Product Description

Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of disparate influences: his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" (whose weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad" (that "the poor and the middle class work for money," but "the rich have money work for them"). Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with money. Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points, his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of "financial literacy" that's never taught in schools. Based on the principle that income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so that the jobs can eventually be shed. --Howard Rothman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 207 pages

Amazon.com
Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of disparate influences: his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" (whose weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad" (that "the poor and the middle class work for money," but "the rich have money work for them"). Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with money. Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points, his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of "financial literacy" that's never taught in schools. Based on the principle that income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so that the jobs can eventually be shed. --Howard Rothman

From AudioFile
Attitude towards risk determines acquisition of wealth, according to Kiyosaki, a financial lecturer and millionaire. Fear of risk keeps you in the house-and-bills "rat trap," unable to escape. Short fore- and afterwords by the Hawaiian-born Kiyosaki frame a serviceable reading by British actor Hoye. Sounding American, Hoye makes little attempt to add zip to this economics discourse. Reading from a script, his narration is unmemorable, but it successfully conveys the intended monetary advice. The random musical bridges do not correspond to sections or chapters. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

--Zig Ziglar, world-renowned author and lecturer
"To get over the top financially, you must read RICH DAD, POOR DAD. It's common sense and market savvy for your financial future."

Customer Reviews

If only things were that easy...
Kiyosaki's book does have some strengths, but also sends some mixed signals and has a lot of plain bad advice. Overall, the book is a bad choice.

The good:
- The story is interesting enough and certainly captures one's attention.
- The motivational part. It does make you think about your financial life.

The mixed:
- "Leaving the Rat Race" -- spend less, invest more: excellent and much needed advice. Unfortunately, Kiyosaki's own bad example follows. He brags about his Rolex, luxury cars and such. Given the amount of time that he seems to spend promoting his stuff, maybe Kiyosaki himself is in the Rat Race -- albeit in a golden, roomier cage.
- "Work to learn, not for the money". Again, good advice followed by bad examples. Learning at work is usually by DOING, not by being around or watching other people do. So, the Xerox case is fine, but all the others are just foolish.
- "Assets and liabilities". Dubious "redefinitions": something that doesn't put money in your pocket can still be an asset (if it saves you money that would otherwise be spent -- say, a house...).

The bad:
- The whole "traditional education is bad for you" approach. No, it isn't. Harvard costs what it costs for a reason. The reason is more money for YOU down the road.
- "Pay yourself first". Bad idea. If you're on a positive cash flow, it makes no difference. If you're not, it makes you incur in debt and thus INTEREST, which is a nice way to throw away money for zero added value.
- Risk isn't always good, as Kiyosaki implies. The strategies discussed in the book are very unsound and will work only on a bullish market (if any).
- Insider trading and tax evasion are illegal, period.

And the naked, cruel truth that RDPD DOES NOT SAY:
(because it isn't "best-seller material")
- According to Kiyosaki's theory, all you have to do is "wake up the financial genius within you". In reality, there are two honest ways of making money in this world:
1) WORKING. Ok, say you were lucky enough to have a truly great idea or talent. You still would have to work -- don't Steve Jobs, Madonna or Shaquille O'Neal work? Then again, not everybody will be THIS lucky -- and in this case, you are much better off being a highly paid EDUCATED worker. Just the opposite of what RDPD says. By the way, making money from real estate or IPOs or starting your own business will require a lot of work and knowledge, too. Even more than a white collar job.
2) CAPITAL GAINS. Dividends and interest. Kiyosaki is right that it is possible to live on them. What he doesn't say is that it will take a TON of cash to make a decent living within manageable risk levels. And you must HAVE money to BEGIN WITH -- which means inherit it (but then you would not be reading RDPD, would you?) or, more likely, work and SAVE A LOT.
Consider a 3% yearly interest rate above inflation, which is what low-work/low-risk will get. In order to have $5000/month BEFORE TAXES -- not exactly a high roller lifestyle -- you would need $2 million.
Even somebody investing at 8% above inflation (and, may I add, 8% ON THE LONG RUN isn't that easy to achieve), starting from scratch and saving 50% of whatever comes in -- a very rigid discipline -- would take 33 years before being able to live on passive income. Make that a quarter, which is still above the savings level of most Americans, and you got 47 years.
Don't believe me? Open up Excel or Calc and type:
=NPER(8%;1;0;-12/8%)
=NPER(8%;1;0;-36/8%)
Still don't get it? Stop reading RPDP and go STUDY real, not fairy tale, economy.

Simplistic, original and a great value
I've read countless books on personal finance and creating wealth, but I must say Kiyosaki's is one of the better ones. Most finance books are pure finance and potential suggestions. They miss what precludes any great change in your life, and where most fail at; stepping back from your life as an employee and creating the proper mindset to get rich, (or achieve whatever financial goals you have). In other words, if you're head isn't in the right place from the beginning, the discipline and tools will not be enough to get you there. He feels that the single most important quality to achieve success is in the philosophy. How the wealthy think is what makes them different from the average worker or those just getting by.

People who grind it out for the man day in day out need a complete brain makeover before they can see the forest for the trees. Kiyosaki had two father figures, a poor one (his real dad) and a rich one. His poor dad offer this worldview to his son; "Study hard so you can find a good company to work for." For him, talk of money was bad. Risk was bad. He argued that one's company is responsible to make sure all his needs were met. Finding the best job with the best company that offered the best benefits, to him, was best. His rich dad, on the other hand, encouraged talking about money around the dinner table, to teach the children how to think. He encouraged managing risk, rather than avoiding it. He argued against reliance upon an employer and for "total financial self-reliance" (16). Of course, Kiyosaki's book promotes the mindset of his rich dad.

The book breaks down into six main lessons, which help the reader understand the mindset rather than a method. To close, Kiyosaki makes suggestions about how to begin. First, he combats the five main reasons people stay in their current life-style: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, and arrogance. He then gives ten steps to begin this new mindset.

Great book for its simplicity, original approach and value.

Excellent Book!
I enjoyed this book very much. Not only was it fun to read, I learned a lot. Excellent!