“The rich invent money. After you learn to make your first million, the next ten will be easy.”
In Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not, Robert T. Kiyosaki compares the lives of “Rich Dad” and “Poor Dad,” to look at the differences between the two lifestyles, and which one he’d want to live. The book focuses on the mentality switch, suggesting that being rich or poor is just a mindset. According to Kiyosaki, financial planning, having a goal in mind, and working toward that goal is the key to financial success – especially when it comes to building a business.
Key takeaways
- Being an investor through a business will lead to greater success than being an individual investor.
- Turning an idea into a profitable business is done through passion, grit, and spirit – it’s not based on how smart you are.
- It’s important to understand your priorities between being “secure, comfortable, and rich.”
What I loved about this book
- Storytelling: Kiyosaki is a storyteller. It can be challenging to sit down and read a non-fiction book, especially one about investing. But Rich Dad doesn’t feel like a textbook. Kiyosaki’s conversational tone and focus on storytelling give it the feel of a novel and make it an engaging read.
- Information: There was a sprinkling of formulas/terms throughout the book, which covered a wide variety of topics, including taxes, law and securities. For example, he includes a list of stock subdivisions, which provides readers with a brief glimpse into the world of investing.
- Support: He states that to be rich, you don’t need to start off with riches; you just need a good idea, passion, and a clear goal for a business. In a world that can often feel divided between the rich and the poor, he highlights that anyone can make it on their own.
What I didn’t love
- Self-promotion: There is a significant amount of self-promotion for Kiyosaki’s other books, which gets in the way of the learning the book is supposed to provide. As a reader, I was looking to gain quick advice I could apply to my life, rather than having to read about other books.
- Discouraging: As a new investor, this book felt a bit misleading. It’s challenging to read many times that starting a business is the primary way to accumulate wealth, because while that may be true in many instances, it’s not universally true – or the only way to accumulate wealth.
- Monotonous: While the storytelling itself about Kiyosaki’s early beginnings and the difference between his father versus “Rich Dad” made the narrative more compelling than a regular textbook about investing, the content itself felt repetitive. Kiyosaki talked a lot about building a business and gave very basic (easily researchable) information on investing.
Who should read it?
This book could be suitable for a broad audience, ranging from beginners to wealthy investors. Kiyosaki doesn’t provide specific financial advice, saying, “investment advice is personal advice.” But his book does offer general advice that could be helpful for beginner investors seeking life lessons on the mindset required to achieve and maintain wealth.
The final verdict
I would not recommend this book. While Kiyosaki attempts to motivate readers to adopt a wealthy mindset that will ultimately lead to higher wealth, his approach feels demotivating. The idea that individual investors will never be successful is a misguided mindset. While the point stands that business investors can be more successful, not everyone can have a successful business – and stating that the average investor can’t find success feels too harsh a conclusion. Perhaps it’s an attempt to motivate readers to reach for the stars, but it risks discouraging some people from investing at all.
Check out more book reviews, including this one of Kiyosaki’s bestselling books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad .
