The Rules of Wealth, 3rd Edition

RULE 53

Don’t believe you can always win

There is a whole list of things and people you can’t beat, so it might be best to be cautious around them. They include the bookies (and anyone else trying to take money off you for gambling – casino owners, card sharps, race courses, online gambling websites etc.), the tax authorities, speed cameras, the government, your mother, planning authorities, the police, your kids and death.

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, was sued by the authors of another book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, as they believed he had plagiarised their work. They lost. They lost big time. They lost somewhere, in the region of £1.75 million including costs.

They probably believed quite sincerely in the merits of their case, but ...