Rich Dad & Poor Dad

"Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki is a personal finance classic that contrasts the financial philosophies of two father figures in the authors life: (336pages)

• Poor Dad: His biological father, a highly educated government official who believed in job security and working for a salary but struggled financially.
• Rich Dad: His friends father, an entrepreneur and investor who believed in financial literacy and making money work for him. 

Core Lessons & Key Takeaways

• The Rich Dont Work for Money: While the poor and middle class trade their time for a paycheck, the wealthy focus on acquiring or creating assets that generate passive income.
• Assets vs. Liabilities: This is the books most famous concept:
• • Assets: Things that "put money in your pocket," such as rental properties, stocks, bonds, and businesses.
  • Liabilities: Things that "take money out of your pocket," such as car loans, credit card debt, and often your primary residence.
• Financial Literacy is Crucial: Traditional schooling prepares people to be good employees but rarely teaches how to manage money. Kiyosaki emphasizes the need for a Financial IQ, which includes accounting, investing, understanding markets, and the law.
• Mind Your Own Business: Most people confuse their profession with their business. Kiyosaki suggests keeping your day job but simultaneously building your own asset column.
• Work to Learn, Not to Earn: Choose jobs based on the skills you can acquire (like sales, marketing, and leadership) rather than just the salary.
• The Power of Corporations: The wealthy use legal corporate structures to protect their assets and pay less in taxes. Corporations can often deduct expenses before being taxed on profits, whereas employees are taxed first on their income.
• Overcoming Obstacles: To achieve financial freedom, one must overcome five main hurdles: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, and arrogance. 

 

Summary of Mindset Differences

Concept	Poor Dads View	Rich Dads View
Education	Study hard to find a good company to work for.	Study hard to find a good company to buy.
House	"Our home is our greatest asset."	"My house is a liability."
Risk	Play it safe, avoid risks.	Learn to manage and take calculated risks.
Perspective	"I cant afford it."	"How can I afford it?"

Quotes:

1.      The love of money is the root of all evil.” The other said, “The lack of money is the root of all evil.”

2.      One dad said, “The reason I’m not rich is because I have you kids.” The other said, “The reason I must be rich is because I have you kids.”

3.      One said, “When it comes to money, play it safe. Don’t take risks.” The other said, “Learn to manage risk.”

4.      One believed, “Our home is our largest investment and our greatest asset.” The other believed, “My house is a liability, and if your house is your largest investment, you’re in trouble.”

5.      Both dads paid their bills on time, yet one paid his bills first while the other paid his bills last.

6.      One dad believed in a company or the government taking care of you and your needs. The other believed in total financial self-reliance. He spoke out against the entitlement mentality and how it created weak and financially needy people. 

7.      Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.

8.      I’m a rich man, and rich people don’t do this.

9.       I noticed that my poor dad was poor, not because of the amount of money he earned, which was significant, but because of his thoughts and actions. 

10.  I don’t work for money!” were words he would repeat over and over. “Money works for me!”

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads onto way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

11.  true learning takes energy, passion, and a burning desire. Anger is a big part of that formula, for passion is anger and love combined. When it comes to money, most people want to play it safe and feel secure. So passion does not direct them. Fear does.

12.  If you realize that you’re the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something, and grow wiser. Most people want everyone else in the world to change but themselves. Let me tell you, it’s easier to change yourself than everyone else.

13.  Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities that they think are assets,

14.  Rich dad believed in the KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid (or Keep It Super Simple)

15.  An asset puts money in my pocket. A liability takes money out of my pocket.

16.  Construction on the skyscraper begins. It goes up quickly, and soon, instead of the Empire State Building, we have the Leaning Tower of Suburbia. The sleepless nights return.

17.  If you want to be rich, you’ve got to read and understand numbers.

18.  If you want to be rich, simply spend your life buying assets. If you want to be poor or middle class, spend your life buying liabilities.

