Robert Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki is a controversial fellow, and I know a lot of people feel very strongly about him one way or another. Despite the fact that this issue has been argued by people on both sides to exhaustion, I thought I would briefly weigh in with my thoughts on the topic. For anyone who doesn’t know, Kiyosaki wrote a New York Times Bestseller called Rich Dad, Poor Dad, as well as multiple other follow up books and spin-off products.

Amongst Kiyosaki’s best known critics is real estate author and commentator John T. Reed. I am currently reading one of Reed’s books (I got it from my wife for my birthday – thanks honey), How to Buy Real Estate for at Least 20% Below Market Value Vol. I (I may review this when I finish, if there is sufficient interest). Reed is most famous for his real estate “guru” reviews. A quick note about Reed is merited. Reed (a Harvard Business School grad) comes off as an extremely judgmental, arrogant and angry man. That being said, I usually agree with his assessments as being honest and accurate. He’s been criticized for slamming authors whose books pose direct competition to his. That may be the case, but I don’t believe I’ve found anything Reed says on his site to be something he doesn’t actually believe. I think he really does feel like he’s policing an industry full of con-artists, and I think that’s a noble undertaking.

Reed has consistently slammed Kiyosaki on every front. Reed is a researcher and fact checker (two things I would also say about myself), and he goes through and checks the veracity of pretty much every assertion Kiyosaki makes in his book. Check out his lengthy and thorough review here. Many other bloggers have weighed as well, on both sides of the coin.

I will say there are a couple of positives about Kiyosaki’s book. For one, it gets people thinking about their financial health, their goals, and who they want to be. It’s inspirational, even if the inspiration is driven by a desire to get rich quickly and easily. He also makes the distinction between assets and liabilities and advocates the purchase of assets. As a person, he’s been a very successful marketer of his books and products. Selling books is a business, and it’s one that he has been very successful at. I think the positives end somewhere around there.

Reed points out various ways where Kiyosaki twists, manipulates or replaces the truth. I’ll let you read about that on Reed’s site. Much of the book contradicts sound financial advice. Kiyosaki disparages education, explaining how educated his “poor” dad is and how uneducated but successful his “rich” dad was. This idea would appeal to anyone lacking in education. However, the statistics don’t support this assertion. More educated people, on average, earn higher wages and have lower unemployment rates. See the stats here. That’s not to say that people who don’t go to school can’t be wildly successful. They can. They often are – but Kiyosaki seems to suggest that anyone chasing education is wasting their time.

Kiyosaki also brags about the possessions he owns. He brags about his flashy lifestyle. A lifestyle of lavish spending – boats, sports cars, Rolex watches (and other various big brand names). That is not the lifestyle I advocate on this site. I don’t think it’s a character flaw to value those things, I just personally do not. Kiyosaki does.

He also seems to suggest that people who are not entrepreneurs have less value than those that are. I admire entrepreneurs…I would say that I am an aspiring entrepreneur. Owning my own small law firm is in my long term plans/goals. However, owning your own business isn’t for everyone. In fact, everyone can’t do it. If they could, there would be 7 billion (or so) solo practitioners, and no company could grow beyond what one person is capable of doing alone. How would you manufacture anything? Won’t the best companies still put the worst out of business? You get the point, but I just don’t think that the advice in the book is sound in this regard, either.

His active voice as a writer is also incredibly arrogant. I’ve seen him on television and his arrogance and bad advice carried over to that forum as well. Overall, I was not impressed and I do not recommend his books, products or services to any of my readers. I’m sure some people will disagree. This is only my opinion. I don’t know everything…certainly not about real estate investment. I have, however, always been pretty good at sniffing out B.S. If you decide to pick up any of Kiyosaki’s books, please be a filter, not a sponge. Thanks for reading.