Is Rich Dad Poor Dad Worth reading?

Joanna Golden

Rental Property Investor · Dobbs Ferry, NY · Member since 2018 · 48 posts · 16 votes

What are all your thoughts these days?

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Jeremy Horton

Rental Property Investor · Somewhere over the Rainbow · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Sure is - quick easy read

the overwhelming theme is a mindset shift to seeing things as assets vs liabilities

I think it's a good book worth a read

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Steve K.
Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
3y
I'll summarize it for you and save you the time:
Manage your money well: Save a high percentage of your income and put that money to work in profitable investments.
That's it, there you go!
I guess I'll be the contrarian on here (often the case), and come right out and say that it's an extremely basic and over-rated book (not to mention a fake, made-up story with fictional characters and a boring plot). If you have even a basic understanding of saving and investing, you can move on to something that actually gets into technical investment insights, actionable strategies, and investment math.
I thought it was overly-simplistic when I first read it as a teenager with no investing experience in 1998, and I feel that way even more now that there are many better reading options available. I wouldn't even put RDPD in the top 50 personal finance books in 2023.
If I remember correctly, Kiyosaki also gives a lot of questionable advice in the book, such as "paying yourself first"/ putting money in your savings account before paying creditors and the IRS. Don't do that! You'll wreck your credit and end up with big fines or worse from the IRS. Pay down your personal debt first and pay your taxes. He also presents the books "nuggets" as if personal finance advice is one-size-fits-all (for example he says everyone should start a business because employees are all broke suckers, academic learning is for chumps because rich people don't need to be intellectuals, etc.). I don't believe running your own business is for everyone, and there are many benefits to higher education even if they're not obvious to everyone. Some people do have both fulfilling and financially rewarding careers that make them wealthy, and don't need to own their own business. Others find both wealth and happiness within academic professions. So I think he's wrong about those two things. Personal finance is, well, personal.
But yeah, save your money and invest wisely, that's basically all the book offers. If you need a corny, fake story with shallow, basic made-up characters and a cliche narrative to inspire you to do it, go for it. Otherwise, try a personal finance book from this century instead.
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Mark Cruse
Investor · Fort Washington, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
I am gonna have to check this out. For years, this book comes up in conversation. Man, in the gym yesterday some young boy who was asking me for RE advice told me he read. I need to at least put my eyes on it. LOL
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Thomas Higgins
Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2016 · 78 posts · 45 votes
3y
I enjoyed it. Some of the information is a bit misleading, but generally a good place to start. I think the "Rich Dad" teaching Robert how actually to do real estate is understated and should be a larger focus of the book. "Doing" real estate or real estate investing is a learned skill that requires actual reps to do correctly. I always recommend trying to work for a real estate investor or de-risking your investment by starting with a LIGHT value add SFR.
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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
@Joanna Golden yes worth reading more to marvel at the guys marketing than his business advice. The name on that book was OUTSTANDING!!
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Tim J.
Investor · Vermont and New York · Member since 2023 · 308 posts · 309 votes
3y

For those who like the self help/similar books - here are better alternatives that were written by people who didn't sacrifice integrity and honesty, and still put out something inspiration and aspirational. As an alternative, I encourage checking out the following:

"The Millionaire Next Door" - It was written after research and studies, not based on make believe and parables.
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" - Stephen Covey's timeless and easy read - worth re-reading every few years or so
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Christina M.
Rental Property Investor · PA · Member since 2017 · 69 posts · 60 votes
3y
@Joanna Golden
Yes. Received it as a gift around years 1999- 2000 one of the things that stayed with me through all these years build a team of experts Realtor, Banker, Accountant, Lawyer, Landscaper, etc., and always Mind Your Own Business.
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James Hamling
Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Joanna Golden:

What are all your thoughts these days?

