Ever heard of Rich Dad Poor Dad? I have to start by admitting that I used to like Robert Kiyosaki. In fact, one of the very first books on finance and money that I ever read was his first one called Rich Dad Poor Dad. That book, to it’s credit, did change the way I looked at money, but it also reinforced the acceptance of debt in order to prosper, which by now I believe is not only nonsense, but horrible financial advice.
The best part of that book was reading about and understanding the difference between how rich and poor people teach their children about money.
Ultimately, I found Rich Dad Poor Dad, & Cashflow Quadrants to be somewhat beneficial, but I still would not recommend them. Even Dave Ramsey, someone that I greatly admire and respect, recommends his first book. It’s even in the recommended reading for coordinators of Financial Peace University. Ramsey clearly disagrees with him on the debt issues, but admits there is something of value to be used. Me and Dave actually disagree on something. ๐
The Beef
My beef isn’t with the first set of books, or really any of them for that matter, it’s more about Robert Kiyosaki’s recent advice about saving money, and how his financial seminars are conducted. Anytime he is confronted about it he claims to not know anything about it, yet it continues to happen. His seminars have become a way for him to make tons of money by employing bullying tactics to get money from people wanting to learn his “secrets”.
Some disturbing complaints about RDPD
Rich Dad Investigative Report – CBC
John T. Reed’s View (comprehensive notes)
Review by I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Deconstructing Robert Kiyosaki
For starters, there are paid seminars that apparently mostly promote more expensive seminars. You may pay $500 just to learn and be talked into “investing money” to the tune of 12 to 45 thousand dollars, so that you may have the privilege of learning “advanced investing techniques”. I’m sorry but that is a scam, and I don’t respect anyone who scams others for the sake of profit and wealth.
In one of these “cheap” seminars the instructor instructs the audience to go “RIGHT NOW” and ask their creditor for a credit increase to at least $100K. I’m not even kidding at all! When the instructor is asked questions about the validity of such a request the instructor becomes angry and verbally abusive.
Why Robert Kiyosaki is Dangerous
The danger isn’t in reading his books, IF you can separate the good advice from the bad. The problem is in reading his books and then falling for his get rich quick schemes, or as he may call them “secrets”. His secrets involve using massive debt as investment leverage. You know…the “use other people’s money to make money” lie. That is a dangerous approach to managing money, and one that can show you the fast track to bankruptcy and fast.
His good debt bad debt philosophy is not as harmful if you are using that advice to buy a home. Although, I adamantly encourage the 100% down plan, if you are using it to buy the home you want to live in you will probably be fine. This is assuming of course that you have taken some necessary steps beforehand. Like having an emergency fund of six months of expenses, have an additional 20% saved up for a down payment to avoid paying PMI, and buy within your means. (It’s not a bad idea to get a 15 year mortgage instead of a 30 either.)
BUT, when you take his advice on using debt to invest in real estate for example, you are doing more harm to yourself than good. There are not many investors with the financial know how to be able to pull this off, and the reason why is because they can never predict the future. When you try to predict the future and then sign your name on the dotted line to do so, you are risking everything. It may seem like a great idea to invest using other people’s money, but the one’s telling you to do so are likely trying to suck you into their “secrets revealed” box set or in this case a $45,000 seminar.
I don’t care who you are, your financial advice is not worth $45,000 dollars. In my book, the name Robert Kiyosaki has become a definite RED FLAG! In the end, Mr. Kiyosaki is ONLY interested in making as much money as he can, not helping others become wealthy. I do not believe he cares about you or your future.
I listen to and follow the advice of people who care about where I end up. I personally believe that there are far too many legitimate personal finance authors and bloggers out there that really want to help you, to even recommend reading one of Robert Kiyosaki’s books. There might be some good morsels in them, but you’d be better off getting your financial advice from someone who cares about the people they claim to be helping.
Wow, never knew that these “Kiyosaki Seminars” exist. I have listened to Rich Dad Poor Dad, and liked it a lot. However, If someone then turns around and asks for that much money to tell YOU how to get rich, ,kind of smells fishy. Let alone – what happens if the 100K investment fails. Is it backed with a Kiyosaki Warranty – Money back guarantee. I doubt it.
I know Julie, fishy indeed. I think Mr. Kiyosaki has changed because of his wealth. You can disagree with his views on debt and still take something away from his books, but now I think it would be better to just look elsewhere for financial advice. It’s too bad too.
Oh yeah, I doubt anything is backed at all. The reason for the credit increase is so that they can then afford his “advanced” investment seminar. That is scandalous. Shame on Robert Kiyosaki for employing such tactics.
Hi my name is Dilshad and I live in Virginia – now you just scared me really badly! I’ve already taken a class similar to the article which you have posted. The only difference though is I am taking this training from someone else. I am learning on how to leverage borrowed money but I am taking training to become a private lender. Please tell me that the courses which I am taking is pretty good. Since the time of reading your article now I am kind of spooked out. I have taken The Bankers Code home study and I do love it a lot the way George Antone teaches. This person even showed the downside on how to cover the risk as well as minimize the risk and have a great profitable lending business. Are you saying that this is a red flag as well? I am so confused, I googled and no scam came up when I entered the name.
That makes me sad that someone will use his ‘fame’ status to scam people out of money that way. Especially when the people he’s scamming are the people coming to him because they ALREADY have a debt problem.
GEEZ. The world is full of jerks like this and unfortunately they always seem to be able to get away with it.
Thank Goodness for Dave!!
Thank goodness for Dave Ramsey is right. People don’t have to agree with Dave Ramsey on everything either but at least they can go home knowing that he isn’t scamming them. I truly believe Dave has the heart of a teacher that he talks about all the time. Those are the kind of people I will listen to when it comes to how I manage my money. ๐
What about Dave’s acceptance of kickbacks to refer people to commissioned sales people (his investment “ELPs”) rather than fee-only advisors who would be bound by a fiduciary oath to serve the client’s interests?
What about proof that that is happening? Do you have undercover video of him receiving kickbacks? Do you even have proof that his ELP’s are commissioned salesmen?
Dave is very adamant about his ELP’s having the heart of a teacher for the exact purpose of avoiding what you are accusing him of. I have heard him pretty much fire ELP’s on the radio show for taking advantage of people. I think your accusation has no real merit other than that there are some people out there that hate him because his investment advice is “simple”. “Kickbacks?” In his investment lesson he is quite clear that he recommends using investment services that are not sold by commissioned salesmen, so I find this claim to be laughable.
I have dealt with two different investment ELP’s and one of them actually pushed me towards a bank product because it was a better deal. The first one sent me to the second one because he was too busy to take my money and wanted me to get quality assistance. Besides, what does Dave Ramsey have to do with this article anyway?
Robert Kiyosaki is a scam artist and I have links proving it. I just find it funny that you would use a post meant to criticize a proven case of an “investment guru” (your field) taking advantage of people and use it to take shots at Dave Ramsey. If you have facts let’s see them.
He admits it right on his site: http://www.daveramsey.com/elp/faq/
“Do ELPs pay a fee? Yes. For ELPs, the program is a form of local advertising.”
And he’s on record in several places as recommending commission-paid brokers rather than fee-only CFPs or RIAs. Here, for example: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/daves-investing-philosophy/lifeandmoney_investing/
For the record, I’m not a fan of Kiyosaki at all. His advice is shoddy, he’s derogatory toward anybody holding a full-time job, and his seminar business is shady from the ground up. My comment wasn’t intended as a defense of him in any way.
I was simply responding to the way in which Dave was brought up as somebody who you can trust 100%, because I don’t think that’s true.
Dave Ramsey’s advice for getting out of debt is excellent, and I commend him sincerely and emphatically for his success in helping people do exactly that. His investment advice, however, leaves much to be desired.
If you would prefer to move this conversation to email in order to maintain the original topic of this post, please do.
Can’t argue with that Mike. I will admit though that when someone uses the word kickbacks it makes it seem as though they are saying something shady is going on. I do not believe there is anything wrong with Dave Ramsey getting paid to promote people he endorses. I wouldn’t exactly call that kickbacks in the sense that he is unethically receiving money to promote harmful services. I will concede that Dave Ramsey is mostly an expert in real estate and becoming debt free. Investing is not something I consider his strong suit but I never considered his advice harmful to my plan. If it is in fact bad advice, I am open to hear why it is and even to the possibility that I may disagree with Dave Ramsey on the issue as well.
When I say I trust Dave Ramsey it’s not that I blindly accept everything he says to be the “right” way, I just do not believe that he is being dishonest for the sake of making more money. I do believe he follows the same principles he teaches but that certainly doesn’t mean that his way is the right way. As I said above, I really would like to know more about investing, and if what I learn convinces me that Dave is wrong then so be it. I do agree with him that single stocks are risky enough for me to want to leave alone, and that mutual funds is a great alternative assuming that the funds are not just picked out of thin air. I do know that Roth IRA’s (per your email) are good retirement vehicles but am curious to learn about the other advantages from tax-deferred investment options.
The other thing is, I do not see why it is more beneficial to pay an annual fee when you can pay an upfront commission one-time. I could swear that I have heard Dave recommend against commissioned brokers but as you pointed out, I am in fac wrong about that. Maybe I am confusing Dave with others advice because I have read many finance books that say to avoid working with anyone that is being paid to sell you something because they get paid more, as opposed to pairing you up with the best options available. I think Dave clearly expects his ELP’s to educate the client rather than take advantage of them for money. If what you are saying is true then why would there be investment ELP’s willing to overlook the things you point out as bad advice? Surely their motives could be different than Dave’s I agree, but that does make me curious.
And yeah I did kind of think you were taking up for Kiyosaki, but also admit that it was a total assumption not because of anything you said in your comment. I also want to apologize to you because you were right, it was me that brought Dave Ramsey into the conversation, so your comment was completely relevant. I hope you can see why I thought it wasn’t relevant though as I was kind of under the impression that you were sticking up for Robert’s actions, and jumping on Dave in the same comment. Thanks for clearing that part up.
Thank you so much for the comment Mike. You really have me thinking this morning and instead of just accepting what Dave Ramsey says to be true about investing, I’d like to be educated myself as to why he is wrong. I am hoping that you can help me see what I am missing so that I can also give people better investment advice. (Trust me, there’s a reason why you do not see a category about investing on EOD.) LOL I’m honestly scared of all the possibilities, which is why Dave’s advice seems soothingly simple and easy to follow. Personally we have not made it to the investing part of the baby steps so I have not done much research myself, but did plan to. Maybe I should start now since I will have my full emergency fund by the end of the year. ๐
I agree with you 100%. One of the first finance books I read was ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ also. I read it because of all of the hype surrounding it. It turns out, I learned some good foundation from that book–things like, ‘Assets buy luxuries’, ‘Poor people work for money, rich people’s money works for them’, and ‘Have your job and your business’. This is sound advice and I credit this book with starting me on my road to Financial Freedom and my interest in reading as much about finance as possible. But…..
