Today we have selected some MBA Finance Books for you. You should read this before you are in your 20s. These books will tell you how to start a business and how to manage it. I promise you that after reading these books you will know how to manage your finances.
entrepreneurship best business books
The Everything Store” by Brad Stone – A wonderful book on how Amazon got started, and its early years. Amazon has evolved a lot since this book was written; But a great glimpse into the mind of one of the most brilliant businessmen of our time.
The Ride of a Lifetime” by Bob Iger – Bob Iger, former CEO and now executive chairman of Disney, shares his thoughts on leadership and how he helped Disney become one of the world’s largest and most successful media companies How made.
Bad Blood” by John Carreyrou – A definitive account on Theranos, the infamous startup run by Elizabeth Holmes. This book reads like a thriller and should not be missed.
Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight – An inspirational story of how Phil Knight made Nike the powerful brand it is today.
Bottle of Lies” by Catherine Ebon – An investigative and eye-opening account of malpractices in the pharma business in India.
Forward” by Howard Schultz – In 2008, Howard Schultz returned to lead Starbucks to help restore its financial health. An amazing book on how Starbucks achieved profitability and stability during one of the most difficult economic periods in American economic history.
Super Pump” by Mike Isaacs – Super Pump does an excellent job of describing the rise of Uber and its eventual ‘fall’. Mike Isaacs delves into Uber’s sometimes shady tactics, its toxic work environment, and how its investors ousted Travis Kalanick.
No Filter” by Sarah Fryer – A look inside Instagram, from its inception to its acquisition by Facebook. A brilliantly written, captivating book.
History of business and financial markets
Too Big to Fail” by Andrew Ross Sorkin – A definitive account of the 2008 crisis. If you like movies, would suggest watching ‘Inside Job’. There are many more movies on this topic like ‘Too Big to Fail’, ‘The Big Short’, ‘Margin Call’ etc but I like Inside Job the best.
When Geniuses Fail” by Roger Lowenstein – A book on Long Term Capital Management, known as the ‘Smartest Hedge Fund’, folded. A gripping tale of arrogance, greed and blind spots.
Barbarians at the Gate” by Brian Burroughs and John Helliar – A thrilling account of KKR’s acquisition of RJR Nabisco, perhaps the most dramatic acquisition in American corporate history.
The Big Short” by Michael Lewis – Again on the 2008 crisis, but from the perspective of investors who saw it coming and profited from the crisis. As mentioned above, if you like movies then there is a movie with the same name.
Financial Analysis and Corporate Finance
Key Management Ratios” by Ciaran Walsh – More in depth than How Finance Works, but still an easy read. Full of practical examples and case studies.
Financial Statement Analysis” by Martin Fridson – Probably the most recommended textbook on financial statement analysis.
How Finance Works” by Mihir Desai – An easy read book about financial statements and corporate finance. Serves as an excellent introductory guide.
Financial Shenanigans” by Howard Schillit – A wonderful guide to understanding how to detect accounting fraud, misrepresentation and gimmicks. Full of case studies.
Lessons in Corporate Finance” by Paul Asquith and Lawrence Weiss – this is a textbook used in finance courses around the world – it’s full of case studies and covers almost all the topics you’ll need in a CF book – Analysis of capital structure and investment decisions by ratios.
Economics books
Economics: The User’s Guide” by Ha-Joon Chung – Would recommend this book over any textbook commonly used in colleges. Easy to read and understand.
Freakonomics” by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner – For those who find economics boring (like me), this highly entertaining book blends economics principles with everyday issues and topics. If you like this book, consider reading Super Freakonomics by the same authors.
Business Strategy and Outline
The 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy” by Hamilton Helmer – A comprehensive strategy framework, more in line with the present times than some of the well-known strategy classics.
Modern Monopolies” by Alex Moezed and Nicholas Johnson – Some of the biggest businesses globally today have one thing in common – they are ‘platform businesses’. This book decodes what platform businesses are and how they will impact traditional businesses.
Understanding Michael Porter” by Joan Magretta – Michael Porter’s concepts are essential reading for understanding trading strategy, but his books are quite long and dry. This book does a great job of breaking down the core concepts.
