Let’s take a look at what he has to say in the book and see which side is right.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

The idea behind the Rich Dad, Poor Dad title is that Kiyosaki says when he was growing up in Hawaii, he essentially had two dads: his biological father (Poor Dad) and the father of his best friend (Rich Dad). Poor Dad was a superintendent in the Hawaii school system, and followed a very traditional career path: work at the same company for many years, and slowly work your way up the ladder. He wasn’t poor exactly – his family lived comfortably – but he was definitely a wage slave who did not like to take much risk.

Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, on the other hand, was an entrepreneur and business owner. Among other things, he owned several mini-marts in Hawaii as well as a good bit of rental property. He encouraged people (including his son and a young Kiyosaki) to question their beliefs about money and see if there was a better way to go about generating income.

Kiyosaki lays out the differences in his two dads in this way:

One dad recommended, “Study hard so you can find a good company to work for.” The other recommended, “Study hard so you can find a good company to buy.”

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.”

One encouraged talking about money and business at the dinner table. The other forbade the subject of money to be discussed over a meal.

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

Kiyosaki says that he took a job from his Rich Dad when he was 9 years old, and his Rich Dad began to teach him important financial principles and the “rich mindset”.

Rich Mindset

Kiyosaki said says the most important difference between his two dads (and between the rich and poor/middle class) is how they think about money. The poor, he says, spend all of their money on expenses and liabilities. The middle class spend their money on things they think are assets, but are really liabilities. The rich, on the other hand, know the difference between assets and liabilities, and spend their money on assets. These assets then generate enough cash flow to pay for their liabilities.

The second thing that Rich Dad taught was the need for financial literacy. Too many people, especially among the poor and middle class, have very little idea how money, business, investing or real estate actually work. Think about all of the “experts” out there who want to help you with those very things. Then think about this: Have you ever met a poor stockbroker? How bout a poor real estate agent? I bet you haven’t, and a large part of that is because those people know how money actually works.

The responsibility for teaching financial literacy, Kiyosaki says, lies largely with parents, as it is generally not taught in schools. If parents can ensure that their children have a solid financial knowledge base before they leave the house, then they will be way ahead of the game, and will hopefully avoid the traps that so many young adults fall into.

Another point that Kiyosaki makes is the importance of knowing exactly what business you’re in. He shares a humorous story of being interviewed by a writer for a newspaper who complained to him that her career didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Kiyosaki suggested that she attend a class his friend taught on how to sell. She got offended, saying that she had a Masters in literature and didn’t need to know how to sell. As she began to pack up her bags, ending the interview, Kiyosaki pointed at her notes where she had written “Robert Kiyosaki – best selling author.” He pointed out to her that being a best writing author doesn’t guarantee anything, but if you can manage to become a best selling author, success is much more likely.

What To Expect from Rich Dad, Poor Dad

As I mentioned above, there is a bit of controversy surrounding Kiyosaki and his books. Excluding the ad hominem attacks and complaints that Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad may not have actually existed, much of the criticism of Rich Dad, Poor Dad centers around the fact that Kiyosaki doesn’t provide much specific detail in this book. For example, he tells you to start up a business, but doesn’t provide any specific business ideas. He suggests investing in stocks, but doesn’t say which specific stocks are good investments and which ones you should avoid.

While I agree with this criticism – the book does indeed lack specific, detail-level advice – I don’t think that this is necessarily a strike against the book. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is not meant to be a detailed guide to starting your own business or investing in the stock market. Instead, it is a big-picture overview of the things you need to know in order to become rich. If you don’t have the big picture, then knowing the little details is only going to be of so much benefit. So much of  making money is identifying the beliefs that you have about money that have brought you to where you are, and then choosing which beliefs you need to change (and which ones you can keep) in order to get to where you want to go.

For example, if you don’t understand why having a job is ultimately a bad thing – and it is – then why would you need to start your own business? If you think that buying a house is the best investment you can make, then you’ll never see the benefit in investing in something smaller that will actually put money in your pocket. So much of what we think we know about money and becoming wealthy is actually wrong, but unless you get the big picture first, you’ll never learn why changing the way you think is so important.

Overall, Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a great book. It’s possible that if you are already highly financially literate, then you won’t find too much value in this book, but the chances of that are small. The vast majority of people will find tremendous value in this book and the knowledge gained from it will be well worth your time. If you are stuck in a job that you don’t like, or if you are tired of working each month just to barely be able to pay your bills, or if you are simply considering ways to make more money, this book will certainly help you meet your goals. Highly recommended.