Customer Reviews

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, that the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

while i find kiyosaki's (RK) earlier 2 books (rich dad/poor dad and CF quadrant) very motivating and helpful in changing my mindset, i am finding his message repetitive. there is nothing substantially new in this book. pleasant fun inspiring reading, but bottom line: vague generalities, nothing that can specifically be used, other the motivational stuff. it's kind of like crack, it's a hard habit to get off reading his stuff, but, in the end, i think his advice is awfully dangerous stuff. i became rather skeptical of what he was writing when he started strongly pushing multilevel marketing (MLM) towards the end of CFQ, truly slimy stuff that MLM. looking into this guy's story some more, i'm learning that this guy's book only started taking off when Amway started pushing it, thus he feels he owes them something. then there's all this stuff about the rich dad being a fake. people who have looked into the story can't figure out who he is. he has said rich dad died, then changed his story that he is still alive and in hiding. people in hawaii have tried to figure out who rich dad is, but basically it seems that either the guy is a figment of RK's imagination, or the accomplishments of "rich dad" have been widely overstated. RK also tried to pass it off that rich dad was a "composite" of several people he knew. after that, i lost all respect for this guy, he's really just another Carleton Sheets. people who have tried to research RK's real estate dealings (all supposed to be on the public record) state that his records can't be found, and RK's answers to specific seem to be extremely evasive. his statements in his books about his real estate deals seem to be very exaggerated, possibly completely fictional. this guy is a quack, his books are how he makes his money now. that said, believe it or not, i would STILL recommend the first book in his series(RD/PD) for the general financially uneducated public (like me), because it is STILL a good book, from the point of inspiration. of course, i didn't know he was such a quack at the time. anyway, i'll never buy any more of this guy's products, he's stolen enough money from me. i regret buying this last book.

This book was recommended by a teacher, but am now questioning their logic and obvious lack of research ( something I always like do). Not only have I come to a conclusion about what another investor "quack" this guy is..but even more suprised a person like Oprah should know better and check the background and facts of their guests before letting frauds on her show..a ratings ploy for sure. Real shocker. C'mon O, your better than that!

This book was popularized not by merit, but by Amway (MLM company) and it's marketing "shout it to the world" ploy.

I have no need for this stuff, and I'm sure some people are going to get hypnotized by the wishful thinking, vague ideas and let downs of education. That in itself is very dangerous. The author should of been happy to have a great dad like his own, instead of knocking him down. Shame on him!

It's too bad you can't give a book -5 stars, b/c misleading people and buying into this hype is dishonest and impractical, and geez, investing in overpriced products is a sure fire way to start investing!

I have read many books on investing and picked the ears of mnay successful investors as well as so called experts. But aside from Peter Lynch's excellent books, I have never found so much powerful information as I did in Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.

Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter have produced another winner right where Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cashflow Quadrant left off. This is must reading for investors who want to make money, not just circulate it.

I have a read a number of the negative reviews and I think I understand their criticism, so I wanted to give my perspective and why this book is so important to me. What Kyosaki brings front and center in this book is the fact that the way an investor looks at a business (he creates) is as a vehicle to generate income using OTHER people's assets. The CEOs of the last three startups I worked for pitched ideas to OTHER investors and VCs which then gave them MONEY to start the business. They took some of that money as a salary, some as dividends and used this money to invest in. The power in this is that they didn't work really hard for someone else, save their money and invest, they took other investor's (and some of their own) money hired other people to work for them and invested the dividends and salary.

Additionally, he makes clear that there is risk in investing, but the best way to reduce this risk is to increase what he calls your financial intelligence. What he means by this is the knowledge and wisdom about the whatever investment vehicle you are using that you will gain by reading about it, taking advise from experts in the field (seminars, classes) and probably most important doing it making mistakes and learning from those mistakes.

He makes it clear in the book what his rich dad told him: "most people will try these things, not do very well and give up", "the best advise to give the average investor to be more successful is not to be average", "focus less about having the best product or service or idea and instead focus on having the best SELLING . . ."

He also states in several places very valuable pieces of information that gave me insight into how he thinks and works. He stated how he became rich by learning about owning corporations and LLCs and LLPs and used them to invest in real estate. He gave a due diligence list that he uses to evaluate apartment buildings. He even confesses at his 30% success rate in investing in different investment vehicles.