To be honest Joanna, RDPD holds rather little in value today, for the first time reader.
I know, i can hear the collective gasp across the net that was just taken over the "sacrilegious" notion that RDPD is of questionable value. But it's true.
Look, one has to understand the context of when RDPD came out, it was a vastly different world, to put it in terms just remember many television shows were still in black and white at the time, no joke.
There was an employee culture DEEPLY entrenched in Americans. There was this standing "order" that one goes to school, onto college, get's a job, works hard, and retires with a gold watch, pension, 2.5 kids, home in the burbs and all is well. RDPD was revolutionary at the time, it absolutely shattered the prevailing "dream" which was in early phases of melt-down at the time.
Today, it's almost a completely opposite society. Most under 40 don't even know what a pension is, like at all. For most today self-employment is just a given, almost everyone either has a side-gig, had one, has a home biz, had one, or knows several who have all of the above. So the big "shock and awh" is more a "duh I know".
As for the investing wisdom, I argue "The Richest Man In Babylon" and "The Go Giver" does 10X more than RDPD on that topic. Those 2 will instill everything one needs for fundamental foundational mindset, seriously everything, after that it's just technicals of the various how's and what's.
Look, I give Kiyosaki the full respect of what he did, it was a big deal, emphasis on "was". The cult like following that has followed, far from earned. There is this weird idea that since he put some solid-gold stuff out there, that everything he ever does and says will equally be solid gold. no, actually it's been various degrees of garbage, it really has.
Picture this, George Washington did some amazing heroic things right, we tried to make the man a King and well earned too. But what after it all? Crickets. A time of greatness does not intrinsically imbibe a person with PERMANENCE of greatness, it never has, but for some reason people get all nuts and assume that person walks on water. And it's OK, to have been a hero when needed and than back to just regular ordinary human there after, what they did was still great and does not change because later they wander the streets in a robe saying "hey, pull my finger" (do your research on Benjamín Franklin, it's actually an analogy not that far from reality, just add some STD's, lol).
What people need today more than anything else is a giant kick in the azz, to stop being entitled, to stop being so damn soft, panzy-azz and pathetic. THAT's the message needed today.
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Carlos Ptriawan
Member since 2019 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
3y
Quote from @James Hamling:

Quote from @Joanna Golden:

What are all your thoughts these days?
What people need today more than anything else is a giant kick in the azz, to stop being entitled, to stop being so damn soft, panzy-azz and pathetic. THAT's the message needed today.

I like the way you put it.

Rich Dad is 1987 Mitsubishi in post-Fed-inflation-money-printing-press LOL
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Dan V.
Real Estate Consultant · Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 345 posts · 202 votes
3y
The book made a huge impact on me, at least changed my mindset. If you're more of a listener than a ready like me, try getting the audiobook or search for one on youtube that you can listen to while driving or waiting and find out how it affects you. I actually bought it as a gift to my son who just turned 10, I don't think he's happy about it but I'm hoping that one day he'll read it when he's ready.
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Chris John
Member since 2020 · 671 posts · 937 votes
3y
TLDR: It's a good book and well worth the money for neophytes. People are "haters".

-Importance of financial education
-His definition of assets and liabilities vs. actual definitions
-Cashflows of poor, middle class, and wealthy
-Description of how middle class fall into financial nightmares
-Owner Occ as a liability
-Importance of passive income
-Descriptions of balance sheets and income statements
-Having assets pay for your liabilities instead of just buying liabilities
-Importance of selling and being a salesman
-Working to learn
-Taking accountability for yourself financially
These are lessons that most people don't know and aren't taught in high school (I'm a former high school business teacher). $18 for this knowledge is a pretty fair trade.

From there, his boardgame "Cashflow 101" is a great way to learn about investing for those that don't have people around them to teach them similar strategies. I literally feel like I've taken the lessons from that game into my real life. Equities funded my real estate (small deals) which funded my bigger real estate and businesses (big deals).

Finally, "On the Road with Robert Kiyosaki" was a great program for someone like myself that didn't know anything about home ownership, finding a rental, what a reasonable deal could look like, etc. I was PETRIFIED picking my first rental. Is it going to need a new foundation? Are there termites? Are the electrical wires suitable? I literally didn't know anything about houses or home ownership.

I'm not saying these are the perfect ways to learn about real estate or investing, but it's certainly a great surrogate for those of us that didn't have access to mentors and were just generally poor. It gave hope and belief to me, for sure.

And, I think it's really worth mentioning that this was essentially before home computers and the Internet were ubiquitous (well, I didn't have either at the time), so it's not like you could just watch the latest YouTube video to glean all of this information.

In the end, people are unnecessarily harsh. Also, as far as it being fraudulent, it's clearly fictionalized, but apparently about his friend Richard Kimi. I really respect my grandfather and I could tell you a million stories that I believe to be true, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could punch holes in some of them. That's the way memories work. I mean, my grandpa probably wasn't really 10 feet tall, but that's the way I remember him anyway...
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Josh YoungPro Member
Rental Property Investor / REALTOR® / Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2023 · 386 posts · 421 votes
3y
Rich Dad Poor Dad is the foundation that BP was built on. After you finish read his next book the Cashflow Quadrant. These are both about mindset and don’t really give specific direction, so after you finish those I really like The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, he gives specific advise on what to do and how to do it. Like to buy a primary residence every couple years, this gives you the best loans with lowest down payments and he talks about return on equity which will allow you to eventually refinance properties to buy more. Full disclosure, I prefer audible.

