Anyone who is interested in personal finance would have read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. But how many of you know about its author Robert Kiyosaki?
Stay tuned to this article to learn more about the journey of this amazing personality and learn the most from him so that you too can win like him.
Robert Kiyosaki: Early Life and Early Career
Robert Kiyosaki was born on 8 April 1947 in Hilo, Hawaii, America, in a Japanese family. He graduated from the Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy in New York with a bachelor of science degree. He then went on to serve in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot.
After the war, Robert joined the Xerox company as a salesperson. He quickly climbed the ladder to become the best salesperson in the company.
After his successful stint at Xerox, Robert started a new company called Ripples in 1977. The company which sold nylon and velcro surfer wallets eventually went bankrupt after its initial success.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Together with Sharon Lechter, Robert Kiyosaki penned Rich Dad Poor Dad, the book that catapulted him into stardom, in 1997.
He wrote this book as a comparison of his poor dad and his friend’s rich dad. The book roughly speaks about how the usual education fails to deliver the essential financial literacy that one needs to succeed in life. The book advocates smart work, instead of hard work, to attain financial success.
In the book, the author as a young boy is bemused about the difference between his dad who remained poor in spite of his high education, and his friend’s dad who amassed a lot of wealth through well-planned entrepreneurship.
It is from his rich dad that Robert learns the lessons of personal finance, entrepreneurship, the importance of making market-informed investment decisions, etc.
As opposed to the traditional view of acquiring a good education and settling for a decent job, the book talks about the importance of taking calculated risks in investing in real estate and other revenue-generating businesses instead of investing in assets that can also be a liability.
Robert introduces the concept of the cash flow quadrant that categorizes people into employees, self-employed, business owners, or investors while explaining the advantages and disadvantages of belonging to each quadrant.
The book is a bible to guide you through success in your personal finance choices, empowering you to make bold decisions to become rich.
Other Business Ventures by Robert Kiyosaki
After the success of his book, Robert and his Wife Kim together founded a board game named CASHFLOW that was meant to provide financial literacy to people.
They also founded the Rich Dad company. These two ventures are currently focused on providing financial literacy to the young and old alike.
At present, he owns shares in many companies such as Rich Dad LLC, Whitney Information Network, Rich Dad Education, and Rich Dad Academy.
Robert has authored 27 books, two of which were co-authored by Donald Trump before his US presidency.
Robert Kiyosaki’s Philosophy
Robert’s philosophy revolves around providing financial literacy to all. He has exposed the futility of the traditional education system in imparting financial education.
He criticizes people who spend a good part of their life to earn advanced degrees but fail to become rich. He cites the example of his dad who had a Ph.d degree but remained poor.
Criticisms against Robert Kiyosaki’s Books and Philosophy
Robert Kiyosaki’s philosophy about wealth gathering by compromising on education met with many criticisms. His financial advice was criticized for being based on personal anecdotes rather than being based on evidence-based data.
His book Rich Dad Poor Dad was also criticized for being fable-like and for not providing any sound financial advice.
In 2010, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation exposed many scams that were run under the cover of Rich Dad.
Many famous TV channels aired programs about the futility of his advice. He was also criticized for advocating real estate investments even when real estate investments became a loss-making business.
The Bottom Line
Robert Kiyosaki is an influential figure in the realm of personal finance. In spite of all the criticisms against his model of acquiring wealth, his initiatives in imparting financial literacy have always been lauded. He is still a big name to be followed