Investment Books
Why Doesn’t Matter” by Heather Brilliant and Elizabeth Collins – Why Doesn’t Matter is a comprehensive guide to finding great companies with an economic moat, or competitive advantage. Description of the investment process used at Morningstar.
Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing” by Pat Dorsey – Perhaps the best introductory text on investing and thinking about sustainable competitive advantages. While many people recommend ‘The Intelligent Investor’ by Benjamin Graham as the definitive guide, I found this book to be very difficult reading (dare I say, boring).
The Investment Checklist” by Michael Sheeran – What sets The Investment Checklist apart from other investing-related books is that it helps you implement a principled investment strategy through a series of checklists – This is as insightful as a book can get.
The Manual of Ideas” by John Mihaljevic – This book reveals the investment framework used by top fund managers around the world.
Written by Michael Maubossin “Written by Michael Maubossin” – Michael is one of the most prolific finance writers. He has written many books and research articles. Haven’t listed them all because there are so many and all are awesome. Here is a handy collection of his papers/articles. I would recommend ‘Making the Moat’ as a first paper to read; This is absolutely fantastic.
Evaluation books
Damodaran on Valuation” by Ashwath Damodaran – Probably the most recommended book on Valuation. Supplement it with Prof Damodaran’s blog.
Narratives and Numbers” by Aswath Damodaran – Prof. Reading Damodaran’s blogs shows how he always combines evaluation with a story. He says that both the story and the numbers matter and both reinforce each other. Read this book to understand the convergence between qualitative and quantitative aspects of evaluation.
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (McKinsey & Company)” by Tim Koller, Mark Goedhart – While relatively lesser known than Prof. Damodaran’s book, I think this book does a great job in tying valuation and corporate Finance works very well with business strategy.
The Little Book of Valuation” by Ashwath Damodaran – A Concise Introduction to Valuation, can be considered as the forerunner of Damodaran’s On Valuation. Read this if you just want to get an introduction to valuation without going into too many details.
PE, VC & Entrepreneurship
Mastering Private Equity” by Claudia Zeisberger – The Definitive Guide to Private Equity. Supplement is with ‘Private Equity in Action’ by the same author to see case studies of PE and VC investments.
Venture Deals” by Brad Feld – The Definitive Guide to VC Fundraising; This book delves deep into how deals are constructed, why some terms matter (and others don’t) and more importantly, what motivates venture capitalists to propose certain outcomes.
The Secret of Sand Hill Road” by Scott Kupor – A great insight into how top venture capitalists think.
Zero to One” by Peter Thiel – This book enjoys almost a cult status among entrepreneurs and VCs, and for good reason.
Similar books
Thinking in Bets” by Annie Duke – A book on how to make better decisions in the face of uncertainty (which is almost every time). Annie Duke takes examples from many areas such as business, sports, politics and poker.
Seeking Wisdom” by Peter Bevelin – A multi-disciplinary quest for wisdom. The author does a wonderful job of drawing on wisdom from people like Einstein, Feynman, Darwin, and Charlie Munger.
Naked Statistics” by Charles Whelan – It is very unlikely to come across a statistics book that is not boring; That’s why I’m glad I found this book. A fun, yet in-depth look at statistics.
Hope you find this comprehensive reading list of books for finance sector useful. I would like to thank Arpit for taking the valuable time to list down his favorite finance and business books for the benefit of the blog’s members.
Best finance books for beginners
| BOOKS NAME | DOWNLOAD PDF | BUY LINK |
|---|---|---|
| Zero to one (by-peter thiel) | Download Here | BUY LINK |
| Rich Dad Poor Dad (by-Robert T. Kiyosaki) | Download Here | Buy Now |
| The Intelligent Investor (by-Benjamin Graham) | Download Here | Buy Now |
| Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind (by-T. Harv Eker) | Download Here | Buy Now |
| Money: Master The Game (by-Tony Robbins) | Download Here | Buy Now |
| psychology of money (by-Mornag Housel) | Download Here | Buy Now |
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