Does anybody actually like the book Rich Dad Poor Dad?

Does anybody actually like the book Rich Dad Poor Dad?

Rental Property Investor · Cleveland Heights, OH · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 32 votes

The book Rich Dad Poor Dad is frequently sited by people as being a great book for real estate investors and I have no idea why.  I read the book and I found it to be poorly written, incredibly repetitive, lacking anything resembling real advice.  The entire book can be summed up in one sentences:  Investing money is better than spending it all and just about anyone can be an investor.   The rest of the book is just braggadocios statements about the money he has made, bad accounting practices, and a terrible attempt at a narrative involving his friend and his friend's dad.  Not to mention a completely condensing attitude toward his biological father, who while not a particularly savvy investor, did manage to afford him a pretty well-off upbringing that may have influenced his ability  to take the risks that he did in his own life.  I am astonished that the book gets credited with anything except possibly a mild attempt at inspiration.  It has less information than an introductory paragraphs of a personal finance or investing  book.  In my opinion everyone's time would be better spent reading "The Book on Real Estate Investing", visiting the Financial Samurai or Nerd Wallet, or equivalent blogs, or any rags to riches biography.  Please tell me what I'm missing, because in my opinion the book is just awful.

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Investor · Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2013 · 27 posts · 40 votes
8y

This book is about shifting one's mindset. Yes, it is repetitive but I think that is by design. The concept is simple but really believing in the concept enough to act on it is not easy for many. 

Generations of "workers" believe working 9-5 for someone else's company is the only way to make $$. This book pointed out to many that there is another way. It isn't prescriptive, it isn't an accounting book, and it isn't a real estate book - it is a personal finance, mind shift book that I personally have enjoyed reading (more than once).

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  • Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y
    It’s probably enjoyed because it’s easy to understand and uses simple andecdotal evidence. I really don’t like how he basically trashes his dad because he’s poor and obviously has become rich off this. The author is essentially a guru so it’s good to take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt. That being said I agree with most of what you’ve said but still enjoyed reading it. However I wouldn’t call it the greatest book around
  • Realtor and Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    You have to first account for timing.  This book, and series came out in the early 90s.  There was no internet at that point, and most people were making money by working the daily grind (like Robert's bio "poor" dad).  Robert introduced the concept of leveraging OPM to make money (like his "rich" dad).  It was an amazing concept that the greater number of people had never thought about.

    So many people, even still, are geared to believe that if they want something in life, they have to "earn" it through hard work, frugality, and savings.  The book series opened up posibilities for investing through leveraging credit card advances to purchase properties at trustee sale, buying rentals and allowing the tenants to pay the mortgage, and so on.

    These may seem to be concepts that are obvious to someone like you now, but in the 90s, this was a light bulb going off over heads all over the world who had never explored options like this, and never thought they would be able to afford options like this.

    I still think they are good books for new investors.

  • Rental Property Investor · Cleveland Heights, OH · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 32 votes
    8y

    Cara,

    Thanks for your response, and I think that your point about timing and availability of information is well taken, but I find it hard to believe that the concepts of leverage and investing and rental properties were completely foreign to the populous in the 90's.  The internet may have been in it's beginnings, but there were still books, libraries, radio, and TV and those methods have been in common use for at least centuries if not millennia.  If someone says that the book is intended for an audience that has never even considered investing before then maybe I can see value as a very cursory (although sometimes factually dicey) overview of why people should invest.  But I feel like anyone that understands even basic concepts of investing like compound interest is wasting their time with that book.

  • Property Manager · Lindenhurst, IL · Member since 2016 · 854 posts · 506 votes
    8y

    The book completely changed my life by introducing the concept of buying an asset that sends me money every month with little effort. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Hummelstown, PA · Member since 2015 · 638 posts · 653 votes
    8y

    @Max Briggs

    I agree with you partially.  I do think that the book was poorly written and is very repetitive.  However Kiyosaki introduced some pretty amazing concepts pertaining to personal finance, mindset and attitude through Rich Dad Poor Dad and his other books.  He might present it in an overly simplified and crass way at times, but it's still good stuff that you can learn from.

    It's like a slap in the face...but some people need that to wake up and look at the world a different way.  Apparently you did not really like being slapped, and that's OK, you're not the first. :)

    I personally re-read Rich Dad Poor Dad once a year.  There are a lot of little concepts and nuggets that I take away every time I read it.  I look past the tone and the repetitiveness and dig out the lessons.  They're in there, I promise.