Like you, I believe Kiyosaki started out with the intent to inform with the first book and board game. But, after the success of the two, I believe he got greedy and saw this avenue as his own ‘get rich quick’ scheme. All of the subsequent books, in my opinion, have no value whatsoever, except to put money in Kiyosaki’s pocket.
It’s true that money does change people. Either it changes them for the better, or the worse, and Kiyosaki seems to have gone down the dark path. One of the first signs that Kiyosaki was in it for the money was the price of his board game. $200 for a board game is a bit ridiculous, but to the games credit it is a fun game to play and it does teach the players about assets, liabilities, net worth. My wife’s parents actually bought the game a long time ago.
Personally I believe that if Kiyosaki’s investment techniques work so well for him he wouldn’t have to charge so much to teach others the same system. I think it only proves his using debt system sucks. Why else would someone that built wealth feel the need to rip people off?
I don’t think money changes people. I think money makes you more of whoever you are. If you are generous, you become more generous. If you are proud, your pride grows. If you are obsessive with money, the obsession grows. If you are greedy, the greed grows.
Great post by the way. I had no idea.
I would actually agree with that Kaye! Nicely said! ๐
I agree with Kaye too- If you check out the Link Labeled John T. Reedโs View you will find there was a LOT wrong with the first book.
-Rick Francis
I agree Rick. The problem for many it seems is that it was the “first” finance book they ever read which means that there’s not much to compare it to. Now that I have read many books on finance I can totally see where his first book was void of quality content. I think Robert was good at taking one simple concept and turning in to an entire book. For instance his cashflow quadrants book makes a good point about the different types of people and their characteristics but it was very broad.
ironic…i can recall that direct quote wich robert kiyosaki actually used in his own books
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s:
EOD 1
RDPD 0
Haha! Yeah baby! Thanks Chris!
I’ve heard about this matter and am glad you are getting the word around! The books have decent advice, but the tatics of his business model are NO GOOD!
No good at all! ๐ I do not really like Suze Orman all that much but I would prefer and even recommend someone read her books over the RDPD series. Thanks for stopping by Christine! ๐
B-Rad, I’ll have to disagree. I would never recommend Mrs. FICO to anyone. Both authors (Snoozy and Dick) can make good points, but neither should the “poster child” for investing or debt advice. I believe people should read as many PF authors as possible to get a whole view of the options out in the world. Personal finance is personal and following only one program can add blinders to a person’s education of finance and investing.
So true! I completely agree with you and “Young Mogule’s” point of view. I too learned a lot from RDPD and even enjoyed the first half of his latest book “Conspiracy of the Rich.” However he does encourage a reckless lifestyle when it comes to debt.
A friend of mine pointed out one of the things he says over and over in his books: When talking about creating passive income he often says things like, “When I need more money, I just write another book.” At times in his later books it really feels like that!
So yes, I’m a RDPD fan but would not recommend it to anyone who I wasn’t confident in their ability to extract the good principles from the risky. Great review Brad!
Agreed. Read his books at your own risk, and only if you can decipher the good from the bad. Thanks Deacon Bradley for your thoughts! ๐
I agree! Rich Dad Poor Dad, was a great but vague read… But the rest, not so much.
John T. Reed has a website that does an excellent job pointing out Robert’s inconsistencies and problems in general… Just google “John Reed Rich Dad” ๐
In this case a picture is worth a thousand words, love it!!! ๐
Good job!
Thanks Don, I will definitely check out what John Reed has to say. Maybe I will do a follow up review on what I find. Thanks dude!
Even the books only had about one page of good information, buried in 200 more pages of repetition and drivel. But it’s always a tell-tale sign that your rags to riches story is bogus, when you start charging people money to attend seminars on how you did it. The way you really got rich? Convincing people to pay you a fortune to attend seminars that won’t make them rich.
I have heard many people claim the same thing, and I would definitely agree. Mostly drivel with some good tidbits occasionally. like I said the most I got from his point of view was attitude. Rich people and poor people have different attitudes about money and how they teach their children reflects that difference.
Oh and you are OH SO RIGHT when you say “But itโs always a tell-tale sign that your rags to riches story is bogus, when you start charging people money to attend seminars on how you did it. The way you really got rich? Convincing people to pay you a fortune to attend seminars that wonโt make them rich.” Amen! I’ll add that he is putting people in debt to accomplish this. There is nothing more sickening to me than that.
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! ๐
Brad – Thank you for making this known to all of us. You know I read Rich Dad Poor Dad many many years ago and like you the advice to get into debt to make money was something I was all about. The problem was I got in to so much debt I wasn’t able to do anything. Thus I didn’t become a rich dad, but a poor dad.
I’ve heard of the seminars before, but knew they weren’t for me. Glad I never went to one of them.
That sounds like a blog title. “How to become a Poor Dad by using Rich Dad’s advice” LOL
Building wealth by using debt eventually runs out of advantages. Eventually you run out of people willing to loan you more money, which is why I believe he charges $45,000 to attend his bogus investment seminars.
I was completely turned off by RDPD advice and seminar tactics as well!
Good for you Lakita! ๐ It seems as though greed has become his inspiration to allow him to take advantage of people in that way. I can’t believe the stuff that was said to those people in the video. Unbelievable! That’s why I had to write about this.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/road_to_rich_dad/main.html
Thanks Adam, you may not have noticed I linked to this in the article above. Thanks for sharing though. ๐
By the way, RDPD was also my first book on personal financing, and I too completely disagree with his acceptance of debt. I think, however, having certain “good” debt (mortgage, student loans) are (somewhat) necessary for us Canadians to have in today’s society, as long as we are able to live comfortably while repaying these debts. An example of my disagreement with Kiyosaki’s philosophy would be vehicle debt; in many cases, this is bad debt since it gives you nothing but transportation until the car is gone.
I’ve been a modestly successful investor for 4 years now, and I must mention that David Chilton’s “The Wealthy Barber” is by far the best related book on personal financing, and it’s a quick and easy read to boot. He touches on 10 core principles which have helped shape my way of thinking when it comes to personal financing.
Pay yourself first? Not likely, Mr. Kiyosaki… but I’ll be sure to put that 10% of my salary away that Mr. Chilton encourages us to.
Brad–I take a more benign view here. I’ve read his book (I have it actually) and have heard him speak, and I think he’s brilliant. Not that I’d follow all his advice, or anyone else’s for that matter.
It looks as if he’s monetizing his popularity. Maybe he believes he’s taken things as far as he can go, and he’s cashing out. Maybe he sees dark days ahead for the economy and thinks it’s time to make it while you can–I really don’t know. But what I do know is that there are people with the money and the motivation to go all the way to paying top dollar to get the inside scoop. I think that is a bit of an issue, but it’s an individuals choice.
There probably are no secrets he hasn’t already divulged in his books or seminars anyway, but maybe he’s found a way to put a slick spin on them. The reality is that no one really has a secret, not with all of the information freely available on the web. There’s a saying, “if it’s new it isn’t true, if it’s true it isn’t new”.
Apparently, even people with big bankrolls haven’t figured that out yet.
The problem I have with him, and the reason I wouldn’t recommend him to others, is because of his seminar tactics and the methods he uses to extract money from unsuspecting people who think they are learning secrets. Those things happen as shown in the video, and he allows his name to be attached to that. I cannot support that at all by continuing to read or promote his materials.
I tend to judge someone based on what they are doing now, as opposed to what they’ve done in the past. He has definitely taen a turn fr the worse, even if you consider his earlier stuff to have value.
Great comment Kevin! ๐
I have read his book. I found very little to use in it.
Yeah as Kathy pointed out it is highly repetitive and loaded with drivel. ๐ Howdy Donna!
I have to admit I do like Robert Kiyosaki. I find that he ALWAYS motivates me to think AND to do something about my finances. For that, I am eternally thankful. However, I strongly disagree with many of his views regarding debt. I do think that he knows how to minimize risk AND has advised in subsequent books NOT to do what he did to become financially-free. I do not know how much people will listen to those cautions (minimize risk and don’t overleverage) given the hypocracy: do what I say and not what I did. Additionally, even some of what he says can be dangerous.
He motivated me at first too, and actually caused me to start reading up on personal finance more, but as I learned more and more, the more I realized how useless his books really are. There are some pieces of good advice but nothing that you couldn’t get completely from someone else that is not so attached to scandal and get rich quick schemes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Roshawn. ๐
The problem is though that many of the other PF gurus aren’t as inspiring in the area of wealth-building or have a very similar message to Kiyosaki. I read and listen to a lot of them. Dave Ramsey’s focus is debt elimination, and Suze’s “gift” is empathy.” Kiyosaki inspires you to think about and act differently with regards to your finances. It’s educational, but not all his advice is practical. I also think he deliberately choooses provacative language to sell his products, but for the most part, his message isn’t that different from many other real estate guru’s: OPM, leverage, cash flow, tax reduction. etc. He is a contrarian, but perhaps his biggest distinction from other RE people is sells his message so well, he has a mainstream platform.
Here’s the thing for me. I cannot be inspired by a man that rips people off plain and simple. He may have a few good tidbits to share, but he could have ALL the answers and I would still write this post, never buy another one of his books, nor recommend him to anyone. To me it’s like liking a serial killer because he did something nice when he was younger. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he became a serial killer. It doesn’t matter to me if any of Kiyosaki’s material is great, (which it’s not) he’s still a conman making money off of the hopes and dreams of others. Did you watch the video? Do you support that?
No I didn’t watch the video. I must have missed it in your post.
Here’s what I don’t understand: If someone is rich AND they are so good at making money, why do they need to charge so much money to teach me how to do it?
Exactly Chad, and the best answer to that question came from Kathy Kristoff.
I read many of Roberts books, I even was following him on twitter. Then I saw the video of how he was ripping people off and I have since stopped listening to his advice.
The reality was he had a great business writing books but with the seminars it shows that he defiantly doesn’t care about his customers. Debt is not the way to riches, I am a business owner and carry next to nothing when it comes to debt and I feel a whole lot better because of it.
I could also say I was a fan of his until I saw the video, although I wasn’t an active fan. His views on debt kept me from taking him seriously. When I watched the video a few weeks ago I knew it was over for me. ๐
I wonder….will he loan you the $45,000 to take the advanced course? LoL.
Thanks for the article. I did not know about the seminars. However the last book I bought by Mr. Kioysaki totally sucked. I am done!
Crazy!
I really do like Robert but I don’t agree with how he runs his seminars. I still believe that leverage is on of the keys to building wealth but it has to be done in a way that you are comfortable with and that you can handle.
You can do it without leverage it will just take longer.
Cheers!
Brandon
Welcome Brandon!