19.  Schools were designed to produce good employees, instead of employers

20.  I collect real estate simply because I love buildings and land.

21.  Michael Douglas said in the movie Wall Street: “Greed is good.” Rich dad said it differently: “Guilt is worse than greed, for guilt robs the body of its soul.” I think Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”

22.  Forcing myself to think about how to make extra money is like going to the gym and working out with weights. The more I work my mental money muscles out, the stronger I get. Now I’m not afraid of those bullies.

23.  The money came with a hitch.

24.  But heroes do more than simply inspire us. Heroes make things look easy. Making it look easy convinces us to want to be just like them.

25.  If you want something, you first need to give

26.  Learn from history. All the big companies on the stock exchange started out as small companies. Colonel Sanders did not get rich until after he lost everything in his 60s. Bill Gates was one of the richest men in the world before he was thirty.

 

10 rules in mind:

keep the following in mind:

 

1.Don’t get into large debt positions that you have to pay for.

 

2.When you come up short, let the pressure build and don’t dip into your savings or investments. Use the pressure to inspire your financial genius to come up with new ways of making more money, and then pay your bills. You will have increased your ability to make more money as well as your financial intelligence.

A common bad habit is innocently called “dipping into savings.” The rich know that savings are only used to create more money, not to pay bills.

 

I know that sounds tough, but as I said, if you’re not tough inside, the world will always push you around anyway.

 

 

6.Pay your brokers well: the power of good advice

if, the people are professionals, their services should make you money. And the more money they make, the more money I make.

 

We live in the Information Age. Information is priceless. A good broker should provide you with information, as well as take the time to educate you. I have several brokers who do that for me. Some taught me when I had little or no money, and I am still with them today.

 

What I pay a broker is tiny in comparison with what kind of money I can make because of the information they provide. I love it when my real estate broker or stockbroker makes a lot of money because that usually means I made a lot of money.

The real skill is to manage and reward the people who are smarter than you in some technical area. That is why companies have a board of directors. You should have one too. That is financial intelligence.

 

7.Be an Indian giver: the power of getting something for nothing

 

When the first European settlers came to America, they were taken aback by a cultural practice some American Indians had. For example, if a settler was cold, the Indian would give the person a blanket. Mistaking it for a gift, the settler was often offended when the Indian asked for it back.

 

The Indians also got upset when they realized the settlers did not want to give it back. That is where the term “Indian giver” came from, a simple cultural misunderstanding.

 

In the world of the asset column, being an Indian giver is vital to wealth. The sophisticated investor’s first question is: “How fast do I get my money back?” They also want to know what they get for free, also called a “piece of the action.” That is why the ROI, or return on investment, is so important.

 

For example, I found a small condominium that was in foreclosure a few blocks from where I lived. The bank wanted $60,000, and I submitted a bid for $50,000, which they took, simply because, along with my bid, was a cashier’s check for $50,000. They realized I was serious. Most investors would say, “Aren’t you tying up a lot of cash? Would it not be better to get a loan on it?” The answer is, “Not in this case.” My investment company uses this condominium as a vacation rental in the winter months when the “snowbirds” come to Arizona. It rents for $2,500 a month for four months out of the year. For rental during the off-season, it rents for only $1,000 a month. I had my money back in about three years. Now I own this asset, which pumps money out for me, month in and month out.

The sophisticated investor’s first question is: “How fast do I get my money back?”

The same is done with stocks. Frequently, my broker calls and recommends I move a sizable amount of money into the stock of a company that he feels is just about to make a move that will add value to the stock, like announcing a new product. I will move my money in for a week to a month while the stock moves up. Then I pull my initial dollar amount out, and stop worrying about the fluctuations of the market, because my initial money is back and ready to work on another asset. So my money goes in, and then it comes out, and I own an asset that was technically free.

 

True, I have lost money on many occasions, but I only play with money I can afford to lose. I would say, on an average 10 investments, I hit home runs on two or three, while five or six do nothing, and I lose on two or three. But I limit my losses to only the money I have in at that time.

 

People who hate risk put their money in the bank. In the long run, safe savings are better than no savings. But it takes a long time to get your money back and, in most instances, you don’t get anything for free with it.

