- Approximately 80.64 million business and economics category print books were sold in 2021.
- This represents 25% of adult non-fiction print sales which were over 322.56 million in total.
- 2021 showed 10% rise from over 73.31 million for the business and economics category when compared to the previous FY.
- Furthermore, print sales in the business and economics category reached a 10-year high.
- This category represents the second largest adult non-fiction subject after religious texts.
- As of 2022, business & money is also ranked third within the top ebook sales categories on Amazon.
- However as of 2022, business books with a focus on personal finance & investment recorded the largest year-on-year sales declines.
- Despite these declines, as of 2022 print unit sales for the sub-category still show a 27% increase when compared to 2019.
- The business & money category was ranked sixth within the top U.S. audiobook genres as of 2017.
Best-selling business books of all time
Business and finance books are known to provide practical advice, analyze economic trends and share real-world case studies, with titles that have featured in the best-selling audiobooks of all time.
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was published in 1937. It has sold over 70 million copies as of 2022.
- In 2007, the book was ranked sixth on BusinessWeek’s best-selling paperback business books.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki has sold more than 44 million copies since its 1997 publication.
- The book was featured on the New York Times bestsellers list for over six years, as of 2016
- It is claimed that the author’s appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show had the greatest influence on his overall sales numbers.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
- The audio version of the book has also sold 1.5 million copies.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
- Annually it sells in excess of 250,000 copies.
- The book was ranked the seventh most influential book in American history in a Library of Congress survey in 2013.
Business books by copies sold
| # | Title | Author | Estimate copies sold* | Year published | Pages |
| 1 | Think and Grow Rich | Napoleon Hill | 70 million | 1937 | 238 |
| 2 | Rich Dad Poor Dad | Robert T. Kiyosaki | 44 million | 2000 | 336 |
| 3 | The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Stephen Covey | 40 million | 1989 | 381 |
| 4 | How to Win Friends and Influence People | Dale Carnegie | 30 million | 1936 | 291 |
| 5 | Who Moved My Cheese? | Spencer Johnson | 30 million | 1998 | 94 |
| 6 | Freakonomics | Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 7 million | 2005 | 336 |
| 7 | Atomic Habits | James Clear | 5 million | 2018 | 320 |
| 8 | Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion | Robert B. Cialdini | 5 million | 1984 | 592 |
| 9 | The E-Myth Revisited | Michael E. Gerber | 5 million | 1986 | 288 |
| 10 | The Goal | Eliyahu M. Goldratt | 5 million | 1984 | 384 |
| 11 | In Search of Excellence | Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr. | 4.5 million | 1982 | 400 |
| 12 | Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead | Sheryl Sandberg | 4.2 million | 2013 | 247 |
| 13 | Good to Great | Jim Collins | 4 million | 2001 | 320 |
| 14 | Blue Ocean Strategy | W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne | 3.5 million | 2004 | 240 |
| 15 | Influence: Science and Practice | Robert B. Cialdini | 3 million | 1984 | 260 |
| 16 | Thinking Fast And Slow | Daniel Kahneman | 2.6 million | 2011 | 499 |
| 17 | Zero to One | Peter Thiel | 2.5 million | 2014 | 224 |
| 18 | The 4-Hour Workweek | Tim Ferriss | 2.1 million | 2007 | 308 |
| 19 | Getting to Yes | Roger Fisher and William Ury | 2 million | 1981 | 200 |
| 20 | Never Split the Difference | Chris Voss | 2 million | 2016 | 260 |
| 21 | Losing My Virginity | Richard Branson | 2 million | 1998 | 624 |
| 22 | Principles | Ray Dalio | 2 million | 2017 | 592 |
| 23 | The Power of Habit | Charles Duhigg | 2 million | 2012 | 371 |
| 24 | Getting Things Done | David Allen | 1.6 million | 2001 | 267 |
| 25 | The Infinite Game | Simon Sinek | 1.6 million | 2019 | 251 |
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FAQ
What are the benefits of reading business books?
- Business people who read at least seven business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than those who read only one per year.
How many categories of business books are there?
- The business and economics print books category comprises more than 100 subjects and over 200 sub-category subjects.
What type of content is included in business books?
- Financial literacy and independence are amongst the key themes within bestselling business category books.