I think how he allows his seminars to be run reflects the kind of guy he truly is. You are certainly welcome to your own opinion about debt but I think leveraging debt is one of the most risky and unnecessary ways to build wealth. I also would disagree that it takes you longer too, but I suppose that really could go either way. Some do it faster and some don’t on both sides of the coin. With that said I wouldn’t say that leveraging debt is a key to building wealth, but it certainly is one way to go about it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Brandon! I hope you return to discuss other posts in the future. ๐
There are thousands of salesmen out there selling expensive books, seminars, and mentoring services on investing. Kiyosaki is just another in a long line of snake oil salesmen. You really should read Reed’s review of Kiyosaki at
http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
and then look through Reed’s list of real estate investment “gurus”:
http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html
Note how many sleezy “investment gurus” charge huge fees for their seminars. Like Kiyosaki, these guys have never made any substantial money from investing. They make it by selling expensive books and seminars to ordinary people who can least afford to throw their money away. I’d recommend applying Reed’s BS detection checklist to anyone you’re thinking about following:
http://www.johntreed.com/BSchecklist.html
Thank you very much for this comment Carter. Very helpful. Yeah I caught a glimpse at what Reed had to say in my link from him above. He really does not like Kiyosaki at all. I really like the list he put together too. That is very helpful.
I sincerely appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to share this with me and my readers. Thank you very much and please come back soon. ๐
YUK…. sounds like going to a time share meeting!
As for pf advice… I don’t think I will ever attend a big swissy seminar (it goes against the point of saving cash, right?)… especially with churches, local groups and things running Dave’s courses at minimal cost.
LOL exactly Forest! The only reason the get rich quick gurus are rich is because people buy into their “secrets” seminars. Building wealth has no secrets! ๐
Hey Brad, interesting post. I also read Rich Dad, Poor Dad recently, and wrote a review on it. For the most part, I thought it was a good motivational book. It didn’t have much specific financial advice though. There were a few parts I didn’t agree with, but I didn’t know what was so controversial about the book or the author.
I guess the seminars are where the controversy comes from. How did you find out about the seminar fees and the things that go on there? Did you actually go to one? Or just read about other people’s experiences?
I personally would never pay to go to seminars, unless I did a lot of homework. And although his book was okay, his seminars seem like the kind I wouldn’t want to attend.
Yeah I admit his books aren’t bad although I think there are much better ones out there that have more meat in them. I found out about the seminars by watching the CBC report linked in the article. It clearly shows that his seminars are scandalous. He tries to act like he is upset about it but still things are the way they always have been for them. If I have to pay $500 or more to go to a seminar to me that is a red flag. I believe there is good information out there for free and if I really want to learn it, I can do some reading. Robert Kiyosaki’s books have some okay insight in them but that’s as far as it goes really. There definitely is a motivational aspect to them as well, but there are so many other books that motivate and offer something substantial. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. ๐
Dear Brad,
Enjoyed your post – Rich Dad, Poor Dad was one of the first books (with Think and Grow Rich) that helped me in my journey to developing a ‘wealthy’ mindset (having come from a poor family).
Having decided two years ago to stop using any debt – including for investment – I was very happy to find out about Dave recently.
As I am a high performance business coach who charges substantial amounts for one-on-one coaching with business owners, I have looked all around the world for the best training I could find for business (particularly with biblical principles) and will be attending the Entre-leadership Master Series.
Now that is $7-9k for a week. What is your thoughts on this? Is hearing Dave’s wisdom on how to run business from 20 years’ experience worth $7k? What if he charged $50k for the week or $100k?
How does this differ from RDPD? I am clearly investing in Dave’s Master Series to grow my wealth and business. How is this different to attending a Kiyosaki seminar? Except that obviously Dave won’t be recommending debt. Both are more than $500k (even when you times that by the seven days for the Master Series).
Thank ๐
Hi Flynn,
Thanks for reading and thanks for taking the time to comment. I’ll start by saying I do admit that Kiyosaki changed the way I thought about being poor and its relation to money with his first book. In fact, other than the fact that most of his books sound the same and some of the things he wrote he has admitted to being made up for the purpose of the book, my main problem with him isn’t his books at all.
The majority of my problem comes from his advice about leveraging debt to build wealth and his seminars which from what I can tell are nothing more than a sales pitch for the “next more expensive seminar”. I do not like the tactics used to get people to make dangerous financial decisions like asking credit card issuers to raise their limits to up over $100,000 on the spot.
In my opinion the difference between Robert Kiyosaki and Dave Ramsey is HUGE. I could explain the difference in one word — CHARACTER. I believe DR has more character in his pinky finger than RK has in his entire body. Dave Ramsey went bankrupt in his 30’s, rebuilt his wealth and paid back the creditors he filed bankruptcy on (with no legal obligation to do so) and now helps millions of people get out of debt for life. Robert Kiyosaki just filed bankruptcy to avoid paying a company money he owed them and he uses the fake name he built for himself to host seminars where the tactics are questionable at best. Just watch the video of the story done on him and his seminars above. Also read some of the comments from people who have attended his seminars in the comments section here on this post.
Also I am willing to pay what I feel something is worth to me. If I think the value meets the cost I have no problem forking out the money. However, if a person who is claiming his seminars will teach me how to get rich and I pay the money only to find out that the more expensive seminar is where it’s at, I do not see any value in that at all. Not to mention the way these people talk to the attendees. If you even think about asking the wrong questions you are attacked and/or asked to leave. Is that value? ๐
Thanks for the great comment! ๐
I love the graphic you put up for this blog post… Haha.
I also have my doubts about Robert Kiyosaki since I read reviews and criticisms of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, but I have to admit that the basic thesis of his book is solid: Think about where your dollars go, and use them to buy assets rather than liabilities. Notwithstanding his other gimmicky advice, this one is pretty sound.
I cannot really call myself an “enemy of debt”, as I believe that debt can sometimes be useful (I wouldn’t be able to buy a home for many years without it, that’s for sure!). However, debt for the wrong reasons or too much debt is no good. What is your take on the building sovereign debt crisis?
I do agree that there are some tidbits of useful advice in his first book so it you want to read it, may I suggest, you get it from the library. This man definitely does not deserve to receive any more royalties.
I was first introduced to RK via his Yahoo! finance column. Um, in the first one I read, he said that poor people were stupid, lazy and evil. I’m not kidding–those were his exact words. It was shocking. He then went on to extol the virtues of Nazis and other fascist regimes, because they “got stuff done!” Yes, I’m serious. Even more disturbing, his fans came out in droves when I wrote a WTF?!?! comment, defending him, trying to explain to me what he “really” meant. Chances are, the skeeze wrote exactly what he meant.
He has always smacked of a scam artist to me, but after reading those really disturbing articles, I decided that I could find gems of wisdom from someone else.
I’ve never read RDPD or Suze Orman or any personal finance book but I’ve seen them on TV and have cringed at the amount of misinformation and absolutes that they preach.
I definitely think that people need to find things to motivate them to action. Unless you act, your situation is never going to change. However, you also always need to check your facts, check your facts and check your facts. People are human and they make mistakes. They also don’t like to admit that they don’t know something so many people tend to make things up.
The best road to wealth is hard work, action, smart use of opportunities, education, common sense, good sense of self preservation, and clarity. These are just some of the requirements. Oooh and for some, Lady Luck is kind.
I hate to sound mean but people that pay for the 3 day training.. Did you really think you were going to learn all about real estate in those 3 days? I mean did you really think the instructor.motivator was going to be able to put his years of experience and time into 3 days and you were going to understand it (master it) and leave knowing how to make money? If you did you were a moron.
From my person experience I signed up for a the 3 day training in August of 2010 it was fine for me My lady and I only paid $200.000 What did we gain from that?
– Scripts (these are important)
– An action plan
– Ways to negotiate short sales
– How to find motivated sellers
– how to find motivated buyers
– Assignment of Contract
Ok there was more but those were the main ones for us we walked out of there knowing how to replace our income. 2 weeks after our training we got our LLC set up and we’ve landed 2 deal for $5k each (assignment of contract yes)
The problem is most of the people that attend these training courses don’t put things into action. TRUE we would learned this and more from books, but when you have questions about things it’s hard o get answers. That’s why this training was important to us.
Most of you don’t realize but you can sit down with a consultant and pay 500 (which is what some of you paid for your training)for a few hours!
Our training gave us exactly what we needed to start making money as soon as we were done. He went over it 4 times extensively
200-500 investment of training (yes some up selling too) = 5k a month if you are assigning the contract. You gotta learn to put things into action
You paid $200,000 to learn something you could have learned for much less. If you are okay with that then fine, but most people don\’t want to pay $500 to be upsold on more product. They should get something for that $500 \”investment\”. Come on, you can learn so much for so much less by going to business school. I\’m not impressed with the route you took although I admit that if you are okay with getting ripped off even though you eventually see results then so be it. Robert Kiyosaki is a crook.
Again where I was people got “something” for their small $200.00 investment. I’m a business person 1st ok if it cost’s me $1k to make $3k… I’m gonna do that all day.
Everywhere you go their is an upsell! Stores, fast food, music gear stores etc
Yes people could have gone to their own REI Clubs and learned this and more for less depending on if you caught them in a bootcamp training or not but the point is
“It doesn’t matter what you pay as long as “you make it pay for itself” you have to put the work in
See people that complain about the cost are those that don’t plan on recouping the investment
Not to mention its a tax write off.. in my business I only get taxed on what I have left over so my goal is to put everything back into my business and let SAM take whatever I have left over .
for those that not happy with the training that’s cool from what I’m gathering not everyone had the same speakers
but you can take that fee you paid and write it off! so it’s not a big deal
Sorry come from a family of business man So i look at money a little different. I know about getting my ROI
It’s not Robert that I’m defending it’s more so the Speaker we had
Greg Downing… that guy is amazing he gave us his email and I’ve done a deal with him without signing up for that mentoring program
he even let you know what programs were a waste of time and what chapters in the manual were a waste of time…
He should do mentoring himself and leave tigrent or whatever that company is called
Thanks for a great article. I’ve been looking into RE investing and I signed up for a 3-day course (after being pitched at the “free” seminar) BTW the 3-day seminar is now $199. My husband showed me this blog (and many others) and the CBC expose. My class is next weekend and I’m going to skip it. Luckily I’m only out $199 but it still stinks. I think RE investment is legit but I’m going to talk to actual investors and get the good/bad/ugly picture. There are some good info in RDPD but Kiyosaki has definitely lost cred. And seeing him try to weasel out of this in the interview is a disgrace. Caveat freaking emptor, friends.
I attended one of their seminars and it was a big rip off. It seemed like smoke and mirrors and because I asked questions they asked me to leave the class with a promise to repay my class fees. That is when the games started. First they wanted me to ship back the material at my expense and then they didn’t want to refund my money. I had to first contact the Utah Consumer Protection Agency, and they forced them to repay the money but they took their time and I just feel they are a group of thieves. So, if you have been to or is going to a seminar, please run for your life cause this crap wont work. Don’t forget Run For Your Life.