 

On every one of my investments, there must be an upside, something for free—like a condominium, a mini-storage, a piece of free land, a house, stock shares, or an office building. And there must be limited risk, or a low-risk idea. There are books devoted entirely to this subject, so I will not talk about it here. Ray Kroc, of McDonald’s fame, sold hamburger franchises, not because he loved hamburgers, but because he wanted the real estate under the franchise for free.

 

So wise investors must look at more than ROI. They look at the assets they get for free once they get their money back. That is financial intelligence.

 

8.Use assets to buy luxuries: the power of focus

 

A friend’s child has been developing a nasty habit of burning a hole in his pocket. Just 16, he wanted his own car. The excuse: “All his friends’ parents gave their kids cars.” The child wanted to go into his savings and use it for a down payment. That was when his father called me and then came to see me.

 

“Do you think I should let him do it, or should I just buy him a car?”

 

I answered, “It might relieve the pressure in the short term, but what have you taught him in the long term? Can you use this desire to own a car and inspire your son to learn something?” Suddenly the lights went on, and he hurried home.

 

Two months later I ran into my friend again. “Does your son have his new car?” I asked.

 

“No, he doesn’t. But I gave him $3,000 for the car. I told him to use my money instead of his college money.”

 

“Well, that’s generous of you,” I said.

 

“Not really. The money came with a hitch.”

 

“So what was the hitch?” I asked.

 

“Well, first we played your CASHFLOW game. We then had a long discussion about the wise use of money. After that, I gave him a subscription to the Wall Street Journal and a few books on the stock market.”

 

“Then what?” I asked. “What was the catch?”

 

“I told him the $3,000 was his, but he could not directly buy a car with it. He could use it to find a stockbroker and buy and sell stocks. Once he had made $6,000 with the $3,000, the money would be his for the car, and the $3,000 would go into his college fund.”

 

“And what are the results?” I asked.

 

“Well, he got lucky early in his trading, but lost everything a few days later. Then he really got interested. Today, I would say he is down $2,000, but his interest is up. He has read all the books I bought him, and he’s gone to the library to get more. He reads the Wall Street Journal voraciously, watching for indicators. He’s got only $1,000 left, but his interest and learning are sky-high. He knows that if he loses that money, he walks for two more years. But he does not seem to care. He even seems uninterested in getting a car, because he’s found a game that is more fun.”

 

“What happens if he loses all the money?” I asked.

 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I’d rather have him lose everything now than wait till he’s our age to risk losing everything. And besides, that is the best $3,000 I’ve ever spent on his education. What he is learning will serve him for life, and he seems to have gained a new respect for the power of money.”

 

As I said earlier, if a person cannot master the power of self-discipline, it is best not to try to get rich. I say this because, although the process of developing cash flow from an asset column is easy in theory, what’s hard is the mental fortitude to direct money to the correct use. Due to external temptations, it is much easier in today’s consumer world to simply blow money out the expense column. With weak mental fortitude, that money flows into the paths of least resistance. That is the cause of poverty and financial struggle.

 

The following example illustrates the financial intelligence needed to direct money to make more money.

 

If we give 100 people $10,000 at the start of the year, I believe that at the end of the year:

 

•80 would have nothing left. In fact, many would have created greater debt by making a down payment on a new car, refrigerator, electronics, or a holiday.

 

•16 would have increased that $10,000 by 5-10 percent.

 

•Four would have increased it to $20,000 or into the millions.

 

We go to school to learn a profession so we can work for money. It is my opinion that it’s just as important to learn how to have money work for you.

 

I love my luxuries as much as anyone else. The difference is I don’t buy them on credit. It’s the keep-up-with-the-Joneses trap. When I wanted to buy a Porsche, the easy road would have been to call my banker and get a loan. Instead of choosing to focus in the liability column, I chose to focus in the asset column.

 

As a habit, I use my desire to consume to inspire and motivate my financial genius to invest.

 

Too often today, we focus on borrowing money to get the things we want instead of focusing on creating money. One is easier in the short term, but harder in the long term. It’s a bad habit that we as individuals, and as a nation, have gotten into. Remember, the easy road often becomes hard, and the hard road often becomes easy.

