Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Consultant & Author
Franklin vs. Napoleon: Why One Retired at 42 and One Died on a Rock
Both men built every trait in this book. Dr. Paul Borosky sets them side by side and shows that the difference was not talent, drive, or power. It was one question, asked or unasked: how much is enough?
Last Updated: 10/28/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
What Is the Difference Between Franklin and Napoleon?
Both men built motivation, creativity, habits, leadership, and power. Franklin stepped back from his printing business at 42 under a long contract that bought him time, and spent decades on science, institutions, and diplomacy. Napoleon never defined enough, kept reaching, and died in exile on St. Helena.
This is the capstone in Chapter 6 of Become Your Version of Rich by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA. Franklin appears throughout the book, from his 13 virtues to his influence without authority. The calculation that fixes the problem is your financial independence number. All of it sits inside the Become Your Version of Rich guide.
The Comparison
Two Lives, Five Rungs, One Missing Line
Hold both lives in your head. The rung count is the same. The endings are not.
Benjamin Franklin
He defined enough and stopped climbing money
Motivation as a runaway with a target, creativity that built institutions, habits in a ruled book, leadership by influence, and power as a diplomat in France. Then he stepped back to use his time.
Ask yourself: What did he do with the time he bought?
Napoleon Bonaparte
He never defined enough
Bottomless drive, creativity that remade warfare, iron work habits, leadership that turned a regiment, and near absolute power. Then he kept reaching until reality stopped him.
Ask yourself: What would have been enough?
Dr. Paul adds fairness to history. Napoleon’s fall had many causes: strategic miscalculation, impossible logistics, coalitions that combined against him, and plain defeat. Limitless ambition was not the only reason. It was the one that made the others inevitable.
Franklin
In 1748, He Bought Back His Time
At 42, Franklin was one of the most successful printers in the colonies. He could have spent the next decades making more. Instead he stepped back from the daily operation of the printing house under an eighteen-year contract with his foreman, David Hall, who ran the shop. The sale freed Franklin from worrying about making a living, so he could focus on science and other projects.
Accounts describe the arrangement differently. Some call it a partnership that sent Franklin a share of the profits. Others call it a buyout paid in yearly installments. Either way, it was a deliberate move that secured a comfortable living and returned his hours. It was not idleness and not the end of his income. It was an early form of financial independence.
Then came the work: the electricity experiments, the inventions he gave away, a library, a fire company, a hospital, an academy that grew into a university, and from 1776 to 1785 his mission to France. Treaties of alliance and of amity and commerce were concluded in 1778. Franklin worked with other American commissioners, inside a situation already tilting France toward intervention.
Sources: Wikipedia, David Hall (printer). Franklin events timeline, University of Groningen, Events of his life. Isaacson, W. (2003), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Simon & Schuster.
Napoleon
From Notre-Dame to Moscow to St. Helena
The same decade of his life holds the peak and the seed of the fall.
- December 2, 1804At Notre-Dame, with Pope Pius VII present, Napoleon places the imperial crown on his own head.
- June 24, 1812The Grande Armée crosses the Niemen into Russia. One count puts its strength at 685,000 men. Only a fraction came back.
- March 7, 1815Back from Elba with about 1,100 men, Napoleon walks out alone before the 5th Regiment at Laffrey, and the soldiers sent to arrest him join him.
- June 1815 and afterWaterloo, final defeat, and exile to St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821.
Sources: History.com, Napoleon crowned emperor. Wikipedia, Grande Armée. Napoleon.org, The route Napoleon. Roberts, A. (2014), Napoleon: A Life, Viking.
Sources differ on whether the Pope handed Napoleon the crown or he took it. Dr. Paul’s point stands: the staging told Europe he answered to no one above him. Counts of the Russian army also vary, from about 600,000 to 685,000.
The Question
Which Man Was Actually Rich?
Dr. Paul keeps the question simple on purpose.
Dr. Paul gives the verdict on Napoleon in Become Your Version of Rich.
From Chapter 5 of Become Your Version of Rich
The most powerful man of his age, stripped of all of it, alone at the end of the world. He had more of all five traits than almost anyone who has ever lived. He lacked only one thing, and it was not a trait. It was a definition of enough.