I used to be a fan of Robert but not any more. I think he is a crook and THAT’S why he is rich, not because he has the secrets he claims to have.
To all you people who blather that you like the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” because it has some good “nuggets” I’d like to point out that Mein Kampf no doubt has some good “nuggets” in it if you look hard enough.
Robert Kiyosaki has proven he isn’t to be trusted (don’t you just love his mock horror at “discovering” the shenanigans at his seminars?) which calls into question his trustworthiness in toto. How many testimonials of being ripped off by the seminars that bear his name do you people need to read before you realize how cynical and borderline corrupt the RDPD gimmick is? If this man was sincere he would have addressed the problems in his seminars YEARS ago! Why hasn’t he??? Shameful, just shameful!
And why is it that NO ONE ever comes out and PROVES how they are now rich by using Kiyosaki’s methods? Sure he’s got his shills and sock puppet spammers who ALWAYS claim they are successful via the seminars but not one single person ever goes public with their own financial records as PROOF of how wonderful Kiyosaki’s system is. Funny that, eh?
The best advice I’ve ever heard regarding financial advisors who claim to have the secret to making tons of money and/or the keys to financial success is to counter them — when they start their sales pitch — with the statement that you’ll listen to their pitch AFTER they show you their personal tax returns for the past 5 years. After all, if their financial secrets are worthy of being paid for then obviously they’ve used them to advance their own portfolios, havent’ they? Who would be so foolish as to know the keys to financial success yet not use those very tools to better themselves? And that’s the rub, these folks are NEVER able to PROVE that their nonsense works because it doesn’t. If it did they would be using it themselves and they would be so successful they wouldn’t have to schlep around the country giving bleary eyed weekend seminars at some Bumfart Holiday Inn. I’m math illiterate and yet even I can figure this one out. It’s not rocket surgery after all.
Robert Kiyosaki has been discredited. To promote any of his works is to SANCTION him as a legitimate source of advice. He doesn’t teach anything that you can’t find in numerous other financial advice books free at the library. The fact that Dave Ramsey, a Christian, continues to hawk RK’s book does nothing to enhance Ramsey’s image as a sincere FA guru, especially since Ramsey can’t claim to be ignorant of the complaints about Kiyosaki’s seminars. There is NO WAY Ramsey is blind to all these complaints. This alone is shameful and indefensible on Ramsey’s part. How “Christian” of him, isn’t it?
You are all missing the big picture here.
Donald trump and other big names also charge upto a million dollars just to speak for 2 hours, but no one calls him a scammer? Why, because charging people for information is NOT A SCAM PEOPLE!!! $500 for a 3 day seminar is cheap. $5000 to do a crash course which would usually take upto 1 year in a governement college is not a bad deal! if you think it is, then dont buy it… dont go around calling him a scammer just because you decided to pay a high price for something that didnt make you instantly rich. If you could not afford it (like one person above said) then why did you buy it? Is it Roberts fault you couldnt afford it but bought it anyway?
What do all you people think a seminar is? A FREE CHARITY PIECE OF INFORMATION? NO its valuable advice at a high cost, if you dont want it, then dont buy it. How on earth can you call that a scam?
The part about the instructors at the seminar asking people to call their bank right now to increase their limit to $100,000…. that is absolutely valid to your progress, as a entreprenuer myself, learning to do phone calls like that is crucial! If you cant do that, you wont make it in business, period!
The only beef i have with him is the price of his board game like some others mentioned, $200 is expensive and a bit greedy but it is his choice and your choice if you want to buy it. BUT AGAIN he is making so much money from that too because the quality and content as soo good. You do NOT have to buy it, it is your option, i think people are moaning simply because they cant afford the game because they are just employees. Despite the price of his board game people still buy it, and he gets even richer, which confirms the fact that he is a great business man, which is why your getting his advice in the first place u moaners!!! wake up!
His books are great, his advice is real life advice on how he got rich. He always states it is just guidance! People at these seminars are expecting Robert to wipe their ass too, they expect nothing but answers, when they are clearly advertised as training and guidance seminars, nothing illegal or even immoral about it. This is all down to some people spending loads on his seminars, and not becoming rich because they are stupid and lazy and then blaming Robert for them not being rich yet.
His books are great, the only types of business books i can actually read without going dieing.
Kris you are certainly entitled to your own opinion. If you want to waste your money on his scaminars go right ahead. When you become rich because of them come back here and let me know. He scams people by making them think they are getting much more than they are when really he’s interested in taking more money from them by promising the so-called “secrets” at the “real” seminar. He is making money off of people who want to learn how to invest and they usually walk away with nothing for their money.
I think he’s a millionaire, if he even is, because he scams people, not because he has the secrets to success. Have you seen this guy interviewed about this. He knows it’s going on but continues to allow it, and why, well because he doesn’t want to kill the goose that’s laying the golden egg.
All I know is there are plenty of real experts out there that are interested in helping people become successful and they don’t have to scam people into buying their product. I also have a problem with his advice to people at his seminars to call their credit card companies and have them raise their credit limit to thousands of dollars. The dude is a fraud, and he gives awful advice. He’s certainly no financial guru, he just plays one.
Again, spend your hard earned money going to his seminars if you wish. I’ll stick to learning from people who aren’t as expensive and tend to get a lot more results from people who follow their advice.
Brad, I wouldnt ever go to one of his seminars. Its not my style, i learn the cheap way, through countless books from the library and occassionally buying them. i have bought ALL of his books (ok well most of them). High price seminars like that are for people who are wealthy through fortunate means, such as receiving inheritance or having a rich family etc. They have the money but dont know what to do with it, for those people i am sure Roberts seminars would be very beneficial to them. People who have money to burn. His seminars are not for cash strapped people, cash strapped people would be much better off investing their $45,000 into stocks and gold and other markets and ventures finding out the hard way how it all works, after all, even if you loose it all your still at the same level as you would be if you went to his seminar ($45,000 out of pocket) but you would have the priceless advantage of real life experience then, plus you might get ”lucky” and by pure chance make money too. This blog is very one sided so is the news report on his seminar, where they edited the video to make it look bad. There are many people who where happy with the information from the rich dad courses.
ALSO, Robert Kiyosaki simply licensed his name to these people, these people doing the seminars also license other names, that is their business, perfectly legal to do so BUT unfortunately for Robery kiyosaki i do believe some of the seminar practices are unethical which is damaging his name, but they are NOT SCAMS! they maybe aggressive sales people, but no one has a right to call this a scam. Like i said, Robert kiyosaki would have very little to do with the actual seminars, as he simply only receives royalties. This method is very common and even donald trump adopts the same style, e.g. he hires a seminar company to put together seminars and use his name as a marketing tool.
His books have provided so much useful information. HE ALWAYS STATES IN HIS books over and over, there are no guarantees, the money game is always risky, Robert also says always do your own research, dont take his word for it. These are not words of a scam artist. A scam artist would be promising you riches. Even his seminars dont claim they will directly make you rich, but with their guidance you have a much better chance.
Ive seen both sides of the story first hand. Robert kiyosaki has done nothing wrong, selling high priced seminars is not illegal!! selling a high price seminar is not a scam!!! for the people who bought, you are the one who bought! dont go around buying stuff then winging about the price, you knew how much it was before you bought and you agreed to it! so stop winging. If the quality of the seminar you paid for was not upto your expectations well then that is a shame for you, but it does not make it a scam!!! it makes people look so stupid when they go around calling this person a scammer, that journalist who did a piece on him should be ashamed. Some of my family members are journalist and trust me, they are the biggest liars in the world, they bend the truth and spin it around 180 degress just so they can make a story so they can keep their job!
Read his books and you tell me for one single moment does he sounds like a con man?
I have read his books and for the most part they all sound the same. The only real information I gained from his books was that poor people and rich people view money differently, but most of his books are filled with fluff that cannot help anyone do what you say. If you investigate a little you will also find that there is question as to whether or not the premise of Rich Dad Poor Dad was fictional. I do believe his books are more legitimate than his scaminars though. You seem to be missing the fact that people have, not including yourself, gone to his seminars and made claims against him because they didn’t learn what they thought they would based on how the seminar was presented. It seems to be a place for his “group” of conmen to get people to raise their credit limits to unbelievable amounts so they can then afford to purchase the more expensive seminars , putting the people he claims to want to help IN DEBT. How is that NOT a scam or a con man! GET REAL! If I was the only one that saw this Robert Kiyosaki as a scam artist, then I could possibly agree with you but their are far too many complaints about him and how he operates that tell me he is not a legitimate source of financial education. There are by far way more credible financial experts out there to even bother wasting your time with this fraud.
As I said before I respect your opinion, but you are barking up the wrong tree if you think you can convince me this guy isn’t a fraud and a scammer. He sucks money from people and gives them nothing. In my research I found no one that claimed to be helped in a big way by attending his bogus seminars. Don’t you think it’s funny that he doesn’t do his own seminars himself? Why is that? Could it be because it gives him the distance he needs to be able to place the blame somewhere else when someone makes a claim against him? Reputable experts hold themselves accountable and rarely let some mob-like group of people run their seminars for them.
I am confused as to why you would be so adamant about his reputation when I have presented enough facts on this article to at least make the case. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree, but it’s all good. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
I did not find many people at all that claimed to benefit from his seminar advice. Normally there would be more people happy than complaining. That seems to be the opposite of what’s going on.
One more thing. Do you honestly believe that a $45,000 investment for knowledge is worth it. That’s crap dude. No financial advice is worth $45,000 because no one really has the secret to success, they generally just have something that works for them, but may not work for other people. Selling ideas is one thing, but selling them for $45,000 is completely ridiculous. I will say this though. This is a free country and a free market which I believe in, so if there are people that want to spend money to learn from this guy then they have every right to. I do feel that because he’s a well known name though that people should be warned about what they might be getting when they do. That’s what I attempted to accomplish with this post. I was disgusted with everything I found out when writing this article to even try and give him the benefit of doubt.
Thanks again for the conversation Kris! I’ve enjoyed it. ๐
Well people who have a good experience go on with their lives enjoying what they have received, it will always only be the complainers you hear from. 1 happy customer tells 1 friend, 1 angry customer tells NINE friends/people. Its a common accepted formula.
people have suggested its a scam because of the $45,000 dollar investment just for knowledge, how much does a university education cost you? i never went but my brother did and he finished with $80,000 in debts ONLY TO GO DO THE SAME JOB I WAS DOING at the time at JP MORGAN, but like i said i never went to uni.
Ive looked into his $45,000 courses, they include PRIVATE 1-1 mentoring for 1 whole year!!! plus a ton of other stuff. In business, $45,000 is not alot, you can make that much profit in a very very very small business in 1 year. You get alot in return for your $45,000.