 

The earlier you can train yourself and those you love to be masters of money, the better. Money is a powerful force. Unfortunately, people use the power of money against themselves. If your financial intelligence is low, money will run all over you. It will be smarter than you. If money is smarter than you, you will work for it all your life.

 

To be the master of money, you need to be smarter than it. Then money will do as it is told. It will obey you. Instead of being a slave to it, you will be the master of it. That is financial intelligence.

 

9.Choose heroes: the power of myth

 

When I was a kid, I greatly admired Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Yogi Berra. They were my heroes, and I wanted to be just like them. I treasured their baseball cards, I knew their stats, the RBIs, the ERAs, their batting averages, how much they got paid, and how they came up from the minor leagues.

 

As a nine-year-old kid, when I stepped up to bat or played first base or catcher, I wasn’t me. I pretended I was a famous baseball player. It’s one of the most powerful ways we learn, and we often lose that as adults. We lose our heroes.

 

Today, I watch young kids playing basketball near my home. On the court they’re not little Johnny. They’re pretending to be their favorite basketball hero. Copying or emulating heroes is true power learning.

 

I have new heroes as I grow older. I have golf heroes and I copy their swings and do my best to read everything I can about them. I also have heroes such as Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, George Soros, and Jim Rogers. I know their stats just like I knew the ERAs and RBIs of my childhood baseball heroes. I follow what Warren Buffett invests in, and I read anything I can about his point of view on the market and how he chooses stocks. And I read about Donald Trump, trying to find out how he negotiates and puts deals tog ether.

 

Just as I was not me when I was up to bat, when I’m in the market or I’m negotiating a deal, I am subconsciously acting with the bravado of Trump. Or when analyzing a trend, I look at it as though Warren Buffet were doing it. By having heroes, we tap into a tremendous source of raw genius.

 

But heroes do more than simply inspire us. Heroes make things look easy. Making it look easy convinces us to want to be just like them.

 

“If they can do it, so can I.”

 

When it comes to investing, too many people make it sound hard. Instead, find heroes who make it look easy.

 

10.Teach and you shall receive: the power of giving

 

Both of my dads were teachers. My rich dad taught me a lesson I have carried all my life: the necessity of being charitable or giving. My educated dad gave a lot of his time and knowledge, but almost never gave away money.

 

He usually said that he would give when he had some extra money, but of course there was rarely any extra.

 

My rich dad gave money as well as education. He believed firmly in tithing. “If you want something, you first need to give,” he would always say. When he was short of money, he gave money to his church or to his favorite charity.

 

If I could leave one single idea with you, it is that idea. Whenever you feel short or in need of something, give what you want first and it will come back in buckets. That is true for money, a smile, love, or friendship. I know it is often the last thing a person may want to do, but it has always worked for me. I trust that the principle of reciprocity is true, and I give what I want. I want money, so I give money, and it comes back in multiples. I want sales, so I help someone else sell something, and sales come to me. I want contacts, and I help someone else get contacts. Like magic, contacts come to me. I heard a saying years ago that went: “God does not need to receive, but humans need to give.”

 

My rich dad would often say, “Poor people are more greedy than rich people.” He would explain that if a person was rich, that person was providing something that other people wanted. In my life, whenever I have felt needy or short of money or short of help, I simply went out or found in my heart what I wanted, and decided to give it first. And when I gave, it always came back.

 

It reminds me of the story of the guy sitting with firewood in his arms on a cold, freezing night. He is yelling at the pot-bellied stove, “When you give me some heat, then I’ll put some wood in you!” And when it comes to money, love, happiness, sales, and contacts, all one needs to remember is to give first.

 

Often just the process of thinking of what I want, and how I could give that to someone else, breaks free a torrent of bounty. Whenever I feel that people aren’t smiling at me, I simply begin smiling and saying hello. Like magic, the next thing I know I’m surrounded by smiling people. It is true that your world is only a mirror of you.