The most important thing I learned from playing CF 101 was that you have to play the game to be rich. I have become rich in the game and gone bankrupt sometimes, but I would not have any chance at financial freedom if I did not play at all.

So I would recommend you use this book as a guide and not a hand book. It will help to give you some of the emotional intelligence to deal with the pressure and risk involved with investing. But if you don't start or you give up you will never be rich.

Yes RK is a highly motivational speaker and can stimulate the rest of us to seek to improve our financial IQ...we just should not leave it all to him. It is very clear to me, having read only one of his books,(Before You Quit Your Job), that he uses one book to market the other in addition to his games and seminars, yet he offers no actual concrete recipes...as another reader put "vague generalities". Even his trained associates Sharon Lechter and her lawyer husband have their advise cropped down to generalities in their exerpts in order to tempt you into reading yet another RichDad book. As with investing, our reading needs to be well diversified as well!

I am a fan of Robert Kiyosaki. On the book shelf next to me is his CD and workbook course titled "Choose To Be Rich" (produced by Time Life) bought at a live lecture in 2002 in Fresno, California where he took the time to autograph the course for me after he spoke even though he was trying to get away to get to the airport. So I have made it a point to read all the books he has written as he has walked his talk. In addition to this book, I would recommend that readers have on their bookself to read and constantly refer to "Making Dollars With Pennies: How The Small Investor Can Beat the Wizards On Wall Street," by R. Max Bowser. This book is also by an author who after many years created a system that enables investors to become wealthly over time. It is available used and new on Amazon.com.

This book was such a waste of time. The only reason I read this book because I got it for free and I am still regretting reading it.

There is no secrets. This books doesn't teach you anything. Any Guy off the street can motivate you. Nothing useful. The only reason you have heard this book is because of marketing.

A complete waste of time.

Although Kiyosaki's books are more "mind-altering" than "how to" type books, the third book in the Rich Dad Poor Dad series goes over some of the same concepts and ideas covered in earlier and later books. The Cashflow Quadrant, the contrasts between his two dads, etc-. Moreover, he uses too many metaphors and analogies, i.e. the 3 "e"s of successful invesors, the 7 investor controls, the Business Triangle, and so forth...

In general, although Kiyosaki's books are a good place to start looking with regard to becoming indepently wealthy, but may be too simplistic or may lack direction for those ready to proceed to the next stage.

According to the quote on the back of this book by Sharon Lechter;

"We can all have three types of financial plans; one is to be secure, one to be comfortable, and one is to be rich. RICH DAD'S GUIDE TO INVESTING is an inside look at an entrepreneur's financial plan to be rich."

I found the advice in this great book to be a lifesaver during the recent Clinton Bear Market and The Clinton Recession. While I saw many people lose money, massive amounts of money, I was able to shift assets into other investments and even securities and continue to make money while everybody was screaming BEAR MARKET.

I heard a statistic that during the 1987 stock market crash, while many lost their their fortunes, some became millionaires that very day. WHY? HOW? It certaintly wasn't from following conventional advice.

Kiyosaki is controversial. He is unconventional and that is great. If in fact everybody accepted his ideas, then I would be worried.

Rich Dad's Guide To Investing is a great book for anyone who thinks like an entrepreneur - who has or wants to create the millionaire mindset.

This book allows you to look inside the mind of a millionaire. But more than that, to look inside the philosophy of not just one rich man, but the philosophy and mindset of what creates millionaires.

Chapter 37- How a Sophisticated Investor Thinks is alone worth the price of the book.

As with his other books, Kiyosaki discusses investing by recounting discussions with his "Rich Dad", amoung others, from his past. Kiyosaki's style of writing is close to how an auto-biography is written.

As with his previous books, the details of how transactions work are missing. The substance of the book is very diffuse. I'm finding that I need to review the book, taking notes, to extract the usable information from Kiyosaki's life story.

If you're not interested in reading about his life and his 1st person accounting of discussions he had with his "Rich Dad", then you may want to buy second-hand, or pass on this book.

If, however, you enjoy this style of writing, this book may be for you.