Rich Dad Poor Dad, the facts

Rich Dad Poor Dad is the bestselling finance book by Robert Kiyosaki and co-authored by Sharon Lechter, which has sold very well, and made the author world famous in the financial advice circle. On my financial journey, this book keeps coming up again, and again, but how good is it really? I will now give my honest opinion of it.

The book is all about how Robert Kiyosaki had 2 fathers when he was growing up. His "Poor Dad" was his biological father and a school teacher. His friend's father who was an investor, was his mentor, his "Rich Dad". Kiyosaki says in his book that by listening to his Rich Dad, he eventually became rich and sidestepped a life of mediocrity and poverty.

This was the book talks about the importance of monitoring and using cashflow wisely, (cashflow is the money remaining each month, after all of your expenses have been deducted). The book contains simple diagrams showing what happens to income and expenses depending on your spending and investing habits. The simplicity of the book is it's strength, and Kiyosaki has explained the need for financial indepence far better than many other financial gurus. Its uncomplicated format has made this book highly popular.

Kiyosaki has read many economic books, and in the book he recommends other finance books, including The Richest Man in Babylon, (which is an absolute gem).

UK millionaire wealth coach Gill Fielding recommends Kiyosaki and says his books inspired her to great wealth. When I asked one of my millionaire mentors Mr Piper, which books he recommends, he named this one. It is notable that Mr Piper did not make his money from using the techniques in the book. At the time he said to me that the book was only good for the mindset of a rich person. This book is very inspirational and has inspired many people to take a real interest in their finances, and in wealth creation. Donald Trump speaks highly of Kiyosaki, and has written a book with him.

Criticisms:

• Example of failure via his methods: One person who famously came to grief after gaining motivation after reading this book is failed real estate speculator Casey Serin.
• Most prominent critic: Real estate investor John Reed is probably the most prominent critic of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and has researched into the author's authenticity.
• Sales figures: The book has sold an unbelievable amount of copies, but Harry Potter and the DaVinci code were also books which sold a record amount, and they are works of pure fiction; therefore, just because a book sells a lot, it doesn't mean that it is a real story.
• Court case with co-author: Rich Dad Poor Dad was co-authored with Sharon Lechter. She later started a court case against him, claiming that he wasted company money and trried to cheat her out of revenue. A payout settlement was reached.
• Cashflow 101: Cashflow 101 is the board game by Robert Kiyosaki. It is his attempt to create a clone of monopoly. He advertises the game frequently in the book. The price of it is currently £250. (£100 on eBay).
• No evidence of good business acumen: There is no evidence that Kiyosaki had run any successful companies before he wrote this book, and all of his money can only be traced as coming from book sales, and revenue from selling educational products, after he wrote the book.

Conclusion
The book does not give step by step advice about getting rich, only general ideas. Ultimately, Kiyosaki made the whole thing up as a fantasy story akin to Harry Potter; all the current evidence shows Rich Dad never existed. His co-author Sharon Lechter eventually took him to court and said he was a liar and a crook. All this information can be found on the internet, especially John T reed, and Wikipedia.

In my opinion the book is more motivational than anything else. The book "Rich Dad Poor Dad", and Robert Kiyosaki will be around for a long time, and the book has set a world record for the amount of copies sold and length of time on the The New York Times best sellers list. Donald Trump was so impressed with Kiyosaki's book sales figures that he co-wrote a book with him "Why we want you to be rich". Kiyosaki has recently provided the foreword for Donald Trump's latest book "Think like a champion".

Wealth is like putting pieces of a puzzle together. Every book, every source of information has good bits and bad bits to it, and it's up to you to select the best parts you can use and slot them in. Kiyosaki has very valid criticisms against him but the few good parts of his book are very good indeed, and worth being included in any wealth plan. The problem is discerning what those good parts are.

I do not wholehearted recommend Kiyosaki and his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", as my own knowledge and research tells me that parts of the book are definitely illegal (insider trading) or untrue (no evidence that Rich Dad really existed). Instead, I say read his book with an open mind, and don't get carried away by the motivational and fictional parts of it. There are minor good qualities to the book, but getting rich requires much more work and carefulness than this book would have you believe.

"Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, sells for around £5 on Amazon.co.uk, but if you want to read it I suggest you get it from your local library for free.

Nowadays we have seen many success stories such as Bernard Madoff and Lance Armstrong eventually exposed as liars after a long time, who made vast amounts of money via deception. One day Kiyosaki's time will come as his book is just a pack of 'get rich quick' lies made for gullible people and also used as a bible by other charlatans to ensnare more victims. Rich dad never existed.