With Think & Grow Rich being number 13 among the best-selling books of all time, it is no secret that Napoleon Hill is one of the most successful authors ever. Published in 1937, the book had sold 20 million copies by the time of Hill’s death in 1970. Then, by 2015, 100 million copies had been sold. Hill’s works are the result of Andrew Carnegie commissioning him to compose a “philosophy of individual achievement.”

Carnegie was worth 380 million dollars at the time of his death, in 1919. Today, his wealth is estimated to be worth 310 billion dollars, making him the 6th wealthiest person ever. Carnegie was also one of the world’s most generous philanthropists by giving away 350 million dollars of his fortune. Despite giving over 90% of his wealth away, he disclosed to Hill that he would truly give away his fortune through revealing the key principles to success. Hill’s completed philosophy consists of 17 principles that were personally taught to him by some of the most successful people of all time. These people include Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt. In light of the popularity of his unlikely collaborators, some of Hill’s critics profess that there is no evidence of his relationship with them. It is in response to these claims that this book seeks to reveal how Hill knew some of his more popular benefactors.

As you will hear in the introduction, I have personally experienced a tremendous amount of success by living these principles. Therefore, I wish to debunk the false narrative that he was a fraud. Although Hill’s collaborators were some of the most accomplished men in history, it is his very own life that best illustrates the effectiveness of his principles. However, Hill’s success is not defined by opulence. Instead, it is illustrated by him writing one of the best-selling books of all time, despite being nearly destroyed several times over.