Anbody know about Robert T. Kiyosaki

[dex_millie]

DH saw this guy on Public TV on Sunday. Now he thinks that's his kind of guy. That you have to think out of the box, take risk - my using 'good debt' to build wealth. He also said the guy said not to rely on regular savings, 401s, mutual funds because I guess that is what normal people do and they just live normal(?). I am more on the Dave Ramsey side. But told him I will get Kiyosaki book from the library to read and he have the read Dave Ramsey one (he also has the read the other book, which is what he wants). Does anybody know anything about this guy?

Does he advocate a get out of 'bad debt' and what is his plan? I tried looking online but don't find much about his thoughts about getting out of debt. This getting into debt to build wealth just isn't my thing but he thinks need to think outside the box all of this from a Public TV sponsership that was advertising his book if you gave more than $100.

TIA

[dex_millie]

He wrote the book 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and some other books

[TheGirls]

I've read his book, and I'm not a fan. The book is basically a pile of get-rich-quick schemes. Some of them are illegal (he's a big fan of insider trading, and claiming vacations and personal vehicles as tax deductions), some no longer exist (some of his municipal bond schemes) and many are just inadvisable (he has some real-estate investment schemes). He often recommends extremely high risk investments. He also lies about his own experiences repeatedly in the book. Many believe that the "rich dad" was fictional.

Here's one analysis - it's very long, but even skimming a few sections should give you an idea. The section on factual errors about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the page is particularly interesting.

http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

There are others, google Kiyosaki criticism.

He does not advocate getting out of debt, really, ever. He's big on bragging about buying luxury items such as Rolex watches and Porche automobiles, which does not, IMO indicate financial intelligence. He claims to have made himself wealthy through his investments, but he won't provide any indications of his net worth other than the Rolexes and Porches. He does not advocate an education - in fact he recommends against traditional higher education. He's also against working hard to make good money - he prefers tax evasion and insider trading. His idea of "good debt" involves using debt to finance risky investments. I don't "rich dad" has made anyone rich except the author and publisher. I wouldn't recommend following his advice unless you have money to lose and an excellent lawyer.

Do read the book though, if you're financially literate it's pretty humorous...

[kssinca]

I have an opposite viewpoint. I actually host Cash Flow 101 games. It is a board game that he created. I enojy hosting and playing the games, which I do for free, because it allows me to meet other people that are of a similar mindset and similar interests.

Reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad really helped to change my mindset about money; it opened a different realm of possibilities, beyond the "Work hard, save a lot, invest in 401Ks, CD's, etc."

Is investing risky? Yes, if you do not define your risk comfort level and do your homework.

My take away from the book was the power to leverage your money and that there are other ways than "saving" or "penny-pinching" to increase your wealth. For me, it was more of a mindset change than a "how to" book.

[transformed]

I am a huge fan of Robert Kyosaki. He has a free seminar in the Tampa area coming up.

(Maybe in some other areas as well?)

He is considered a "Law of Attraction" teacher also. He has the mentality that "like thoughts attract like things" so if you are in a "poor" mentality thats what you will get, and since rich people dont generally think like that, they are attracting abundance to their lives.

[SleeplessMommy]

I am not a fan of highly leveraged investment. Many people have made $$$ with rental properties ... many have also taken very large losses. The real estate and investment markets have changes HUGELY in the past year or so. If you buy a rental property with the expectation of 10-15% price appreciation per year, you could loose your shirt, your car, your house, etc. This may have worked for some Floridians in the 90s, but that game is long past over. If you buy a book of his published just 2 years ago, it will be badly out of date.

Incidentally, if you go to a real estate agent and ask about buying "profitable" rental properties, they will be very happy to oblige. There are many "yes men" in the real estate industry.

By the way, my friend ____ who used to buy and hold rental properties very successfully has gotten out of the business. Even buying and flipping houses is more profitable and lower risk these days.

If you get a 2nd mortgage on your house to buy stocks or bonds, you are playing Russian roulette. The point of highly leveraged investing is you taking increased risk of loosing everything. RK can afford this risk since he has a nice day job doing seminars and selling books.

The low risk investment plan: education + employment + retirement savings + living within your means. A Rolex, a Porche, and a vacation swimming with dolphins will not put food in anyone's mouth. In my family, DH has a job, and I risk my time on entrepreneurship.

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

By the way, my friend ____ who used to buy and hold rental properties very successfully has gotten out of the business. Even buying and flipping houses is more profitable and lower risk these days.

???Seriously???

With houses at almost any price not selling in most areas of the country, I can't imagine flipping houses is anything BUT risky! Where are you that this is still profitable? Here the situation is the total opposite of that- houses are not selling at all, no matter how low the price drops, people are just not buying, so flipping would be a waste of money, but a few investors have bought property to rent out in my nighborhood and are making a killing, they bought for such low prices that they can get double or triple the mortgage payment in rent!

FTR I'm not advocating rental investment. my personal opinion is that in this market, real estate in general is a bad investment.

To the OP on the original question, Kiyosaki kind of makes my skin crawl. There is something about him that just icks me out, he seems fake to me, and his advice is just bad (IMO).

[AngelBee]

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[kssinca]

I think it depends where you want to go with your life. If you want to reduce debt, then I would not recommend reading Kiyosaki or T. Harv Eker or Loral Langemeir. To reduce debt, I'd recommend Dave Ramsey or David Bach or Suze Orman.

If you want more and are willing to put in the time and effort, this includes constant education, due diligence (and this can create a job too) and creating a plan, then I would recommend the other authors. But I would not recommend taking action based off a few books or seminars without having created a viable, working plan. A failure to plan is a plan to fail.

It depends on what path one wants to take. One could decide that right now, it is more important to reduce debt and live simply. In that case, Kiyosaki is NOT someone I would recommend.