  • Investor · Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2013 · 27 posts · 40 votes
    8y

    This book is about shifting one's mindset. Yes, it is repetitive but I think that is by design. The concept is simple but really believing in the concept enough to act on it is not easy for many. 

    Generations of "workers" believe working 9-5 for someone else's company is the only way to make $$. This book pointed out to many that there is another way. It isn't prescriptive, it isn't an accounting book, and it isn't a real estate book - it is a personal finance, mind shift book that I personally have enjoyed reading (more than once).

  • Rental Property Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 26 posts · 16 votes
    8y

    My problem with Rich Dad, Poor Dad is that I read it after a slew of other real estate and personal finance books that gave me essentially the same information. So when I finally got around to RDPD, I'd already heard all of it before. I mean, probably a quarter of the books I've read directly reference RDPD. So it's hard to say how I would have reacted had I read it first. But in general, I prefer books that are straight to the point, not anecdotal.

  • Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    It's right brain thinking vs left brain thinking.

    I'm a big picture person, which tends to be more right brain thinking - creativity, concepts - just more about the big picture and I don't sweat all of the details. I loved the book. Like someone else wrote: It's about changing the reader's mindset. 

    A left brain person is more concerned about linear thinking, details, little bits and pieces. They analyze things - sometimes to death. 

    The people that get the book are usually those who can see the whole concept of what it's about. The ones that don't get it are usually so caught up in the details that they don't see the forest for the trees. 

  • Wholesaler · Fairfield, CA · Member since 2017 · 472 posts · 145 votes
    8y

    I think Cara brought up good points that helped me realize why so many people hyped this book. I got the bad guru smell off it and read reviews and could not understand why people kept recommending it. I decided against buyin it so perhaps I dont know but for todays beginner I think the book is hollow relative to what is availabke nowadays. I really appreciated frank gallinellis 37 things every real estate investor should know about cash flow. Pretty dense book and I loved the numbers

  • Investor · Morrisville, NC · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 673 votes
    8y

    The book changed my way of thinking completely. Some of the concepts mentioned might seem "obvious" for some today, but 20+ years ago, it wasn't that obvious. Anyone that asks me about getting into real estate investing today ... I always ask them to read that book first. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    8y
    Max Briggs the book introduced me to a clear understanding of using leverage and reducing time to build wealth. I can say that the book was the match for the fuel I had inside me. I completely understand your feelings towards the writing style, but it is not a book to be taken literally, rather a very easy to understand book of fundamentals. My question is what were you expecting to get out of the book and what caused you to dislike it based on presumptions?
  • David NutakorPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Palmdale, CA · Member since 2016 · 122 posts · 88 votes
    8y
    Max Briggs since you don’t think RDPD is a good book, l suggest you recommend some good books for newbies getting ready to buy their first property.
  • All Over, USA · Member since 2017 · 689 posts · 756 votes
    8y
    Fantastic book for when I was in high school/undergrad to prepare me for life ahead and develop the investor’s mindset. Now...not so useful.
  • Sunnyvale , CA · Member since 2017 · 373 posts · 362 votes
    8y
    Never read it but I have always thought that the likes of Kiyosaki and Suzy Orman have printed money for themselves and gotten an enormous following by telling people that the sky is often blue.
  • Adam SherenPro Member
    Investor & Developer · Ludington, MI · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 40 votes
    8y
    It’s a tremendous (first) read. Not for someone who seems to already know everything they need too. Changed my life. Had I not read that book 7 years ago I would still just have a day job. Would love to hear some other recommendations for new investors, as this is who the book was geared too!
  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y
    Yes I liked it quite a bit. It helped me to change my mindset around money and set me on a path from $18k a year working all on my own to making a comfortable living and owning income producing assets.
  • ARRT, RT(R) / Rental Property Investor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2017 · 360 posts · 242 votes
    8y

    @Cody Evans, excellent choice on Frank Gallinellis text. I bought his "What every investor should know about cash flow"...  last week, and love it. Super~dense with analysis and numbers, but it is imperative to know and understand.