 

So that’s why I say, “Teach, and you shall receive.” I have found that the more I teach those who want to learn, the more I learn. If you want to learn about money, teach it to someone else. A torrent of new ideas and finer distinctions will come in.

 

There are times when I have given and nothing has come back, or what I have received is not what I wanted. But upon closer inspection and soul searching, I was often giving to receive in those instances, instead of giving for the joy that giving itself brings.

 

My dad taught teachers, and he bec

 

Conclusion:

1. Rich Dad sees opportunities to build a business from nothing and teaches how to define liabilities and assets.

2.Poor Dad teaches his kids to become good employees.

3.School is the best place to learn from mistakes, but schools often try to ignore this important purpose.

 

 

 

 

Book Leader-Lydia

Rich Dad Poor Dad

By Robert T. Kiyosaki

  Author 

 

The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert T. Kiyosaki (full name: Robert Toru Kiyosaki).  He co-wrote the 1997 bestseller with Sharon Lechter, but Kiyosaki is widely recognized as the primary author and the face of the “Rich Dad” brand and series. The book has sold millions of copies worldwide and focuses on financial literacy, contrasting the money mindsets of his “poor dad” (his biological father) and “rich dad” (his friend’s father).  Kiyosaki is an American entrepreneur, investor, and financial educator born in 1947.

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (co-authored with Sharon Lechter) is one of the most popular personal finance books ever written, first published in 1997. It has sold millions of copies and is presented as a semi-autobiographical parable contrasting two father figures who shaped Kiyosaki’s views on money.

 

 

The Core Story

 

Kiyosaki grew up with two “dads”:

 

•Poor Dad —his biological father: highly educated (PhD), a government employee/teacher who believed in hard work, job security, good grades, and a stable career. Despite a decent income, he struggled financially his whole life.

 

• Rich Dad—his best friend’s father: a self-made entrepreneur and investor with little formal education who became very wealthy. He taught that financial intelligence and making money work for you (rather than working for money) is the path to wealth.

 

Through stories and lessons from childhood onward, Kiyosaki contrasts their mindsets and shows why one stayed “poor” while the other became “rich.”

 

 

Key Lessons from the Book

 

The book revolves around six main lessons (often summarized as the core rules for building wealth):

 

1.  The rich don’t work for money — money works for them

 

Most people (poor and middle class) trade time for a paycheck and get trapped in the “rat race” (earn → spend → need more → work harder). Rich people focus on building income streams that generate cash even when they’re not working.

 

2.  Why teach financial literacy? It’s not how much money you make, but how much you keep that matters. Understand accounting basics: know the difference between assets (put money in your pocket) and liabilities (take money out).

 

Classic rule:

 

        •  The rich buy assets (stocks, bonds, real estate that produces income, businesses).

 

        •  The poor have only expenses.

 

            •  The middle class buy liabilities they think are assets (big house, fancy car, luxury items that cost money to maintain).

 

3.  Mind your own business

 

Focus on building your own asset column (your personal wealth-building machine) instead of just working to build someone else’s (your employer). Take responsibility for your financial future rather than relying on a job or the government.

 

4.  The history of taxes and the power of corporations

 

The rich use corporations and legal structures to reduce taxes and protect wealth (the rich play by different rules). Kiyosaki explains how understanding taxes and using the system intelligently gives an advantage.

 

5.  The rich invent money

 

Wealth comes from financial intelligence: spotting opportunities, solving problems, and taking calculated risks. Opportunities are everywhere — the rich see them because of their mindset and education. Courage, creativity, and knowledge beat fear and security-seeking.

 

6.  Work to learn — don’t work for money

 

Don’t choose a job just for the paycheck. Choose roles that teach valuable skills (sales, marketing, investing, management, etc.) even if the pay is lower at first. Long-term, those skills build wealth far more than a high salary in a narrow field.

 

Main Takeaway

 

The book emphasizes shifting your mindset from employee/consumer thinking to investor/entrepreneur thinking. Escape the rat race by acquiring financial education, buying income-producing assets, minimizing liabilities, and making your money work harder than you do.

