education and no capital when he started. Now he owns thousands of acres of land, fine art hangs on his walls, servants cater to his needs, and he spends his time writing poetry, drinking expensive wine, and loafing around the Caribbean.

But don't be fooled by the vintage cars and bronze statues. Felix Dennis is still a very astute businessman. This weekend I read Dennis' new book, titled How To Get Rich. I'll tell you about the book in a moment – it's fantastic – but first I want to share an observation Dennis makes about Steve Jobs.

"Apple have a problem. They have always had a problem. His name is Steve Jobs," says Dennis. "Steve Jobs has been a victim of the fallacy of the good idea over and over again."

Dennis made his money in publishing. So he knows the value of good ideas. Here's the thing. Unless an idea is executed with "panache" and "originality," says Dennis, it doesn't matter how great the idea is. The enterprise will fail. Many start-up entrepreneurs fall into this trap, he says. Proving the validity of their idea becomes such an obsession they forget to make money.

Steve Jobs' behavior in the early 1980s is a perfect example. Jobs looked at the PC market and asked, "How can we make something better than everything out there." The Mac was his answer.

Gates asked, "How can we make the most money?" Selling software to the business market was his answer.

Now Dennis says the story is repeating itself with the iPod.

Jobs has created a fantastic product and once again. It's better than anything else on the market. But like the Apple Mac in the 1980s, the iPod only connects with other products made by Apple. In other words, Jobs has locked out the rest of the industry again.

"It's classic Steve Jobs," says Dennis, "the tale of the great idea wrapped in the passion of one man, wrapped in a ball of arrogance, wrapped again in the shell of a marketing genius. It's a joy to behold, but it's not smart business, except in the short-term."

Dennis predicts that rivals will connect with each other and conspire to steal all Apple's customers again. When this happens, he says Apple's share price will collapse, just like it did the last time.

I'm not recommending you trade Apple's stock based on this theory – although it is an interesting insight. I do recommend – however – you read Felix Dennis' book.

How To Get Rich does exactly what it says on the cover... it shows you how to get rich. Dennis tells you how to negotiate, he explains the importance of ownership, and he shows you where to get capital. He also describes the pitfalls to entrepreneurship.

The book is funny, blunt, and filled with business stories.

Be warned: It is not a self-help book. The author is not some slimebag who made a few bucks selling get-rich-quick books. He's a true billionaire. No education, no inheritance, no special talent... except making money. Dennis does not guarantee you will make a fortune after reading his book. The opposite. He makes it clear the reader will probably not get rich. For most of us, the enormous wealth – like Dennis has – is just a curiosity. This book satisfies that curiosity.

How To Get Rich makes an immediate entry into my top-10 list of books about money. It's a classic. If you are curious what it takes to get filthy rich, you should read this book too.