This is a GREAT book! I can definitely say it changed my life and they way I look at money and finances. For example, my husband and I bought investment properties after I had him read it as well. It is very easy and interesting to read. READ IT! READ IT! READ IT!

Here is one of my favorite lines from it, approximately quoted: "I have never met a rich man who hasn't lost a lot of money, but I have met a lot of poor men who have never lost a dime." True! SO TRUE. Everytime I lose money in an investment, I remember how much better I am for investing and making my money work for me than just hiding it and hoping nothing bad happens to it.

Also, I loved the story of the young talented writer who came to Robert Kiyosaki and lamented not being able to get published. He told her she was very talented, and that she should take a sales class. She was mortified. SALES? She was a gifted writer, not a lowly salesperson. (I excelled at sales, so I personally already was thinking she was kind of dumb.) Robert Kiyosaki pointed out that the cover if his book said "Best SELLING author", not "Best WRITING author". She was miffed. He was right.

I saw some other reviews saying they disliked the way he talks about people with tons of education always being poor, as if he is above them and so much smarter. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with having lots of education and still being poor, if that's all you want. This book is about how to be smart financially, though. Feel free to be poor. I want to be a millionaire soon. So I learn about money. And I love and learn from Robert Kiyosaki, who is great at that.

Lots of people look at him and get annoyed that he is so rich and successful, and don't like him. I instead look at how he is rich and successful, and try to figure out how he did it. Amen.

In the pantheon of Financial Literacy and Pseudo Self Help this book is pretty regularly tossed around. I had never read it despite having read many of what I would consider similar books: Think and Grow Rich, HTWFAIP, 7 Habits, 4HWW, etc. Well today that changed, and I am worse off for it.

This book is junk. Thankfully it’s been out for awhile and cheap used copies are abundant, but I feel bad for even the meager $3 I spent at Half Price Books. And that my purchase might add weight into whatever algorithm is evaluating their inventory, which in turn might perpetuate the idea that people should care about what Robert Kiyosaki has to say.

There’s an idea that I was introduced to through InfoSec. When you look at scams, a lot of the things that people laugh at are deliberately placed in order to filter out bad marks. If you’re a scammer, you don’t want someone who thinks critically to waste your time. So having a sentence like “Pls helf I am rare prince with millions of dollars to give for you” is actually one of the better ways to select out those people. I couldn’t help but wonder if this book is intended to do the same thing.

Robert Kiyosaki has apparently buit a whole ecosystem of Financial Self Help materials with this book as it’s flagship. In which, he mostly lauds the virtues of passive income and generating income for yourself. That's fine, no one with two braincells to rub together is going to disagree about the idea that "investing is good." The problem is with literally everything else in the book.

So a couple quick things, because Im not sure that the millionth review of this book on Goodreads is worth much of anything, Kiyosaki is making money off teaching others to make money. It’s a paradox with no end in sight. This book has those few prescient points intertwined with a lot of just bad advice and shaming of those who don't do exactly what he says. It's like the worst of the toxic MLM mentality that says, if you're not successful it's not the MLM's fault for having a shitty product or terrible support, it's your fault for not working hard enough.

The writing is fake as hell. The same way it rustles my jimmies when Brene Brown has cute kids come up with much-too-prescient conclusions about the whole of the human experience, Bobby K here has an all too magical mentor figure that doesn’t seem like they ever existed. Read this guy if you want to see more detail (https://johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-re...) And while I'm not one to throw out a non-fiction book for creating a composite character, inventing one out of thin air, combined with the other glaring issues with the ideas presented, undermines the credibility of what is said. It's a narrative device designed to obfuscate shitty ideas. The appeal to credibility fails when your Rich Dad is an imaginary Mary Sue, puppeted by the author in order to spew bad advice.

Nassim Taleb, for all his curmudgeonly argumentative twitter nonsense, has a great book about having “Skin in the Game.” The premise is to look for people who are authentically in line with what they are saying. Slick Bobby K here is full of big talk about his “portfolio” but doesn’t present any actual evidence to back up his claims. I’m struck by the humor that this book was likely written by someone who has never actually had success doing what is preached about in the book.

The formula for success here is to predatorily take advantage of those who are daft enough to believe your nonsense, and to milk them for thousands in courses on your website ($599 for a course on real estate investing if you're interested). It's the “hello I am prince with gold bars that need visa US passport” just for a slightly (very slightly) more sophisticated crowd.

Now if you liked this book, and feel the need to tell me how wrong I am, I read every comment over $299 sent to my CashApp at $rickw262. Its half the price of Bobbys Real Estate course, and I promise you will get twice the satisfaction.