 

It’s an inspirational, mindset-shifting book rather than a detailed “how-to” guide with specific investment steps. Many people credit it with changing how they view money, though critics note some advice is simplified or controversial (e.g., heavy emphasis on real estate and leverage).

 

If you’re new to personal finance, it’s still considered a great starting point for rethinking money!

 

 

Criticisms & Reality Check

 

 

The book is motivational and mindset-shifting, but some criticize it for oversimplifying wealth-building, vague investment advice, and questions about the “Rich Dad” story’s accuracy. Kiyosaki emphasizes action, financial education, and entrepreneurship over traditional saving or job security.

 

 

One-sentence takeaway : “The rich don’t work for money – they buy assets that generate passive income while the poor and middle class work hard for money that mostly goes to expenses and liabilities”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

1. How do the minutes and advice of the Arthur’s ‘poor dad”, his biological father and rich dad, his friend’s father differ when it comes to money, education and work?   Which one resonates more with you, and why?

Rich Dad’s mindset tends to resonate more in modern economies because it focuses on independence, scalability, and long-term wealth rather than stability alone.

 

2.Kiyosaki emphasizes that “ the rich don’t work for money” instead, money works for them.   Has this changed your view of personal spending or investment?

 

Yes, this idea shifts thinking from:

* Spending → **investing**

* Consumption → **asset-building**

It encourages:

* Buying income-generating assets

* Reducing unnecessary expenses

* Thinking long-term instead of paycheck-to-paycheck

 

3.The writer defines the "Rat Race" as the cycle of working harder to pay for an increasing lifestyle. In an era of remote work and "hustle culture," do you think the Rat Race has become easier or harder to escape?   Would you please share an example from your own life (or someone you know) where youve seen this principle in action—or where you’ve been stuck in the “Rat Race”?

* **Harder in some ways:** lifestyle inflation, social media pressure, hustle culture burnout

* **Easier in others:** more tools (AI, internet, remote work, side hustles)

**Example:**

Someone earning more but upgrading lifestyle (car, rent, subscriptions) stays stuck—income rises, but so do expenses.

 

4. One key idea is distinguishing between Assets put money in your pocket; liabilities take it out. Is your current smartphone an asset or a liability? How could you turn it into an asset using AI?

* Normally: **Liability** (costs money)

* Can become an **Asset** if used for:

  * Content creation (YouTube, TikTok)

  * Freelancing (design, writing, coding)

  * AI tools (automation, digital products)

 

5.  The book states argues the schools don’t teach financial literacy.     Do you agree that financial education should be mandatory in schools?

Yes, strongly aligned with the book:

 

* Schools teach how to **earn money**, not how to **manage or grow it**

* Financial literacy should include:

 

  * Investing basics

  * Taxes

  * Assets vs liabilities

 

6. The "Mind Your Own Business" Rule: The author says your "profession" is what you do for your employer, but your "business" is what you do for your asset column. What is one "digital asset" you could start building today while keeping your day job?

Examples you could start today:

 

* Blog or newsletter

* YouTube channel

* Online course

* AI-generated digital products

* Stock/crypto portfolio

 

These build your **asset column** outside your job.

 

7.The McDonald’s Question: Kiyosaki asks if you can make a better burger than McDonalds (most say yes), then asks why they make more money (they own the system). In the AI world, is it more important to be the "best creator" or the one who owns the "automated system"?

More important to:

👉 **Own the system**

 

Because:

 

* Systems scale

* Automation earns while you sleep

* Creators trade time; systems multiply output

 

8.For the Strategy & Wealth Building question for Financial IQ: The book breaks Financial IQ into four parts: Accounting, Investing, Understanding Markets, and The Law. Which of these four do you feel most "literate" in, and which one is your biggest blind spot?

Four areas:

 

* Accounting

* Investing

* Markets

* Law

 

Typical pattern:

 

* Stronger: basic investing knowledge

* Weakest (common blind spot): **tax & legal systems**

 

9. To Overcoming Obstacles & Actions, among the Five Obstacles: Fear, Cynicism, Laziness, Bad Habits, and Arrogance. Which of these five is currently the biggest "gatekeeper" standing between you and your financial goals?