Set Napoleon beside the long-haul trucker from the book, an ordinary man who decided what his version of rich was, reached it, and still ran one route himself because he wanted to. Which of them was rich? The emperor who had everything and could not feel it, or the driver who had far less and knew he had enough? It was never about the size of the pile. It was about whether you defined the destination.
That is why the book ends where it does. For the calculation, see how to calculate your financial independence number. For what to do once you arrive, see why Milton Hershey gave away his fortune. For a modern version of the same fall, read how MC Hammer went broke.
What the Research Says
Chasing Financial Success Can Cost Well-Being
Psychologists Tim Kasser and Richard Ryan found in 1993 that people who ranked financial success as a central life aspiration reported lower well-being than those who ranked self-acceptance, affiliation, and community more highly. It is a correlation in one set of samples, and it does not say that money is bad. It does fit the book’s argument that a target defined as “more” cannot be reached.
The related idea of the hedonic treadmill explains why: people adapt to better circumstances, and the new normal sets the next want.
Sources: Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993), A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 410-422.
How This Helps a Manager
Give Your Team a Line and a Reason
Managers set targets for other people. The contrast between these two lives points to three practices.
Set Targets With an Endpoint
Say what done looks like
A target of “more” wears people out. Name the number and the date, and tell the team what happens when it is reached. SMART goals give you the wording.
Celebrate Arriving
Pause when the team hits the line
Teams that never stop to recognize a win learn that nothing is enough. Mark it, thank people, then choose the next goal on purpose.
Use the Time You Free Up
Spend recovered hours on what matters
Delegation and good systems buy time. Franklin used his on work he chose. See how to motivate employees for what makes people want to use theirs well.
One Honest Caution
Two Lives Are Illustrations, Not Laws
Franklin and Napoleon lived in very different times and worlds, and no two lives prove a rule. This page is general education. Historical details, such as the terms of Franklin’s 1748 arrangement and the size of Napoleon’s army, vary by source. Retiring early is a financial decision with real risks, so ask a qualified professional before you act.
Do This Tomorrow
Three Steps for This Month
- Write the one question the book asks, how much is enough, and answer it in one paragraph.
- Draw your three lines: minimum security, comfortable, and abundant.
- Write what you would do with the first year of freed time, and one step you can take this month toward it.
If you do only one, write the paragraph. Then follow the calculation in how to calculate your financial independence number. The full cluster starts at the Become Your Version of Rich guide.
The Book
The Whole Ladder Is in the Book
This page contrasts two lives. Become Your Version of Rich follows both of them up every rung, with Madam C.J. Walker, Warren Buffett, and Milton Hershey beside them.
- Drive, Differentiate, Repeat, Multiply, Influence, and Arrive, rung by rung
- Daily Actions at the end of every chapter
- Cautionary tales, from WeWork to MC Hammer
- The calculation behind your version of rich
- The single page where it all ends up
Go Further With Dr. Paul
Write Your Version of Rich Into a Plan
A written plan can hold your number, your milestones, and your stop line. Dr. Paul writes custom business plans built on 1,000+ client engagements, so what you are building has an endpoint you can recognize.
Keep Going
More From Chapter 6
FAQ
Common Questions About Franklin and Napoleon
Why did Benjamin Franklin retire at 42?
Why did Napoleon die on St. Helena?
What does Franklin vs. Napoleon teach about success?
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Consultant, Author & Educator | 14+ Years | 1,000+ Clients Served
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA is a business consultant, author, and educator, and the founder of Quality Business Plan. He helps small business owners across the United States and Canada with business planning, financial modeling, fractional CFO services, and the everyday problems of businesses that depend too much on their owners. He is the creator of Dr. Paul’s Organize-Plan-Grow™ Strategy, author of numerous published books on Amazon, and publisher of over 1,000 business-focused videos on YouTube. He has taught as an adjunct college instructor and teaches in Florida public schools.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not investment, tax, legal, financial, or retirement advice, and it does not guarantee any particular financial result. The examples, figures, and calculations are illustrative planning tools, not recommendations. Before making significant financial decisions, consult a qualified professional.