What's up with the Rich Dad "Learn To Be Rich" free education? I heard an ad on the radio today and was skeptical... Would it really be worthwhile information, or is it a sales pitch in disguise as education? Has anybody looked into this and knows what the education is about?
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16Never take financial advice from someone who made his money selling financial advice.– EricOct 17, 2011 at 20:01
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4 Answers
Robert Kiyosaki's is basically a get-rich quick author. But to answer your question: It is a sales pitch in disguise.
See Marketplace's report on a Kiyosaki seminar, which reveals that the free work shop is a sales pitch for a 3-day work shop which costs several hundred dollars. And the 3-day workshop is a sales pitch for "advanced" training which can cost as much as $45,000 (presumably in Canadian dollars, as the report was done in Canada).
He does touch on some basic sound principles, but it's mixed with a lot of really bad (and in some cases illegal) advice. You'll do much better to invest your time and money in reading materials that aren't advertised via infomercials.
Kiyosaki may well be rich, but it's from selling his Rich Dad-branded material, not from investing in real estate, or any other investment portfolio
See also John T. Reed's guru rating, and his review of Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
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I keep seeing Kiyosaki's name in questions on this SE and wonder if it would be useful to have a question which definitely asks about how much of his work we can take at face value and how much of it is just plan bad advice!– user12515Sep 4, 2018 at 22:13
Kiyosaki says his methods of actions are not suitable for the average investor. They are meant for those wanting to excel at investing, and are willing to work for it.
Personally, I wouldn't want to own ten apartments, because it sounds like a terrible headache. I would much rather have a huge portfolio of index funds.
I believe that Kiyosaki's method allegedly perform better than the passive 'invest-diversify-hold' strategy, but would require a new mindset and dedication, and are risky unless you are willing to invest a lot of time learning the fine details. I prefer to dedicate my time elsewhere.
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3Kiyosaki's methods don't perform at all. He doesn't even buy real estate to know what he's talking about. And most of his "methods" are completely bogus, and some are even illegal.– FlimzyOct 17, 2011 at 18:11
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2My answer provides relevant links, but see here: johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html– FlimzyOct 17, 2011 at 20:40
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2Kiyosaki's method possibly perform better than the passive 'invest-diversify-hold' strategy - ripper234, got a citation for that?– poolieOct 18, 2011 at 5:46
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1@poolie - I just wrote 'possibly' because I don't know if the claim is right or wrong. Perhaps allegedly would be better. Edited. Oct 18, 2011 at 6:26
As with any business, there's a huge learning curve. Rich Dad gives you the fundamentals.. which are sound.. you then need to spend time getting the nitty gritty details of the business ... be it real estate, stock investing etc. Kiyosaki is a wealthy man... I've listened to some of his podcasts and he know what he's talking about.. AND.. he's been in the business for 20+ years.
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7He's been in the scam-artist business for 20+ years. If he's ever been in the real estate business, it's hard to tell. He doesn't disclose much information. But some public record searching has been done, and found very little evidence. See the "Real Estate Expert?" section of this page, which examines many of his purported real-estate deals– FlimzyOct 17, 2011 at 19:12
I have taken the free Kiyosaki evening course, and it does give some good information. It is an upsell to the $500 weekend course, which I also took. That course taught me enough about real-estate investing to get started. I have not yet had the need to pursue his other, more expensive courses.
Read his books, take the $500 course, read other people's books on real estate investing, talk to other like-minded individuals, and gain some experience. I understand real estate better than I understand paper assets because I spent more time studying real estate.
If you want to invest in real estate, study it first. If you want to invest in paper assets, study those first.
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1Out of curiosity, what is your ROI on the $500 course?– user12515Jan 21, 2015 at 0:23
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Asking about the ROI of an education is the wrong question. The money I spent on the course is gone, I will never get it back, it will not earn me a return. If I do not apply the lessons learned in the course the net amount earned through investing by taking the course is $0. Having said that, I now have a plan that allows me to retire without government assistance. I'm 6 years into a 20 year plan that's well outperforming my RRSP and TFSA. Again, studying the asset class you want to invest in and applying the lessons are keys to success. Jan 22, 2015 at 2:57
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2Many investments are sunk costs - you spend money on something in the hopes that what you buy will earn or help you earn more later. When I was younger I bought several of these "get rich in mail order" type schemes, spend maybe a couple hundred dollars, but without any real benefit, so I would say my ROI was 0%, it was a bad investment. If you used the knowledge to create an investment plan that is outperforming your RRSP and TFSA, it sounds like the course has already paid for itself more than once.– user12515Jan 22, 2015 at 4:18
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2"The money I spent on the course is gone, I will never get it back, it will not earn me a return. " If it's useful information, then it will earn you a return. "If I do not apply the lessons learned in the course the net amount earned through investing by taking the course is $0." No, the net amount earned is -$500. May 30, 2019 at 15:00