    Cheers!  $$$

  • Rental Property Investor · Quincy, MA · Member since 2017 · 75 posts · 37 votes
    8y
    It was inspiring for me
  • Realtor · Concord, NH · Member since 2017 · 48 posts · 30 votes
    8y
    Max Briggs - the concepts are simple to understand, the cash flow quadrant makes sense to everyone, it’s a book for the masses, especially those in the beginning, I think that’s why it’s been a best seller for years! It’s also the first RE book I ever read, but the way he repeats him self in almost everyone of his books is mind boggling!
  • Rental Property Investor · Danville, VA · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 18 votes
    8y

    Most kids aren't brought up to think about assets and liabilities, their parents barely understand it. Definitely not something you are going to learn and discuss in most schools. It is a great introductory book to personal finance that challenges belief systems about money. I have read tons of books on finance and real estate everything builds upon this book. Would never hate on Robert.

  • Rental Property Investor · Cleveland Heights, OH · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 32 votes
    8y

    @David Nutakor and @Collin Schwartz

    I think it's great that so many people found it inspirational.  I personally did not and found the book almost insulting because the narrative comes off very condescending while also not providing anything that I would consider an original thought.  Perhaps this is due to my background.  I am 33 years old and have a good paying full time job.  I have been investing substantial percentages of my income for a number of years, almost exclusively in mutual funds and most of that in tax advantaged retirement vehicles. I am a pretty technical person and understood very early on in my life and career the importance of investing, the effects of compound interest, the value of diversification, etc.  For a number of nerdy analytic reasons I started to become pessimistic about long term stock market returns and was looking for another investment vehicle to diversify my stock holdings and began considering real estate.  Two books were recommended to me by my brother who already owned a few rental properties.  One was Rich Dad Poor Dad, the other was The Book on Real Estate Investing.  I'm not sure that I had a specific expectation going into reading RDPD, but I can tell you that I found it very frustrating to hear him say 1000 times that the middle class isn't wealthy because they buy consumables or depreciating assets (which he of course doesn't like to call an asset for reasons I find silly) instead of investing.  I considered that to be common knowledge for anyone even remotely familiar with budgeting or investing.  I guess I was also looking for actual real estate advice, which I got none of in RDPD, aside from the advice to go for it.  In my opinion The Book on Real Estate Investing did everything that RDPD was trying to do but did it better.  It made an attempt to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit, had inspiring anecdotes, useful examples, some actual analysis but not so much as to make it unreachable for regular people.  That book was the book that gave me the courage to go out and buy my first two rental properties despite having no prior exposure  to (and actual a strong aversion to) real estate.  

    To answer your questions more concisely, I expected some concrete advice which there is none of.  Its basically him just telling everyone not to be a loser like his biological father and to invest their money .  If I had to point beginners to introductory books I would choose basically any of a slew of books on personal finance or  investing blogs such as Financial Samuri and Nerd Wallet or even investopedia which can give an effective overview of basic investment strategies and drive home the effects of compound interest and opportunity cost.  After that, if someone comes back and says that they are specifically looking to get into real estate I'd point them to The Book on Real Estate Investing.  I can't see myself ever recommending RDPD to anyone for any reason.  Maybe I just don't get it.

  • Rod HanksBusiness Member
    Insurance Agent · Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 743 posts · 462 votes
    8y
    If I read the book today with my experience, I would have come to the same conclusion you have. But when I first read it in 2001 without any knowledge of investing it sparked a raging fire within which resulted in my success today. So I still recommend that book to anyone without any knowledge of investing as a starting point. That book changed my way of thinking thus changing my life!
    Rod Hanks Insurance4.9153 Reviews
  • New York, NY · Member since 2017 · 57 posts · 11 votes
    8y
    My mom bought me this book when I was in high school! I have to agree with others that I­­t introduced me to a new way of thinking somewhat shifting a paradigm for me. I still recommend I­­t to people I know who are stuck in that rat race mentality. Now for someone who is already in an investor’s mind frame I’d probably wouldn’t immediately recommend this book.
  • Investor · Princeton, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    @Max Briggs  I think it might be a good starter book for children who have parents that never mentioned investments.  For people who have parents that read the Wall Street Journal daily or for people that have ever heard of using Quadratic Gaussian Models for the valuation of mortgage back securities, it come across as extremely condescending.

    For people in the middle, it might be a good pep talk.

  • Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    I think its funny when people have to read books to learn how to live frugal. Guess when you grow up dirt poor in the mountains of WV you don't have to learn anything about living poor.

    It's true though. All my poor friends and family are constantly buying new things at the flea market, tons of Christmas presents for their kids, new vehicles every few years.....then they tell me they wish they had money to invest. I honestly got tired of having the conversation with a bunch of people who refuse to change. 

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