Rich Dad's Who Took My Money?: Why Slow Investors Lose and Fast Money Wins! [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

In this ninth installment of the Rich Dad Series, Kiyosaki addresses the issue of which specific investment vehicles people should invest their money in. The need for such information remains greater than ever. Millions of investors lost nearly 9 trillion dollars during the stock market crash that lasted from 2000 to 2003. This marked one of the greatest wealth transfers ever. Remarking on this cataclysmic event, Kiyosaki writes, "The question is, How can so many millions of people be deluded into the idea that losing money every month, for years on end, without a money-back guarantee or insurance against catastrophic loss can be considered smart investing? It has to be one of the biggest mass sales jobs in the history of the world...a sales job that could only occur with a financially naïve population (203)." The answer of course is greater financial literacy. For example, many of those stock investors who lost money in the market may have avoided the misfortune if they had seen the graph illustrated below.

The primary reason why real estate values have appreciated more than the S&P during the ten years between 1992 and 2002 is largely attributable to the power of leverage and the fact that real estate is indexed for inflation while the S&P is not. While Kiyosaki favors real estate he acknowledges that to be truly rich one must invest in at least two asset classes. He specifically recommends building business and reinvesting its profits for growth. Excess profits should be held temporarily in paper until a suitable piece of real estate can be found. Real estate provides some additional benefits over the other asset classes including financial leverage and the right to take full depreciation and appreciation of the asset. But perhaps most importantly, Kiyosaki writes, "Success in real estate depends upon you as the investor. Success in the S&P depends upon the S&P 500 companies" (xiv). Seeking to retain maximum control over your asset remains one of the cardinal rules of investing.

The secret to Rich Dad's formula for ultra-high returns lies in your ability to achieve financial synergy by integrating the three asset classes (i.e. business, real estate, and paper) with financial accelerators such as OPM, OPT, tax laws, and corporate laws. The mind of a rich person operates, as opposed to that of the poor and middle class. According to Kiyosaki, "...successful investors integrate two or three of the asset classes, and then accelerate, leverage, and protect the cash flowing through the assets...The point is, an investor could own a small business and also invest in real estate" (xv).

Perhaps most importantly Kiyosaki tries to convince us that the pursuit of cashflow, as opposed to capital gains, should be the primary goal of any investor. In regards to cash flow, Kiyosaki believes that your most powerful tool is your imagination, "see if you can see potential value they cannot see. In my opinion, this is the best way to get rich" (225). In fact, most investors, such as with the stock market, fail because they do not use their imagination and are focused exclusively on elusive capital gains.

Although I like the Kiyosaki books, I give it only 3-stars because when I finished the book, I'm left with "that sounds great, so how do I do it??" Well, I found some great answers in Van Tharp's new book "Safe Strategies for Financial Freedom". Van Tharp was a fan of Kiyosaki, and his influence is obvious. But Van Tharp finally reveals exactly how to get some investment/passive income from some experts.

Probably one of my only complaints about his books is he makes everything sound SOOOOO easy! Now I realize if it were easy everyone would be doing it, which is why everyone isn't. This book will help you figure how you can be wealthy. Kiyosaki also went into some pros and cons of the various asset classes (business (the hardest of all), real estate and paper (stocks - the easiest).

All in all a good book and an easy read. Worth your time.