Rich Dad Poor Dad

 by Bruce Shawkey

I was introduced to Robert Kiyosaki's money-making system in my travels to Florida. One of my landlords, Heather, was a Kiyosaki disciple and had actually made some money and even worked for the Kiyosaki organization for awhile. I don't believe she ever actually met Kiyosaki, but she traveled around the country and helped set up his seminars, which could cost anywhere from $500 to $15,000 a person. She bought up a few distressed properties and fixed them up with the help of her fiancé. Of course, this was during the time of the big real estate bust, I believe 2008-2009, when you could pick up cheap properties that had been foreclosed on by the banks.

Kiyosaki has been both praised and panned by financial experts, the latter of which say his advice is dubious at best. But his followers adore him, even when the real estate market recovered. Kiyosaki has had to shift his emphasis away from real estate and to other commodities, including gold and other rare metals, as well as Bitcoin. But he claims you can still make money in real estate.

Not surprisingly, he is an admirer of Donald Trump and a fierce critic of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He says, "Trump is a genius with money, and Biden and Kamala are idiots with money. Nobody has done more damage to the economy than Biden and Kamala."

He starts his book as follows:

I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly educated and intelligent. He had a Ph.D. and completed four years of undergraduate work in less than two years. He then went on to Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University to do his advanced studies, all on full financial scholarships.

The other father never finished the eighth grade. Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all their lives. Both earned substantial incomes. Yet one always struggled financially. The other would become one of the richest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family, charities, and his church. The other left bills to be paid when he died. Both men were strong, charismatic, and influential. Both men offered me advice, but they did not advise the same things. Both men believed strongly in education but did not recommend the same course of study. If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his advice. Having two dads offered me the choice of contrasting points of view: one of a rich man and one of a poor man. 

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