Personally i am a successful ‘self made’ entrepreneuer, and i learnt the hard way that you need to be on the inside of the business world looking out, i bet you this course teaches you how to get on the inside to see the big picture. have you ever heard people say stuff like ”if it was that easy everyone would be doing it?”, i hear that all the time, even my own parents said that to me about some of the projects i did (mostly in property) which made me close to 1$million in net profit. Some people could really benefit from a course that doesnt just educate you, but changes your mindset and your understanding on how money flows and works around the world. It is a very simple and easy game once you know how. So that said, for some people, it could be a life changing course (the $45,000 course)
Most important and direct to the point. It seems he has simply licensed his name out. If people understood more about licensing they would understand a bit better this really isnt Robert Kiyosakis fault. Although, he hasnt acted on it very well, thats for sure, his only crime here i think may be that he was ”lazy”. He should have acted on these seminars quicker, rectifying the problem. Of course the seminar company will be denying everything to Robert and saying that they are using his name with the upmost integrity. It is the seminar company that will be making the real killing on this! Not robert. You have to remember all robert has done is allow a 3rd part company to use his name to brand and market their seminars, a big mistake indeed. But i really think he is a genuine guy.
Lastly, when people move up the financial ladder and move into the spot light, some people become jelous and spiteful, i have seen it many times in my life and its one of the negatives points about becoming successful.
I saw on one forum, a guy just left a 1 sentence post saying kiyosaki doesnt even have a rich dad and poor dad and that he just made it up, and that was it, the whole forum was saying how disgusting he is for lieing about not having a rich dad or a poor dad. See how easy it is to start a rumour online. Do your own research people and draw your own conclusion. Mine is that is the victim of dirty aggressive salesman.
Peace ๐
oh and that journalist, if you watch her video and compare it to the other video online of the full footage, you will see she has cut it and then edited the video in a dishonest and misleading way. As soon as you see a journalist manipulating the footage wouldn’t that INSTANTLY MAKE you realise you cannot trust that journalist??? As soon i saw she had edited her video on robert kiyosaki in a deceitful way i was disgusted with her, shes making a report on some one being a scammer and shes doing the exact same thing scamming her viewers by making them believe what they see is the truth. She shows a clip of the seminar saying the robert kiyosakis seminars promised almost instant wealth, she then shows a clip of the seminar of the presenter saying ”who wants to be rich by friday” then she cuts it, giving it the impression they are promising quick wealth. WHEN IN FACT if you see the full footage of that undercover video on youtube, the present goes on to say ”WELL YOU CANT, not even next week, not even next year, it can take upto 15 years to achieve wealth”. I think this is another reason why people attended did like the seminar, they want a clear path instantly on how they can make money quick with guarantees, that just doesnt exist, and then they blame robert kiyosaki!!! Ok rant over, just feel sorry for the guy.
I disagree with all of you because you have not grasp the concept of using opm.Mr. Kiyosaki is a brilliant investment advisor that exceeds the way people invest their cash flow in this day of time. I think its good to use good debt for leverage to become financially independent if you do not over extend yourself. Besides it makes logical sense to use other peoples money instead of your own to become wealthy – only if you know how to manage your money and debt effectively.
In my opinion you always over-extend yourself when using debt to invest because there’s no possible way to predict the future and your ability to pay back that debt if something happens. I think his telling people to use debt to invest is the dumbest of his advice. He actually has some morsels here and there that are sound. That is definitely not one of them.
Brad,
First let me say I appreciate your approach with your negative assessment, it’s always hard to care what a person says in critism if it is done in a bashing manner.
I wanted to weigh in on two things.
1.) While yes some of those seminars can cost up to $45,000, most of them do not. My family and I went to the $500 session and we ended up purchasing 1 of the other seminars for $6000, on a credit card a year later. The result of that $500 seminar was my parents becoming comfortable with the idea of investing and more importantly how to look outside the box of typical financial advice of investing in mutual funds (which I personal believe are scam themselves, another issue though :)) and otherwise “safe” investments. This thinking led to my parents taking over a larege property that they never would have considered before this. After taking over this property they later decided to take the property management seminar, which they have used extensively over the last 2 years and has saved them time and money when dealing with tenants. I do agree that the marketing of the seminars could be more open about what they will learn there, but I think it’s important for some to know that it has made a difference people’s lives….I admit you have to have the right personality for it to make a difference though, however I also believe that is part of what Robert is trying to do, open our minds to thinking outside the traditional investor box.
2.) I do have to defend Robert’s belief of good debt bad debt. While yes debt leverage can bring you to bankruptcy quickly, I do not belief its fair to there is no such thing as good debt or to put such a high emphasis on all debt being bad. It is the mismangement of that debt (which I do believe you stated earlier on the page), but I believe you need to put more emphasis on managing debt as opposed to such an emphsis on debt is bad no matter what. There is no question there many people out there who do not need to being managing/have access to debt with their current financial IQ and yes there are definitely those who have had the financial IQ to manage but allowed greed to destroy their life through the use of debt. Debt itself is not bad, it’s like many things in this life, too much of it is a bad thing, but in moderation it can provide many good things. I have many friends who have used to debt to better their lives and the lives of others through their giving that came as result of their good use of debt.
I have a lot of respect for Dave Ramsey and what he is doing for many people, here is my one negative about Dave Ramsey and is the reason I read Robert’s stuff or Dave’s stuff….Dave does not teach me about different investments and how to think outside of the traditional view, Dave teaches me to go the easy route and let the professionals handle my investments. Please don’t misunderstand me, I believe that is very right for many people and I don’t think Dave is wrong for his clientele, but for others like myself he holds me back when he gets to the investing part of his teachings, Robert does not. In my opinion the biggest thing to understand is who we each are as an investor and what do we want to accompolish with the funds God has given us to manage. Dave takes the safe approach that is probably correct for most people, Robert takes the approach that seems to involve risk….for me the risk is in not having control of my own money turning it over to the stock market. Investing and the advice you take still goes back to “know thyself.”
Thank you again for you insight and your approach to reporting it.
Joe Bever,
Well said, nice to see somebody using common sense. People are always so suspicious of rich people because their not rich themselves!
If you spend $500 followed by $45,000 on a seminar to supposedly learn how to “get rich” you seriously need to get your head checked.
Couldn’t agree more Greg! It shouldn’t cost that much to learn what he “supposedly” teaches you!
Rich Dad literature leaves absolutely no contact information – address, email, etc. It is so clearly a scam to lure people but not be upfront. I did, after much effort, find a 800 # and insisted I wanted off their list and anything connected with it – now several months later I still received another mailing, with my “personal reservation #”
Try calling (800) 308-3585.
My next step is to report this.
Yet people still defend this guy. Thanks for the comment Nancy! ๐
This is again a case of dumb people talking too quickly, sorry to imply that your dumb Nancy, but if you buy any book of Robert Kiyosaki you will see in several locations on his website the contact information. Also you can simply search his website online (its not a secret website). There you will find his number, address, email.
So you saying ”after much effort”, i can only assume your either a dramatic journalist or a very dumb person. When you wrote that, it took me 10 seconds to get that phone number you qouted above from his website.
But your right, still receiving emails? Holy crap it must be another scam! You better write some letters of to the mayor and complain.
Does ANYONE actually have REAL evidence to prove this guy as a scammer, expensive seminars do not count as scamming. Nor does highly secret telephone number which you can only get from any of his books or website. If you have actual proof then please, write it on here.
Kris, you may disagree with what was said here, and you have every right to but if you’re going to resort to calling names simply because you disagree then that’s where I draw the line. There is enough evidence out there to suggest that Robert Kiyosaki is a fraud. You may not agree, and you may like his books, and again, that’s your right. Read his books, attend his seminars. Soak it up. If you feel spending that much money to learn the “secrets” to becoming rich by jacking your credit card limits up so you can pay for it, then go right ahead. I can save you the money right now. He’s rich because people like you aren’t skeptical. He’s rich because people like you are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to learn the same thing you can learn from countless other “rich” people for a FRACTION of the cost. The fact is you’re ignoring the evidence that is out there that at least calls Mr. Kiyosaki’s practices into question.
So go on about your business. There is no one scamming anyone. Everyone is honest. The world is perfect.
I’m beginning to wonder if you’re some kind of plant because you are awfully invested in being Mr Kiyosaki’s personal apologist.
Im simply commenting on peoples intelligence levels and false information that Nancy left about contact information.
I dont like to see people take a ”bully” type stance against a man who has done nothing wrong and taking stabs that aren’t justified.
Like Nancy declaring Robert Kiyosaki must be a scammer because she was unable to find contact information, yet it is in all of his books and on his website, like i said took 10 seconds for me to find R.kiyosakis number when i read Nancys post.
He was rich from his business, retired, starting writing and gained even more wealth. So he is not Rich from book sales alone and its very innapropriate to state ”people like me”? As i already said previously i would happily buy his books but never a seminar.
Your reasoning, Brad, for mr.kiyosaki being a scammer because you can get the same inforation out there for a fraction of the cost, suggests then that most big companies are also scammers, HERMES, the luxury goods manufacturer charges upto 30,000 pounds for a handbag, louis vuitton, prada, all of these brands are over priced. So these are all scams too, we better call the cops and inform them.
Did Kiyosaki ever lie about the price of his books or seminars? His gameboard is ridiculously expensive, hence why i wont buy it, but you guys on here are the type who will buy it and then go online and call him a scammer for charging you so much, when in reality, you could have just not bought it if its too expensive for you. Honestly, the mentality here is awful, grouping together to attack a man who has done nothing wrong.
Im still waiting to hear somebody tell me what he has done! Because all of you simply keep moaning about the prices! DONT BUY IT THEN! Doesnt make it a scam! Unbelievable.
I’m sorry for lumping you in with my statement about why Kiyosaki’s rich. I certainly didn’t intend on being inappropriate but just the links alone are enough to call his integrity and sales tactics into question. You may not think so and like I said that’s fine.
You keep saying that the comments about Kiyosaki are unfounded but have you been to this site? http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html I linked to it in the article. The guy is a liar and if you want to keep defending him and feeling sorry for the fact that a lot of people agree that Kiyosaki is a sleazeball that’s fine. People find my site by typing in “Robert Kiyosaki Scam”. The word is out. He’s not the honest businessman you think he is.
The only thing we’re doing now is repeating ourselves. I’ve said how I feel about it and so have you and it’s safe to say we’re not going to agree. I do appreciate the conversation but was bothered about you resorting to name calling. In my book Kiyosaki is dishonest, misleading and there is enough evidence to suggest he is putting people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just to buy his seminars. I thinkthat’s wrong and my intention was to warn people about him. It’s up to people to research for themselves to come to their own conclusions.
Oh and I definitely agree that his board game is excessively priced AND I have never bought it just to clear up any misconceptions you may have had. I read four of his books but that was about it and I didn’t even buy those books, I borrowed them.