[email protected]802-274-8121
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Cirilo Villar
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2019 · 97 posts · 38 votes
3y
@Joanna Golden absolutely! It’s short and simple. You can honestly finish reading it in a few hours. I came from a family raised with the “poor man” mentality which is to get a good education, get a good paying job, and retire at 55 or 60 years old. THATS IS NOT THE WAY. This book as simple as it may be, opened my eyes to another way of living. It taught me that to become rich one must accumulate as many assets as possible while keeping your liabilities at a minimum.
Definitely recommend reading it or listening to is on audible. Also, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Hard Times Create Strong Men by Stefan Aarnio
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Greg Irwin
Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2021 · 12 posts · 5 votes
3y
100% yes. Just like with any book, take what makes sense for you and your life and then apply it appropriately. But the general concepts are great!
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Ray Hage
Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 755 votes
3y
100% worth reading. Don't think of it as a road map to wealth. It is mainly for principles and opening your mind on how to create wealth. It seems simple but you really need to understand and process what's in the book. I have met many people that read and didn't understand it even though it is written so simply.
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Nicholas Spinazze
Investor · Fayetteville, AR · Member since 2022 · 31 posts · 7 votes
3y
Definitely worth a read, especially if you don't have a background with a great deal of financial education. Largely it just shifts your perspective on money. Having it work for you rather than exchanging your time for money is a novel concept to a lot of people. He also has a few other books like Cashflow Quadrant that are worth reading and the Cashflow game is a great teaching tool as well. (As an aside, I wish he'd make a more advanced version where the good deals are less obvious and you have to put more effort into analyzing a deal.)
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Rick CasadyPro Member
Real Estate Broker · Barrington Il · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 1 vote
3y
Hope this helps, @Joanna Golden

Personally I didn't really get anything new from it, but
it did reinforce my existing mindset.
I recommend reading it,
I have bought several people this book to help try and change there mindset.

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Devin JamesPro Member
Developer · Orlando, FL · Member since 2018 · 502 posts · 306 votes
3y
Yes, changed my life. Not that my life was going down a negative path, but it opened up a new world that I never knew existed.
[email protected]
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John Teachout
Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
3y
I didn't think the book was amazing but it's definitely worth a read. I've read lots of different books on real estate and investing and there's no one book that caused a kaboom! but each book I've read has had some useful information and if one picks up a kernel here and there, pretty soon the basket gets filled. One of my favorites is The Millionaire Next Door.
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Mike W.
Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
3y
Completely depends on your level of financial/business astuteness and mindset. For many who are starting new into a journey of investing and financial awareness, it is a harmless, enjoyable, quick ready that you will get some good info out of. If you are financial savvy already or have a mindset for self motivated business endeavors, skip it.
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Cavin Wang
Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes
3y
It's worth the read.
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Sam McCormackBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Cincinnati, OH/NKY · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 834 votes
3y
@Joanna Golden
It would be a disservice if someone didn't FORCE you to. 100% do read
[email protected]859-443-4952
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Ryan McKay
Rental Property Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2022 · 29 posts · 12 votes
3y
If you are much of a reader, chances are that you've already seen most of the "good stuff" in other books. Not much new, but hey, it's not a new book!
By the time that I picked it up, it was already common knowledge that Robert invented the vast majority of the supposedly autobiographical information which made it a bit harder to take any of it too seriously, but even a stopped clock is right two times a day and Robert does hot a good point or two
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Ryan McKay
Rental Property Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2022 · 29 posts · 12 votes
3y
Ps- I thought that "The Richest Man in Babylon" did the same thing better and earlier.
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Forrest T Schue
Investor · Member since 2022 · 107 posts · 67 votes
3y
Quote from @Simon W.:

It is a quick read, but it's way overrated. The ideas aren't anything new.
Maybe not new ideas now, but probably are to most people who first read it. A great starter for a mindset shift and easy to understand.
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Forrest T Schue
Investor · Member since 2022 · 107 posts · 67 votes
3y
A game changing book and definitely worth a read. One that I like even better than that is it’s sequel: Cash Flow Quadrant
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