[transformed]

Originally Posted by CameronsMama

FTR I'm not advocating rental investment. my personal opinion is that in this market, real estate in general is a bad investment.

To the OP on the original question, Kiyosaki kind of makes my skin crawl. There is something about him that just icks me out, he seems fake to me, and his advice is just bad (IMO).

First of all, the best advice anyone can ever take is "Buy low, sell High." and at the moment, the real estate market is "low." It is absolutely not a bad time to invest in real estate.

Second, I wouldn't poo poo the guy so fast. He is loaded, and most of us are not. And he isnt in jail, I think with as high of a profile as he has, he would be in jail if he was doing something illegal.

I do think that most people have an inherited issue with "wealth" though and we have been taught many things like people who are rich are dishonest, etc. I do not choose to continue those beliefs, I think they are mostly false.


How do you feel about being rich? or rich people?

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by CameronsMama

With houses at almost any price not selling in most areas of the country, I can't imagine flipping houses is anything BUT risky! Where are you that this is still profitable? Here the situation is the total opposite of that- houses are not selling at all, no matter how low the price drops, people are just not buying, so flipping would be a waste of money, but a few investors have bought property to rent out in my nighborhood and are making a killing, they bought for such low prices that they can get double or triple the mortgage payment in rent!

In 07, she was buying and flipping properties in Baltimore. Her existing rental properties, she was in the process of selling off. Not sure what she is up to for 08. In Baltimore in 07, there were plenty of distresses properties ready for a makeover and resale to people looking for "city living".

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by Suebot

First of all, the best advice anyone can ever take is "Buy low, sell High." and at the moment, the real estate market is "low." It is absolutely not a bad time to invest in real estate.

Second, I wouldn't poo poo the guy so fast. He is loaded, and most of us are not. And he isnt in jail, I think with as high of a profile as he has, he would be in jail if he was doing something illegal.

I do think that most people have an inherited issue with "wealth" though and we have been taught many things like people who are rich are dishonest, etc. I do not choose to continue those beliefs, I think they are mostly false.


How do you feel about being rich? or rich people?

Oh I don't think he's doing anything illegal, I should clarify. His advice is not good for me, what works for him would not work for me because I am not comfortable with the techniques he advocates (that's why I added IMO to my post). He as a person, icks me out a bit, his personality doesn't seem genuine to me, and I do admit I find it hard to take advice about my money from someone who doesn't seem totally "real" for lack of a better word.

How do I feel about rich people? I don't really care how much a person has in the bank, that usually has little to do with a person's character. If you're wondering if I don't like him because he's rich, the answer is no that has nothing to do with it. Dave Ramsey is rich and I respect (most of) his opinions and advice. Not to mention the fact that "being rich" is really subjective anyway. What dollar amount qualifies as rich?

And about the real estate as an investment, I did say it was my personal opinion. I based my opinion on the fact that in most markets, home values are still falling. You have to think about the pruchase price AND the monthly overhead of keeping it until you can sell for a profit. Which is why rentals might be a good option, but flipping is about the fast turnover and quick sale, not about long term investment. It's a little different than your standard real estate investing.

I really hope I'm reading the tone of your post wrong, because it seemed a little personal and aggressive to me, but I don't know why you would take such an issue to me expressing my opinions (and I even qualified them as being my personal opinions)

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

In 07, she was buying and flipping properties in Baltimore. Her existing rental properties, she was in the process of selling off. Not sure what she is up to for 08. In Baltimore in 07, there were plenty of distresses properties ready for a makeover and resale to people looking for "city living".

thanks for clarifying! Yeah things were definately still moving last year, so that makes much more sense! (Sorry, I think I read your post as too current, I was thinking flipping like today or something!)

[Belleweather]

Robert Kiyosaki - in addition to being a fraud, as someone above already pointed out - is the "mentor" of a guy named Casey Serin. You might have to google him, because I'm not entirely sure that his famous website (www.iamfacingforclosure.com) is still up nor that he is not in jail, which is where he ought to be and likely will end up. He's a great cautionary tale about these sorts of "get rich quick" schemes.

If lasting riches and financial happiness are what you're after, www.getrichslowly.com is probably a better place to seek information.

[transformed]

Originally Posted by CameronsMama

I really hope I'm reading the tone of your post wrong, because it seemed a little personal and aggressive to me, but I don't know why you would take such an issue to me expressing my opinions (and I even qualified them as being my personal opinions)

that did sound kind of snarky, I apologize. I didnt mean it to be. (Also, I thought I was responding to several posts, not just yours.)

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by Suebot

Second, I wouldn't poo poo the guy so fast. He is loaded, and most of us are not. And he isnt in jail, I think with as high of a profile as he has, he would be in jail if he was doing something illegal.
?

But there is no proof of his wealth anywhere. I am curious how loaded he is or is he loaded w BS??

[mightymoo]

I've watched his infomercial, what's not clear is just how much money he has made from his investments and how much he made from selling his book and his seminars, etc. I don't think his concepts are completely off base, people have made money doing what he does, but I think he downplays the risk tremendously. Honestly, I don't trust these 'here is how to get rich' guys, because honestly, if they were making the kind of money they are trying to represent themselves as making, they would not be doing the infomercial. He would be living his rich life somewhere.

That tells me he makes significantly more money from his books and informercials than he ever made at his investments.

[cappuccinosmom]

We have Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and appreciated much of the book. We are not "law of attraction" believers, but we do understand that our mindset has a huge impact on our actions and thus on our state in life. So, what he says about that makes sense.

However, we prefer Dave Ramsey. Maybe we just lack courage, but hugely leveraged investments are not for us. We'd rather work hard and build slowly, very slowly, if necessary, than take huge risks in getting rich fast.