Hi Brad,
The link you gave me is just another guy who is selling the same type of books ranting about how he ”thinks” Robert Kiyosaki sucks. A guys website is hardly compelling evidence. Its just another guy moaning.
You said you dont understand why im defending him, but i dont know why you are attacking him just because his seminars are expensive? I’ll keep saying it, if its too expensive for anyone, then guess what? They simply dont buy it. Have you ever bought an expensive wine and not been happy with the taste? Most likely, but that doesnt make that wine a scam.
I think its unfair of you to damage a mans reputation simply because you want to jump on the media scandal that he is a scammer, but never once given actual evidence.
There is only one thing that Robert Kiyosaki ever said in his books with conviction, that was to purchase silve and gold, he repeatedly mentioned to his readers in most of his books to do so, if you had taken his advice you would be looking at 300-400% gain on your investment, even higher maybe depending on when you took his advice. So the only thing he ever said that was clear cut advice, he was correct on.
The rest of teaching is written in a motivational way, to get you thinking, he never claims to have get rich quick schemes (except gold and silver which was true), he always tells people its just his advice/opinion and to do their own research.
My conclusion, his seminars are expensive (doesnt make it a scam) just like most designer clothes/handbags are overpriced. Its upto him what he charges, upto you if you purchase or not.
His board game is very expensive, you can see the pattern, this guy likes to charge high prices, again thats up to him and upto you if you want to buy.
His books are amazing tools to help change your mindset, they motivated me so much at a point years ago when the recession hit my business. They gave me inspiration, hope and the ability to dream big.
I would say his books dont have a clear cut route to get rich because there is no such thing in the world and he does not claim that either, but in fact, his books did have a clear cut route to great financial gains which was the purchase of silver and gold. This was the only claim he ever made.
When i see evidence that Robert Kiyosaki was scamming people then i will happily help you warn people, but until then, i think you attacking him is unjustified.
This is the last thing I’m going to say about it since you are refusing to look at the individual complaints on their own merit. My OPINION is that he is a fraud and I’ve seen enough evidence to support that from more than just one site. I’m not attacking him because “he’s got expensive seminars. you clearly have not paid attention but instead just latched onto the only argument you could about his seminars being expensive. No he’s not a scam based on the PRICE of his seminars. He’s a scam because of his practices that he himself couldn’t seem to defend. He’s constantly getting complaints filed against him, he’s been known to lie about his life in his books, and I don’t trust the guy because of ALL OF THAT and more not mentioned here. Throw on top of that the absolutely horrible advice he gives about using debt as a tool, running up your credit cards for leverage etc. etc. etc.. Gold and silver are horrible investments though here recently have been trending up. People have the right to invest in them if they want but I am not a certainly not because Robert Kiyosaki said so. All I’m saying is that I’m going to listen to someone that has a little more merit and that I can trust is not being an opportunistic fraud.
Im not refusing to look at individual complaints. Im asking you or anybody else to PRESENT EVIDENCE that this guy is a scammer, yet nobody including yourself can do so. Hence why i am saying what you are doing is wrong and unfair. Can you imagine if somebody else was bad mouthing you on the internet and not even presenting evidence.
I dont take sides for the sake of it, when i heard about all this ”scam” business i looked into it alot and i never found anything other than gossip.
Have you seen the clip on youtube where he is explaining he simply licensed his name out? just like Donald trump and hundreds of other celebrity status entreprenuers/business men who license their name and preachings to a seminar company. He said in the youtube clip he is trying to get out of his contract with the seminar company who is damaging his name and reputation. Do you honestly think somebody like Robert kiyosaki who is already a multi millionaire will commit such fraud and damage his built up reputation (which is earning him great money from book sales) just for a bit of extra cash from seminars? You do realise that most of his causes are only $1000-6000, the majority of that would go to the seminar company, a tiny portion (usually 10% for licensing) would go to Robert Kiyosaki. The seminar company would be making a killing.
Also i guess you didnt read all of my post, GOLD AND SILVER HAVE been the among the BEST PERFORMING investments you could have made over the past years when Robert Kiyosaki gave out this FREE advice in his books.
Ive read alot of books about entreprenuers, Richard Branson, Duncan Bananntyne, all of whom used credit cards/high leverage to follow their dreams. I have been using the same principal on a small level and it has been showing positive results for me too.
Brad, unless you can show proof that Kiyosaki is a scam artist then in my eyes your twice as bad for attacking an innocent victim. I dont care who is wright or wrong, lets just hope the real truth comes out.
Take Care.
You can call me whatever you wish. I feel I have seen enough evidence to make me feel okay with what I’ve written here. Glad he’s helped you out so much but unfortunately there aren’t many people who feel the same way you do. You’re acting as if the complaints against him aren’t valid or something, as if its not REAL evidence. I’m sorry but reeling people into free seminars to promote $500 seminars to promote 50,000 dollar seminars is a little on the sketchy side, let alone the tactics used,. Are you ignoring the part of the video where the speaker became verbally abusive just because he asked a question the guy didn’t like? No big deal right? Pump your credit limit up to $100,000 so you can afford my REAL seminars. Get real!
And YOU can use debt to leverage your business all you want but here at Enemy of Debt that’s not the way we operate. I guess Enemy of Debt’s not for you. My goal isn’t to please anyone it’s to get them out of debt.
Thats great you are helping people get out of debt. Wouldnt you hate it if i started a rumor online about you that you where actually scamming the people who you claim to help? Destroying all of your effort and good work? (thats not a threat dont worry lol). Thats what has happended here with Kiyosaki, nothing but rumors and people destroying his name out of jelousy, people who took his advice and where not able to make millions then start moaning.
Yes im aware he had complaints, have you seen his audiences? Doesnt every single company have complaints? There will always be moaners and complainers. Thats life.
Do you own a profitable business yourself Brad?
You do realise it takes a strong/aggressive sells team, constant promoting, marketing etc right? I dont think theres people alive today who are naive enough to think Kiyosakis Seminar company was just randomly holding a FREE Seminar for nothing in return. OBVIOUSLY they would also be selling and advertising more products and wanting the custmer to buy more/spend more. You do realise that is the overall goal of a business? Last time i checked it is perfectly legal to sales talk your clients into buying more. That is the objective. Now, holding a gun to your head and making you buy, that would be illegal, but otherwise, ADULTS are responsible for their own actions/decisions, if they decide to buy or not, i dont think kiyosaki put a gun to anybodys head.
Yes that speaker i saw in the youtube clip was an arrogant disgusting human being, who went beyond aggressive selling. It was disgraceful to see how he acted. You cannot hold Kiyosaki responsible for that though, as soon as Kiyosaki discovered the salesman behaviour he requested for him to be fired.
So just to confirm Brad, you have declared him as a scammer/con man because of 3 things, he has complaints made against the seminar company which he doesnt own but has allowed them to use his name for a fee. The seminars (which isnt his company) involve selling their other products & the final reason is products are expensive?
Sorry i guess im just not that type of person who starts attacking people without concrete evidence.
I literally CANNOT keep going on and on with you about this man. Re-read my post. The only part I referred to as a scam was his seminars and how they were run. He has been approached many different times about the practices his “seminar people” use and though it isn’t HIM directly involved he is allowing these creeps to use his name which tells me that he really doesn’t have that big of a problem with it. You don’t think he has anything at all to do with how those seminars are run? Come on man!
For the record I said his seminars were a scam in my opinion and that is my opinion. I think they are!!! You8 don’t have to agree but just because I am saying they are doesn’t make it so, it’s just what I think about it. Some people (like yourself) may not agree, but I consider his seminars a scam. It’s not just price it’s something he’s endorsing, allowing bad advice to be given putting people in loads of debt all for the promise that they are somehow going to benefit from doing so because he is Robert Kiyosaki. He’s using what credibility he did have to make false promises to people at a cost of $45,000.
Also, there’s nothing you could threaten me with my friend (even if you were) because I hold strong to my principles about debt freedom and GO OUT OF MY WAY not to make a buck off of someone else doing something that goes against what I teach. I turn down ad after ad for hundreds of dollars from people trying to push debt, debt consolidation, bankruptcy and so forth. If I were running a site like mine and you found out I was pushing debt for dollars in some way, you would have a legitimate complaint against me and my site. But you don’t because I won’t do what Kiyosaki has done to make a buck.
LOL yer it has gone on abit. Brad, that was by no means a threat, i was trying to point out how annoying and unfair for you it would be if me or people on the internet attacked you/your site like they are attacking Kiyosaki. But for the record i could easily threaten you, how you charge money to your clients from your website to learn how to get out of debt, which is a big contradiction. Why would i accuse you of that? Because im jelous of the success of your website, i tried doing a website like this myself and it was a failure. So you must be doing something scammy because your website is a success.
Ok so NON OF THAT IS TRUE and i just made all of that up, but i just wanted to point out how these type of herd like attacks on people usually start. Especially on the internet. Not just with Kiyosaki but anybody with a bit of success/money/fame.
You have a good honest website and a noble cause i know. Keep up the good work and i guess lets just agree to not agree like you said along time ago lol.
Brad,
I love this blog you have going here. I think it gives people the chance to really air out the dirty clothing and get their experience out there. I know a lot of people who have a very good experience at these seminars and I know people who have bad experiences. More bad than good. I think the best way to learn is from
1. Books
2. Your local REI group
Even then though people are going to upsell you on things. Once the following
Investors
Producers
Marketers
Franchise owners
Martial Arts Instructors
Beauty Pageants
etc
Start selling “How To” information and profit they instantly stick to that route. I don’t blame them.. It’s easy money. They are capitalizing on peoples “dreams” just like 90% of the business out there do.
They charge what they charge because people (clients) set the tone and value. If no one was buying it at the redic price then they would have no choice but to lower their prices.
My cousin just lost $50,000 putting his children through beauty pageants… Because the manager he hired said ” Yes you can win it shouldn’t be that hard” etc and all these other encouraging words… was it a scam no… was it too much.. I think so but who am I?
We are in the information age right now most people don’t do anything with the info they have and feel a need to go to an actual event and they are willing to pay for such when there are countless
Books
Training material
CHEAP on ebay and other bookstores…
It’s just like learning how to produce music for 100.00 a month from someone but if Dr Dre were to teach a session and charge $7,000 people would pay because of the name… is he scamming you? no not at all people were willing to pay because of his name then got mad when they found out he doesn’t do anything different than the next music producer
I’m not against nor an I for the seminars.. I’m just throwing another view on it… My partner of course things seminars are great me not soo much… if you are going to pay $5,000 or something like that you need to be getting 1 on 1 training that’s just my take on it
JL, good points you made. Im also NOT a big fan of seminars. They are too time consuming and non specific as they are speaking/teaching to a crowd rather than an andividual, i think you will learn at a seminar, but you will spend double the time and 20-100 times more money learning through a seminar instead of books or private mentoring. They are not scams, but they are not particularly effective learning methods and often very overpriced.
