Robert Toru Kiyosaki (born April 8, 1947) is an American businessman and author, known for the Rich Dad Poor Dad series of personal finance books. He is the founder of the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos, and Rich Global LLC, which filed for bankruptcy in 2012.[1]
Since 2010, Kiyosaki was the subject of a class action suit filed by people who attended his seminars,[2][3] and the subject of investigative documentaries by CBC,[4]WTAE-TV.[5][6]
Early life and family
Kiyosaki was born in 1947 in Hilo, in the American Territory of Hawaii, into a family of Japanese descent.[7]
Business career
In 1977, Kiyosaki started a company called "Rippers" that marketed nylon and Velcro wallets.[8] The company eventually went bankrupt and he took a job as a sales associate for Xerox until June 1978.[8]
In 1993, Kiyosaki published his first book, If You Want to Be Rich and Happy, Don't Go To School. In his book, he encouraged parents not to send their children to college and instead to enter the real estate business.[9]
In 1997, Kiyosaki launched Cashflow Technologies, Inc., a holding company that owns and operates the Rich Dad and Cashflow brands.[8][10][11] Kiyosaki created the Cashflow board and software games to educate adults and children about business and financial concepts.[12]
Other business ventures and investments
Kiyosaki's earlier two businesses (for surfing bags with Velcro fasteners and T-shirts) went bankrupt.[13]
Kiyosaki operates through a number of companies that he owns fully or in part, and through franchisee arrangements with other companies authorized to use his name for a fee.[14] This includes Rich Dad LLC, Whitney Information Network, Rich Dad Education and Rich Dad Academy.[15] The company's main revenues come from franchisees of the Rich Dad seminars that are conducted by independent individuals using Kiyosaki's brand name.[citation needed]
In 2012, Kiyosaki's company "Rich Global LLC" filed for bankruptcy and was ordered to pay nearly $24 million to The Learning Annex and its founder.[16][17]
Kiyosaki has authored more than 26 books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, which has been translated into 51 languages and sold over 41 million copies worldwide.[citation needed] In an interview with CBC, Kiyosaki described his books as an advertisement for his higher-priced seminars.[3]
Kiyosaki's financial and business teachings claims that financial independence can be achieved through passive income.[18][19] He also claims that wealth cannot be achieved from going to school and obtaining a traditional job.[20]
He has been known to advocate for using what he calls "good debt" as leverage to buy financial assets like real estate.[21] Additionally, he is a strong proponent of buying gold and silver, often referring to them as "God's money."[22]
Personal life
Kiyosaki married his wife Kim (née Meyer) in 1986.[23] The couple divorced in 2017.[24]
Kiyosaki's advice has been criticized for emphasizing anecdotes and containing nothing in the way of concrete advice on how readers should proceed or work.[27]
In 2006 and 2007, Kiyosaki's Rich Dad seminars continued to promote real estate as a sound investment, just before their prices came crashing down.[28]
In 2010, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation did an exposé on scams that were being perpetuated by Kiyosaki's company in Canada in the guise of seminars.[4] Upon tracking the success claims of "Rich Dad" seminar organizers, they discovered that these claims were not true. Investments in trailers and trailer parks, which were being propagated as "successful" by seminar teachers, were found to actually be barren pieces of land that no one was using. Their Marketplace exposé on his seminars in Canada showed what occurred in $450 seminars through a hidden camera, including Kiyosaki's response to them.[12]
Also in 2010, Allan Roth of CBS News documented what occurred when he attended one of Rich Dad's free seminars and dissected some of the tactics employed.[29]
Rich Dad Poor Dad – What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! (first published in 1997) Warner Business Books. ISBN0-446-67745-0.
Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom (2000). ISBN0-446-67747-7.
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! (2000). ISBN0-446-67746-9.
Rich Dad's Prophecy: Why the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History Is Still Coming… and How You Can Prepare Yourself and Profit from It! (2002). Warner Books. ISBN0-641-62241-4.
Rich Dad's The Business School: For People Who Like Helping People (2003) ISBN979-686-729-X.
Rich Dad's Who Took My Money?: Why Slow Investors Lose and Fast Money Wins! (2004) ISBN0-446-69182-8.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets About Money – That You Don't Learn in School! (2004) ISBN0-446-69321-9.
Rich Dad's Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business (2005). ISBN0-446-69637-4.
Why 'A' Students Work for 'C' Students and Why 'B' Students Work for the Government: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Education for Parents (2013). ISBN978-1-61268-076-7.
^Trump, Donald; Kiyosaki, Robert T.; McIver, Meredith; Lechter, Sharon L. (2006). Why we want you to be rich : two men, one message. New York Berkeley, CA: Rich Press Distributed by Publishers Group West. ISBN978-1-933914-02-2. OCLC71305016.
Media related to Robert Kiyosaki at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Robert Kiyosaki at Wikiquote