2017 yılında Türkiye Bankalar Birliği için "Yetişkin Finansal Okuryazarlık Yetkinliği" başlığında 100 sayfalık bir OECD raporu çevirmiştim. Aslında çok önemli olan ancak birçok ülkenin gündemine bile girmeyen bu konuda Türkiye neredeyse her konuda olduğu gibi sınıfta kalmıştı. Şöyle ki;

- Finansal bilgi, tutum ve davranışta sondan 9'uncu
- "Ay sonunu getirmek için borç aldım" ifadesinde 3'üncü
- Kişi tarafından raporlanan bilgiye göre finansal bilgi puanı olarak sondan 3'üncü idi.

Zengin Baba Yoksul Baba'nın ilk birkaç bölümü hariç geri kalan kısımlar pek bize hitap etmiyordu. Yine de inanılmaz önemli dersler sundu.

1. Finansal Okuryazar değiliz. Robert Kiyosaki'ye göre Zenginlerin daha da zenginleşmesinin, yoksulların daha yoksullaşmasının, orta sınıftakilerin de borç içinde çabalamasının nedenlerinden biri para dersini okulda değil, evde öğrenmeleri. Parayla ilgili konuları öğretmek çoğu yoksul ya da yoksullaşan ailelerin sorumluluğuna bırakıldığı sürece bir ulus nasıl ayakta kabilir?

2. Eviniz aktif bir varlık değildir . Tüm parasını betona gömen bir millet olarak bize garip gelebilir. Ben de bu işin otoritesi değilim ancak "Paranın Zaman Değeri" için bir de Özgür Hoca'ya kulak vermek gerek.
- Nakit Kraldır: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-11...
- Bir Evin Fiyatı ve Gerçek Değeri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1MJz...

3. Tasarruf edenler kaybedenlerdir. Gelirdeki artışlar çalışanlara - para için çalışan insanlara değil, girişimcilere ve yatırımcılara gitmektedir. Vergiler üreten kesime ceza, üretmeyen kesime ödüldür. Bu dersleri öğrenirsen, akıllı, varlıklı ve mutlu bir genç olursun. Yok öğrenmezsen, hayatını suçu birilerine atarak geçirirsin; işine, düşük maaşına, patronuna. Ömrün boyunca bütün maddi sıkıntılarına çözüm olacak o büyük günü bekler durursun. Yoksullar ve orta sınıf para için çalışır, zenginler parayı çalıştırır.

Peki ben bu 3 önemli dersten ne öğrendim?

1. Öncelikle ben finansal okuryazar olmalıyım. Aslında bu açıdan da şanslıydım çünkü babam 17 yaşından beri kendi işini yapan, borsa ve piyasalar konusunda deneyimli bir kişiydi. Ancak kelimenin tam anlamıyla hiçbirşey öğretmedi. Ne hayatla ilgili, ne piyasalarla ilgili. Ben de her eğitimli genç gibi kurumsal hayatın girdabında bocaladım durdum. Ta ki 29 yaşımda kendi işimi kurup dizginleri elime alana kadar. Finansal okuryazarlığı benden başka kimse öğretmeyecekse oğluma bunları öğretmek ona en büyük armağanım olacaktır.

2. Açıkçası 2020 yılındaki faiz indiriminden faydalanmadığım için biraz FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) oldum. Kaçırıyor muyum dedim. Bugün İstanbul'da 3+1 ev fiyatları milyonlarla ifade edilirken kendimi kötü hissettim. Ancak önce Özgür Hocam, sonra bu kitabı bana öneren arkadaşım, en son da Robert Kiyosaki içime su serpti.

3. Pasif ve aktif arasındaki farkı bileceksin ve paranı aktiflere yatıracaksın. Bana hayatım boyunca tasarruf etmem öğretildi. Muhtemelen bu yüzden ben de çok iyi bir "biriktirici" oldum. Bunun tersi paranızı savurmak, gereksiz yere harcamak değil. Bu kitapla, üçüncü bir seçeneğin olduğunu öğrendim. Bazı şeyleri halihazırda içgüdüsel olarak yaptığım için de ayrıca sevindim.

Örneğin hayat boyu şu bireysel emekliliği anlayamadım. Devlet desteği almak için şu kadar sene sistemde kalacaksın, paranı çekemeyeceksin, çekersen şu kadar ceza ödeyeceksin, olur yaşın da gelirse o zaman sana kademeli olarak daha yüksek aylık bağlanacak, paran bende merak etme. Tamam kendimi finansal okuryazar görmüyorum ama kendim değerlendirebilecek kadar da hakimim.

