Truett Cathy, founder of the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, has experienced both “poverty and plenty” in his lifetime. In his new book Wealth: Is It Worth It?, Cathy explores the opportunities and responsibilities that accompany financial success, and recounts the lessons he learned while growing up in a financially poor family.
“My message is caution,” Cathy says. “Wealth has the power to build or to destroy. When we use wealth to help people who are in need, we experience tremendous joy. But I’ve seen many people and families damaged by the wealth they have gained because they became complacent or jealous.”
In his book, available nationwide in major bookstores and through online retailers in early July 2011, Cathy explains his belief that wealth is “worth it” only if it is earned honestly, spent wisely, saved responsibly and given generously.
Cathy, age 90, acquired his business philosophy early in life. He entered the business world when he was 8 years old during the Great Depression. Forty-six years before he would open the first Chick-fil-A restaurant, he showed his entrepreneurial skills by setting up a Coca-Cola stand in his front yard, and he delivered the local newspaper throughout his public housing neighborhood in Atlanta. These experiences helped Cathy develop the “people first” business philosophy that distinguishes the Chick-fil-A brand today.
He and his wife, Jeannette, worked 21 years behind the counter of their mom-and-pop restaurant, where the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich was developed, before they opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in 1967 in an Atlanta shopping mall. Today, the chain of 1,562 restaurants generates annual sales approaching $4 billion.
Cathy says he wrote the book as a personal message to current and future generations, as well as to his “Chick-fil-A family,” as it is his hope the company will remain a successful family-owned and operated business through multiple generations.
“If you want to have a healthy respect for wealth,” says Dave Ramsey, radio show host and author of The Total Money Makeover, “go find a wealthy person who’s doing it right. I can’t think of anyone better suited for this task than my friend Truett Cathy.”
Ken Blanchard, co-author of the One-Minute Manager adds, “Truett’s book asks an important question: Is money worth the trouble it takes to attain it? Is it worth the trouble it can bring if you happen upon it through good fortune? His answer is profound and just what you’d expect from a man famous for his generosity. Wealth is worth it only if you give it away.”