I think seminars ran by successful people should cost a few hundred dollars per day maximum per person, afterall it is a group, so you are not receiving one on one attention and you might as well be listening to a recording and it would have the same effect. Also, as its a group, say 50 people, all spending several hundred dollars, i thinks that enough profit already for the speaker. Anything over this rate i would say is overpriced and just cant be justified. But i dont think its a scam if something is overpriced, like i was saying before about designer handbags (upto $30,000 for a handbag), there simply expensive.
I actually just went to a real estate training seminar. Cost $50 for 1 day, i could have learnt the same stuff from a book but it was more fun being out for the day at a seminar. So theres two sides to the coin and people should always think about their personal situation before booking an expensive seminar.
this man and all people that go to his ‘motivational’ seminars are absolute jokes! Go to university, study economics and move into investment banking you idiots, this man is just taking your money! Money that could be saved and spent on getting a good degree from a revered university that could potentially help you to get a great job! stop being scammed by this man and get an education you cretins!
I wouldn’t call them jokes or cretins just misinformed but I definitely agree there money could serve them better somewhere else. ๐
There is a pending federal class action lawsuit filed against Tigrent / Rich Dad Education…… see http://www.bursor.com/news/20111212RichDad/
I went to one of his free seminars just last night in Middleton, Wisconsin and it was so cheap salesman pitchy it’s unbelievable. The instructor was such a (good, persuasive, fast) speaker and snake oil salesman, and there were plenty of morons in the crowd who ran to the back to sign up for the “$199” class once the instructor said “For this one time offer, just for you folks, I’m going to drop the price from $599 to $199” I almost walked out right then and there but I was entertained. I’m sure this guy Brent was the best used car salesman on the lot two years running before Kyosaki found him. If something is legitimate, you don’t have to use all the secretive, cloke and dagger tactics, like they use. It seems to me that trying to pedal products that teach concepts that real estate “professionals” have used all these years that got our bank and lending institutions in the trouble they are currently in, is pretty irresponsible. They certainly won’t work now, now that bank regulations are strict as hell, if they ever worked for anyone at all. There are some who will always try to separate a fool and his money. Ask yourself this: Have you ever met anyone you know that said, “Oh ya, I got rich from the Carlton Sheets real estate manuals” or “the Don Lapre method”? No! Cause it didn’t happen. I know that if I legitimately got rich from these guys, I would tell people. But the only testimonials are from scripted actors on the commercials. I have a feeling that these “course instructors” are paid actors. Let me see their actual life histories and portfolios and see if what they claim during their pitches is real or not. The only people getting rich from this information are the people receiving the money that you spend on these courses. Call it Carlton Sheets, Don Lapre, Amway, Primerica, or whatever, but by the time you realize you have been given incomplete, misleading, and bad information, you’re probably going to be out $10,000 or more and in debt. “There are no shortcuts!”
Patrick — Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience here. As you can see in the comments there seems to be quite a few Kiyosaki apologists. What seems so obvious to me and others seems to pass them by.
I doubt Kawasaki has become rich because of his real estate “know-how”, but let’s just say he did for the sake of this argument. Why would he then feel the need to completely take advantage of people in order to make more money? I think Robert Kiyosaki is a scumbag who has used his authority to get rich off of those he can fool.
Agreed.
Its me again, back once again to see how the ”kiyosaki” case is going.
Well, so much time has passed, so to hear this type of salemanship is still happening definately makes me raise my eyebrows…. you can understand that just like going to university to study business doesnt mean you will be good at business, i always applied the same principle to kiyosakis courses, too many fools expecting his course to lead to instant riches. But im suprised that he is still applying the same aggressive sales pitch. Clearly he is getting alot of negative feedback, thats for sure. Are the successful ones to busy to be online commenting? Maybe!
Im still not sure about Kiyosaki, i do know that people do expect too much, but maybe kiyosaki is promising too much as well?? Maybe he should tone down his sales pitch to inform potential clients that his courses are information courses, state of mind courses and dont guarantee success, obviously! just like university doesn’t.
I know Brad will probably be kicking his computer thinking im blind after reading my comment but you have to look at this from both sides, his courses are a business too.
Are the people attending his courses saying they straight up LEARNT NOTHING from the course? im interested to hear from more people ๐
I don’t know of any companies hiring real estate agents or universities who accept students and then pressure them into to having their credit card company up their credit limit literally overnight, in some cases 10 to 50 times what they currently are at, and then when you question that, the instructors get pissed and kick you out of class, then you’re out $200. (You’re full of shit). What? Are u the instructor I had the other night? Were you artificially created in a marketing department? It’s nothing like spending $80,000 to attend a University full time for four years. I have a Bachelor’s from an accredited university and the richness of my life because of that is vast. There is nothing of real value being taught @ these courses. If you have invested and made money after having taken the course well, “Bully for you!” But it’s got nothing to do with their “insider” information and more to do with what you already possessed, which is drive and salesmanship.
Your rich parents probably floated you the $45,000 for the advanced courses. Which further reinforces the simple truth that, “You have to have it to get it.” Dude look! Even Kiyosaki himself can be seen and heard in an interview saying he doesn’t subscribe to these Whitney/Tirgent people and is trying to get out from under the licensing agreement. If you don’t believe me, I’ll email you the YouTube video. Sorry, you’re wrong. Any legitimate business that really wants to help you, ofcourse needs to be compensated, but not in such a pimpy, strong-armed way.
The exact same thing can be said about university, that you already possessed skills required to become a success and uni infact didnt effect your life at all. Uni is a bit of a scam by the gov as well. To keep unemployment down and pocket a nice chunk of change through the banks, keeping people in long term debt and locked into a certain bank. Keeping you in uni for 4 YEARS!!! when in fact anyone with a bit of a brain could learn the entire course in 4-6 months. However try telling some one who has $80,000 debt from uni that it was just a big waste of time, they wont be very happy, because they know its true.
So Kiyosaki, at least hes not wasting 4 years of peoples time, in business you would be suprised how much of success comes down to your mindset, if you have the correct mindset and approach to business, you can grow quickly. I do agree with his courses trying to rev people up, get them excited, aggressive and changing the way they think, thats how people will make money.
Point is, like ive always said, are his courses amazing? probably not, are they expensive? HELL YEAH!!! Is he an amazing salesman who can sell anything to you? YES. Are people pissed off because they realised they are stupid? YES! Is he a scammer? NO. Simply a good sales person. He didnt hold a gun to anyones head. I can just imagine the dumbasses after the seminars sitting on the sofa for a month waiting for riches to start flowing in because they went to kiyosakis event, nothing happening, then screaming to the whole world that hes a scammer because they didnt get rich. You cant SUE a university because you didnt become a rockstar athlete after studying sports studies and that doesnt make the university a scam either!
Another very important point that I want to make is this: Assuming any of the information has any validity at all, it is still predicated on the idea that you are buying and selling with little to no money, which means creatively financing and selling. Well, you have to be one charismatic son of a bitch to convince buyers, sellers, and lending institutions to agree to some of the things that they teach in these courses. Have you ever heard an announcer of a basketball game say something about a player like, “You just can’t teach size or athleticism?” Well, the same goes for salesmenship. It is innate. But it comprises of 90% of what it takes to do any of this. Ask yourself if you have it. I don’t, that is why I don’t get sucked into these programs anymore, because I know that it is a necessary element to the success of it. The knowledge isn’t enough.
That is a very good point. I don’t have what it takes either, nor do I think the “it” that they teach is necessary to achieve the same end result of building wealth. Like you said assuming there is any validity to what’s taught.) ๐
Hello all, I have read quite a bit of comments and have come to the conclusion that I must respond. I can see both sides, however I truly believe that Robert has a lot of great information. Yes, it is repetitive throughout his books… like he states he is a best “selling” author. What he has taught me is that in order to become successful is that you need to sell. I do not understand why so many people on this thread do not see the underlying picture that Robert has painted. I do not see a “quick rich scheme” has anyone ever attended one of his webinars? He clearly states that it takes a lot of hard work and that fortune will not occur “over night.” I have always been brought up that “good things take time” and believe that this rings true. I also believe that Robert has put in many years of hard work and dedication to be where he is today. My foundation of what financial education is, is based off of what I have learned by reading his and his fellow RichDad team’s books. Have any of you ever heard of Mike Maloney, or read his book? It is brilliant and has opened my eyes to understanding what the term “fiat currency” really means, and would suggest it to ALL. I just wanted to add my two cents worth, and am curious to see what others have to say in regards to my post. The only financial education I have ever known is “save money” but even the most financial illiterate today knows that the dollar (and all other fiat currencies) are loosing their purchasing power!
I totally agree with you Brad!
You are doing a doing a Great Service to humanity by exposing this Con Man and his Lies!
Many people have been taken in and schemed out of their hard earned money and worst still set themselves up for BIG TIME FINANCIAL FAILURE.
I never trusted R.K. from the very beginning and I also have a knack for smelling out con people.
Good Karma for you. God Bless you and your family.
You are truly a caring human being and worthy in God’s eyes.
This is a very interesting blog you have here. I was searching around for Rich Dad reviews and i 1st came across this post here
http://ghostproducer.hubpages.com/hub/rich-dad-poor-dad-scam
The guy was pretty much stating that the Rich Dad seminars were overpriced and not really worth the time and began listening a bunch of useful books. I later found this blog post. I didn’t realize soo many people have been done wrong by this guy. I recently purchased a sem ticket then after reading INSTANTLY got my money back
Let me tell you it was hell and half just to do that.
Thanks for weighing in Jason! I’m glad that people like you are telling your story but so, there are always those out there that just can’t accept that he is a scam artist — right from his book series to his over priced seminars. The man is a fraud and got rich off of his books which weren’t even based in reality. He lied about the whole rich dad poor dad thing.
It seems pretty obvious that it is most the people with entreprenual spirit who will take value to Kiyosaki’s teachings on money. Wether the RDPD story is true or fiction it is its simplicity that captures most of us. His message that it is ultimately you who turns something into a good or bad investment is spot on. His theme is CASHFLOW! Simply, if I “invest” my money somewhere I should be able to direct the CASHFLOW from it either into my pocket or out. If it is OUT, which is bad investing, I must then put my skills to work to turn the flow back into my pocket. He teaches that you have to have the control over the “investment” to be able to do that. And this can be learned. Nothing bogus about that, even if you have to borrow to do this. Noone credible ever told me this!
The seminars issue…. You are not wise when you buy something that is not benificial to you. It is just being greedy. Kris, my MAN!
All lessons you don’t need a $5,000 seminar or Robert Kiyosaki’s thugs bullying you to learn. He’s a phony and he makes loads of money off of people who think they are getting more than they actually get. But if you wish to follow him then by all means do, no one is stopping you. The people here are just trying to warn others that a scam artist is in the midst.