Aynısı sosyal sigortalar için de geçerli. Bugün düzenli ödediğim için her ay 1.055 lira Bağkur ödüyorum. Daha 7 yıldır bir kez sosyal sigortanın bana sağladığı imkanlardan faydalanmadım. Buna karşılık özel sağlık sigortama aylık 100 TL ödüyorum ve biliyorum ki ameliyat bile olsam tamamı istediğim hastanede karşılanacak. Emekli aylığı içinse bu karar niye bana bırakılamıyor anlamıyorum. Ödediğim vergilere karşılık ne yol, ne su, ne elektrik, ne doğalgaz, ne köprü, ne okul, ne sağlık, hiçbir imkanından faydalanamadığım güzel ülkemde keşke bu karar bana bırakılsaydı. Bu konuda da sizi Vergi Uzmanı Dr. Ozan Bingöl'e emanet ediyorum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXUlu...

Kitap olarak bakacak olursak her bölümü olmasa da içinde çok değerli bilgiler barındıran ufuk açıcı ve eğitici bir kitaptı..

Herkese keyifli okumalar!

This Review ✍️ Blog

فصلهای ابتدایی کتاب خوب بود و من فکر میکردم ایده های جالبی برای کسب و کار از این کتاب به دست می آورم، ولی نویسنده هیچ درباره کارآفرینی و تولید پول نمی گوید و برای کسب ثروت فقط به سراغ خرید و فروش املاک و مستغلات می رود. تا قبل از خواندن این کتاب فکر نمیکردم که املاک و مستغلات در آمریکا هم به عنوان کالای سرمایه ای محسوب می شود. تمام مثال های نویسنده از کسب ثروت خرید یک ملک با قیمت پایین تر و سپس فروش آن به قیمت بالاتر می باشد. تمام هنرمندی نویسنده برای تولید پول کشف مناطق و محله هایی هست که از نظر قیمت هنوز رشد خود را شروع نکرده اند و انجام چند معامله خرید و فروش در آن مناطق می باشد. این کتاب را فقط به کسانی که به کار دلالی علاقه مند هست پیشنهاد میکنم . کتاب برای فضای اقتصاد ایران که دلالی از سایر مشاغل منفعت بیشتری دارد نوشته شده است.

رغم أن الكتاب على قائمة
Want To Read
منذ سنوات إلا أني لم أفكّر جديًا بقراءته سوى هذه الأيام بعد أن استمعت لعدة مقاطع فيديو لمؤلفه روبرت كيوساكي؛
ظننت حتى بلحظة أني أضعت على نفسي فائدة جمّة بعدم قراءته حتى الآن!
فـ بالله أستعين...

Tipul e un extremist agresiv, arogant și cu mari probleme. Na, prieten cu imbecilul de Trump. Dar din cartea asta - pe care am citit-o când a apărut la noi și la care revin des când trebuie să le explic tinerilor cu care stau de vorbă câteva principii despre bani - am învățat cele mai importante lecții de educație financiară. Dacă aș fi citit-o la 16 ani, probabil că aș fi fost milionar acum. Nu c-am ajuns rău, dar m-ar fi ajutat să privesc cu totul altfel banii de când am început să-i fac. Recomand.

The signal to noise ratio is not very good in this book. But there are already many useful critical reviews on GR, so, I'll just talk about the important takeaways.

It's a generic self-help book which talks of "what" one should do (/not do) and not "how". If one is looking for practical advices related to investing, this is not an apt book to pick up.

Important takeaways :
1) Be financially literate. This makes the majority of the content of the book. Have at least minimal knowledge of
a) Accounting
b) Investing
c) Understanding markets
d) Laws - tax advantages and protection from lawsuits
2) Have total financial self-reliance vs reliance on managers for investment advices.
3) Buy income generating assets (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate). Keep liabilities and expenses down. After asset base is good, make speculative investments (big and risky). Investment is not risky, the lack of financial intelligence is. Buy luxuries last. Always ask do I really need to buy this.
4) Learn business systems, sales and marketing skills, become better at communicating, negotiating, handling fear of rejection, fear of losing money and overcoming cynicism.
5) Read Peter Lynch to learn how to choose stocks.

There is also a short biography of Robert Kiyosaki who definitely had an adventurous childhood. He became part of some small businesses at an early age of 9 and was quite imaginative in identifying opportunities to make money.

Do I recommend it?
I do think that for a generation which grew up with internet and browsing Quora or Medium, most of the content in the book is common knowledge. Also it's a self-help and not an actual investing book. But it's a short and simple read and okay to read for a beginner.

Also note that almost all the time when the author uses "poor", he is referring to the middle class and not actual poor who don't have access to basic opportunities.

Recommended only for beginners.

My father handed me this book two nights ago, and said something to the effect of "interesting read--not very informative, but not bad".