From the five:

 

* Fear

* Cynicism

* Laziness

* Bad habits

* Arrogance

 

Most common today:

👉 **Fear** (of losing money, failure, uncertainty)

 

This prevents action even when knowledge exists.

 

10. How has reading Rich Dad Poor Dad shifted your perspective on taxes, corporations or housing “good debt” vs.” bad debts”? Do you think the book’s views on these topics hold up in today’s economy?

**Shift in perspective:**

 

* Taxes: Learn the system, don’t just pay blindly

* Corporations: Tools for protection and tax efficiency

* Debt:

 

  * **Good debt:** generates income (real estate, business)

  * **Bad debt:** consumes money (cars, luxury)

 

**Does it still hold today?**

 

* Partly yes: principles remain valid

* But:

 

  * Markets are more complex

  * Real estate isn’t always easy or safe

  * Leverage can be risky in modern economies

 

**One-line conclusion**

 

The book teaches a **mindset shift**:

👉 Stop working only for income—start building systems and assets that generate income without you.

 Book Club Review by our consultant Clive: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Meeting hosted by Faye and led by Lydia| Reviewed April 13, 2026

A warm and lively gathering brought together an international group today, with Shannon and Mingli joining us from the USA to add some intercontinental energy to the proceedings. Fayes generous hospitality set the tone perfectly, her spread giving everyone the sustenance needed for serious intellectual combat. Alices baked goods were exceptional, and her care in helping the day run smoothly was very much appreciated. Lily kept the technical side of things humming without breaking a sweat. Thanks also to Vikki and Florence for their contributions to the conversation. And a particular round of applause for Lydia, who led the discussion with real confidence and clarity, the kind of leadership that makes a book club feel like an actual intellectual event rather than a polite mutual agreement to have read the same thing.

The Book

Kiyosakis Rich Dad Poor Dad has been a publishing phenomenon since 1997, and the groups verdict was measured but largely fair: the fundamentals hold up, even if the man himself doesnt always. The core argument, that financial literacy matters, that assets should work for you rather than the other way around, and that the middle-class habit of confusing a salary with security is a slow-motion trap, remains essentially sound.

Where It Falls Short

The group was clear-eyed about the books blind spots, and they are not trivial. Kiyosakis enthusiasm for leveraged real estate investment looks considerably less visionary through the lens of 2008, when precisely the strategy he championed, borrow aggressively, acquire property, repeat, contributed to one of the worst financial collapses in modern history. Millions of ordinary people who followed that gospel lost everything. The book offers no reckoning with systemic risk, and Kiyosaki himself has had a complicated relationship with debt and bankruptcy that his cheerful prose never quite telegraphs.

Then there is the small matter of artificial intelligence, an omission nobody could fairly hold against a book written in the nineties, but one that dates large portions of his thinking about job markets, passive income, and what skills actually hold value in the coming decades. The world Kiyosaki mapped is being redrawn at speed.

What the Group Took Away

The most enthusiastic consensus of the afternoon centered on financial literacy education. Vikki, Faye, Alice, and Lydia were aligned: teaching children how money actually works, whether through school curricula or parents who bother to have the conversation, is one of the highest-leverage things a society can do. That Kiyosaki makes this argument passionately and accessibly is genuinely to his credit, whatever his other shortcomings.

The discussion also ranged into generational wealth, how it accumulates, how it evaporates, and what habits and structures allow families to build across generations rather than starting from zero every time. Shannon and Mingli brought perspectives on stock market investing into the conversation, which added useful texture to Kiyosakis somewhat real-estate-heavy worldview and served as a reminder that the principles of the book are more durable than any single asset class he happens to favor.

Verdict

A flawed but useful book…read it for the mindset, be skeptical of the specifics, and under no circumstances leverage yourself to the hilt on property and call it a strategy.

Related reading:

1.      Richdad game: https://richdad.com/