Nothing you or anyone else has said has even come close to convincing me that this post or ALL OF THE MANY MANY MANY COMPLAINTS against this man are false. Robert Kiyosaki has done good at creating a cult following and the people who take up for him are a part of that cult.
To all of you who continue to make excuses and take up for Robert Kiyosaki you may want to read this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215642/Rich-Dad-Poor-Dad-bankrupt-dad-Best-selling-author-files-corporate-bankruptcy-losing-24m-judgement.html
Robert Kiyosaki is a schmuck!!
Everything you need to know about the man is right here. http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
Ah i love this old topic, i think ive been on this thread for about 1 year now lol…..
To be fair brad, that article about one of his companies going bankrupt? Like ive told you from the beginning and maybe you will believe me now, he has been trying to get away from the seminar company for along time…. in trying to do so they actually sued him and now he has to close that business because of it. I feel sorry for the guy. That seminar company has messed him up and now one of his companies has gone bankrupt and by the way, going bankrupt doesnt make you schmuck! The recession has killed off some of the biggest corporations in the world. Its been hard on everyone.
And that link Johntreed.com is just another dooshbag selling a book with the good old tactic of bad mouhting someone and then at the same time selling them the same product. Johntreed is one of scammy type guys.
I did like one of the books in the Rich Dad series. Sales Dogs was great. I found out I’m the ultimate Golden Retriever (customer service oriented). I’m able to use that knowledge to sell to my strengths.
Ok..so if it is a scam for him to ask you to pay for a financial education, Then i guess every community college and university in this country is a scam because we have to pay them for the privilege of learning what they have to teach. Just like our “higher Learning” institutions charge money so they can provide teaching materials, pay their professors, etc., etc., etc., this man charges a nominal fee compared to college tuition, to cover the costs involved in teaching. He pays those who mentor the students for a minimum of 18 months…that’s 18 months of 1 on 1 training and financial education, with a guarantee of continuing to mentor you until you completely understand the lessons they have taught you, unlike college which charges you AGAIN if you fail the first time. BUT, college isn’t a scam…it’s higher education..so it’s ok. I guess if we all decided to become financially educated, then all of the high priced financial advisers would be out of a job, as well as all of the stock brokerages who charge you money to make the decision of where to invest for you and then you wake up and the market has crashed and there goes half of your life savings overnight and all the can tell you is “Ooops, guess we’ll have to see where this is headed, just stick it out..it’ll come back up.”
Bridget, you got one thing right — college is a scam.
As for Kiyosaki, you go spend thousands of dollars to be educated by someone off his rocker. His advice is terrible. Make sure you bring your credit card because you’ll be asked to raise your credit limit. Did you watch the video or follow any of the links and do you think those methods are legit? It’s gangster at best and I’m not the only one that thinks so.
Kiyosaki is a thug. But by all means, you go spend your money on this “education” as you called it. Have a great day! ๐
Thank you for posting this information. I went to one of the free seminars because I read some of his books and found he views about money very enlightening perspective of money. Of course the seminars are to promote the next level class that has a minimal cost to it $200.
I did drag my husband along he thought the whole thing was a brain washing technique from how they kept the class doors closed before the class, to how they wanted you to sit, to the speakers trying to get everyone excited, to how you had to buy into the class that day.
Easy money or getting rich quick probably only exist for scan artist.
Thank you for telling it like it is about the whole Rich Dad Poor Dad controversy.
I too, really liked RB’s first book, so I went to his website for more information at http://www.richdadworld.com. They offered coaching and I thought, ok, I would like to find out more. I am considering buying a small guest house, but with no personal finances, I thought maybe I could get advice on finding an investor to help pay the 20% down which is by law here in Iceland. So someone phones me from RDPD company and explains that the coaching will cost $5,000 and it will be for one year. Going by what I read on the website, I knew I was only interested in entrepreneurial coaching that they offered and frankly speaking I am not trying to be rich, I am just looking for down to earth opportunities to improve my life. Investing? Sure some day…but I am thinking first about learning to walk before I can run. The guy said it would take a minimum of 10 hours a week. Ok that’s fine, but I told him, (thinking that I would be advised to look into the whole legal side of buying and running a guest house in Iceland) that there might be some time restraints because of all the legal information being in Icelandic, which I am not fluent in. ( I think I brought this up because at that point I started to sense a real feeling of pressure- like I would have to be delivering what he asked, on time, and then he says FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. What is that supposed to mean? After one year if I am not a millionaire I am deemed a failure?
And that is where the conversation just got really weird! He says, ‘I don’t think you’re serious about this!’ I said, ‘yes I am, I just wanted you to know some of the constraints I will be up againstยด (If you were signing up for real counselling they would be encouraging you that they would collectively work with you around any obstacles, not to worry, and they would be seeing you through any issues that came up, right?) If you were paying someone- a mentor, a teacher or a university to train you, you as a student expect to be treated in a professional way with curtesy and with respect. At this point, I let the guy rant for a bit, and actually held the phone away from me in disbelief. We ended by him telling me to ask my bank manager for a $5,000 overdraft loan and he would phone me back the next day. So, by then the red flags were up everywhere and I didn’t even think of phoning my bank! My husband said to tell the guy when he phoned back, that we decided we wanted to raise the $5000 first and not go into debt for it and see what he would say. (After all, the chances of this ‘education’ turning into ‘bad debt’ according to their very own definition were very real) So he phoned the next day, and when I told him what we had decided, he was angry and said I would be destitute! Then he hung up on me.
The lack of ethics and professionalism is astounding!
Dysfunctional is about the only word that describes this company!
Since they are targeting even poor, uneducated people in third world countries, I would like to do whatever I can to put a stop to these people! I really don’t know how they can sleep at night.
The only advice I can give to anyone considering kissing your hard earned cash good-bye to these people is to listen very carefully and go in with eyes wide open. If anything is said that makes you wonder, don’t just brush it aside. Sleep on it. If the next morning you are still left with a nagging feeling in your heart of hearts that just won’t go away, listen to it! Then do a thorough search on the internet to see what others are experiencing.
When I saw the report at CBC- http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/road_to_rich_dad/main.html, that was enough for me, as I recognised the same dysfunctional bully tactics there that they used on me.
One last note: everyone has a right to be have the whole picture so they can make an informed decision and that is why websites like this are needed.
Keep up the good work!
Marie Valgard
I actually know a couple people that took the classes. They told me that it was well worth it. You make your money back plus you get fully educated on how you can make even more money. They have you do a lot of hands on and show you the process of getting financially free. He is not scamming people. I have taken some of his classes and because of it I am already financially free and 20 years old. And the people that took the bigger classes are also financially free. Why would he want to scam people? He has so much money coming in already. I think what he is doing is a good thing. Would you rather pay for all of his stuff, get educated on how to get rich or just continue to think that everything is a scam and do it all your own way? I would much rather get the education that I need to get rich then to just try and look for anything that sounds like a scam. That guy is a blessing. He is trying to help everyone out and yeah he is making a profit doing so, which only makes sense because he is a business man. And they even give you enough information to go out and do it yourself in the 200 class. All you have to do is pay attention and take notes.
Robert Kiyosaki is a crook, his company Rich dad scammed me of 1000 of dollars.
They didn’t approve of a refund thou I had legal right to it, so they gave me credit instead.
I email them plenty of times trying to use that credit, no they will not answer my emails because its close to expiration for my credit.
The Rich dad scam (robert kiyosaki scam)cost me 15000 dollar.
I can’t believe how a so hated man continues, doesn’t he read what people think about him?
There seems to be a lot of anti-borrowing to invest sentiment here. I agree that if your idea of ‘investing’ is to park your money into an asset you don’t control and can’t add (much) value to (stocks, bonds, units/flats) then borrowing to leverage your speculations is foolish- as all you can do is pray for a ‘rising tide’ in the asset class.
I have attended two Kiyosaki events in Sydney Australia for around 5k each. At both events there were at least a thousand people in the room so there’s no doubt someone was making a killing, but I still feel I received massive value because the information I received has made me fifty times that back in returns over the past 6-7 years.
The assumption at the seminars was that you already ha a good grasp of the basic ‘aquire assets’ principals in his books and were ready to learn to a deeper level and covered what was missing in his books- how to CREATE ‘assets’.
Kiyosaki’s seminars teach a little bit of each of banking, accounting, industry research, asset protection, and are motivating. His take home message is ‘in your chosen industry, borrow the start up costs and create an ASSET you can either hold or sell.’ He doesn’t tell you exactly what to do step by step, however he does go through detailed examples of real business balance sheets and P and L statements.
It could be argued that much of the information he teaches could be learned elsewhere, however what 5k buys you is a massive saving in TIME. It would take months of reading books, watching YouTube videos and attending cheap seminars to learn what you learn from his team in a weekend.
I consider Kiyosaki a coach. Not my only coach, but one many.
So, to sum up:
No one has hard evidence that RDPD is not a sound source of finance advice.
What we have is opinions and facts about the whole deal having a lot of similarities with other scams.
What is more worry-some, is that no one has hard evidence that any of that any of that crap is actually effective.
Oh you can find anecdotes here and there about how someone read the book, got his perspective changed and made a “big bang for the buck” investment overnight.
But I’m sure you can find 1000s of similar anecdotes about someone who get their perspectives changed, made a big investment and watched it crumble before his eyes.
That’s inherent to investment: Luck!
You take a risk and only some of the time it pays off. Many times it doesn’t.
And the deciding factor between the two, until proven otherwise, if probably NOT the content of any books or seminars.
They might tip the dices to a fractional extent but if they were of any real impact, the streets would be packed with running millionaires.
Come up with some meaningful demonstrated statistics to prove me wrong and I’ll apologize handsomely.
(Don’t hide behind the “most people don’t do the work” scam. It’s the same as saying corpse that played russian roulette should have worked harder at it.)
I just went to one of these seminars in Chicago, they talk a good game about real estate and stock market, but all the up sides, then please go to the back of room with your credit card, no thanks…
HI, I have been listening to Robert Kiyosaki’s cd’s, and he doesn’t recommend “GRQ’s (get rich quick schemes). He States that choosing to be rich is a long term process… Investing is not about How much money; investing is about knowledge and planning… If you don’t know how are you getting your money back when youn invest? Don’t do it!!!!
”
I completely agree with the author of this article on Robert Kiyosaki! I went to the wealth expo in Oakland, CA, in March of 2006, after reading his book; Rich Dad, Poor Dad, for a book group in our Real Estate office.
At the seminar I wanted to have him sign my book; rd-pd. He was sitting behind a temporary rope divider, saw me standing there, motioning to him with book in hand and he proceeded to ignore me. I could plainly see by his whole demeanor, that he could care less about other people, unless it was an opportunity to advertise his and make money off of his โproductโ. It is very clear that all he is really interested in is making money for himself!