After reading 36 out of 195 pages, I've already gotten a grasp of the overall message (make your money work for you). I've also become bored with it. As a future purveyor of doctorate-level counseling/psychological services (fingers crossed, here), reading the dribble that pop-psychologists, self-made millionaires, and the like are allowed to put into print nauseates me. I will admit freely that self-help books can be and are a legitimate help to many people. But the fact that Kiyosaki continues to make so much money off of a book full of relatively obvious "revelations" is off-putting to say the least.

This book will sit on my bedside table a few more days for the sake of my father's dignity. But I'll be damned if I spend another spare moment reading it.

This euphoric get-rich-quick book, which hinges on swindling people on the real estate market and other schemes, was very disappointing.

The basis is the author's comparison of his father and a rich man who initiatied him, in his young age, into the secret world of the rich. Throughout the text, the author berates his father, a dedicated teacher, while singing the praises of his friend's dad, an uneducated and union-crushing business leader who has an important redeeming quality: his uncanny ability to make money by any (barely legal) means possible.

The author proceeds to portray anyone with a job - and especially teachers, the most gullible of all - as fools who should drop everything and go into the real estate market and trendy stocks, where the real money is. If we are to believe him, work is for idiots and capitalism is all about beating the system to make a quick buck, tax-free thanks to exemptions and loopholes.

In other words: the system is designed so that the rich and crafty pay low taxes and the poor pay high taxes. Anything remotely resembling social equity is immediately labeled as "socialist" (read: communist) by the author. The solution is simple! Get rich yourself, using whatever scheme is at hand, and then laugh at all the people who actually work for a living.

Just one problem: what kind of society would we live in if everyone stopped providing vital, meaningful functions in society and instead lived in a dream world of speculation and scheming against their neighbour?

And is life no more than a game of savage capitalism where the winner is, predictably enough, the most ruthless and cunning savage?

The book is not entirely without merit. Some tips are timeless enough to hold true, for example paying yourself first, buying up assets rather than liabilities, etc. However, this information isn't exactly earth shattering. A much better book would be The Richest Man in Babylon, which presents a more reasonable, balanced, and human approach to managing personal finances.

Aunque lleno de controversia, el libro de Robert T. Kiyosaki encierra lecciones magistrales sobre el arte de las inversiones y de generar dinero. Partiendo de la idea de que aprender la filosofía de los ricos es el primer paso para entrar en su mundo.

Como crítica se puede mencionar el hecho de que establece máximas demasiado generales que pueden resultar peligrosas para alguien que piense que utilizando una misma fórmula sin sin haber estudiado el contexto en el que va a aplicarse. Kiyosaki lo explica claramente, su principal fuente de activos es el sector de los bienes raíces y antes de comprar un nuevo inmueble se dedica a pasear por el barrio durante largos periodos de tiempo, estudiando los cambios que se producen, las ventas que se mantienen, las opciones de rebajar... El dinero se hace al comprar, no al vender... y por lo tanto en ese punto se marca la gran diferencia entre quienes son capaces de generar ingentes cantidades de dinero con mínimas inversiones.

Kiyosaki posee sin duda el don de hacer fácil lo difícil. Su pragmatismo es de agradecer. Definiciones tan claras como la distinción entre activos y pasivos no dejan indiferente al lector. Un activo es algo que mete dinero en tu bolsillo, un pasivo lo saca. Así pues, las personas que piensan que una casa era un activo, tal y como los bancos han querido que pensaran, salen de su engaño.

Recomendable para todos aquellos que tengan interés por el mundo de las inversiones e incluso para las personas que sencillamente quieran mejorar su calidad de vida atreviéndose a salir del sistema clásico en el que la sociedad nos vende que debemos estudiar y trabajar mucho para ganar dinero. En el modelo de Kayasaki el lector aprende que se trata de todo lo contrario, si uno utiliza su cabeza, si piensa en el modo en que puede generar movimientos y transacciones, es posible generar una sinergía que suponga un cambio de vida en toda regla.

13/01/24 update: I just found out that the author is bankrupt and that much of the lessons from this book aren’t even based on true events. I’m unsurprised. Thinking back I do honestly see why some folks like this book, but it’s not solid financial advice, it’s self help and libertarian anti-state propaganda. Now that’s fine, but we should treat it as such. So when someone tells you that this book is a serious treatise on finance, be very weary of what else comes out of their mouth. They’re probably a grifter.


Original review (27/01/23)
Tldr: invest in assets, pay yourself first, spend money on seminars, don't go to college and don't listen to doubters.

There's some occasional good points in here, but the weight of nonsense makes it not worth reading. There are serious personal finance books out there like Laura Whateley's 'Money', but this is 90% self-help Libertarian brotivational guff with some common sense thrown in...