Friday, March 5, 2010

*SCAM* ROBERT KIYOSAKI


*CONFIRMED SCAM*

Robert Kiyosaki

A number of people asked me about Robert T. Kiyosaki and his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I said I didn’t think he was a real-estate guru, they insisted he was. Several told me I would like him, that he preaches a message like mine. Eager to find such a guru, I bought his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, in a bookstore.

Summary

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the dumbest financial advice books I have ever read. It contains many factual errors and numerous extremely unlikely accounts of events that supposedly occurred.

Kiyosaki is a salesman and a motivational speaker. He has no financial expertise and won’t disclose his supposed real estate or other investment success.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice.

    Dangerous advice

  • "If you're gonna go broke, go broke big"
  • Convinces people that college is for suckers
  • Law-breaking advice

  • Advocates committing a felony: have rich friends for trading stock based on non-public inside information, he says "That's what friends are for."
  • Recommends tax fraud by deducting vacations and health club dues
  • Brags about using a partner weasel clause in which his cat is his partner
  • Bad liar

  • Can't keep track of his story
  • Shouts from the rooftops how rich he is, but refuses to disclose real estate portfolio because he "doesn't want people to know he has money"
  • Apparently lied about going bankrupt in 1985
  • Claimed his net worth is $50-$100 million depending on the day; his Rich Dad Poor Dad coauthor said in court that he only made $9 million
  • His "best teacher ever" changed repeatedly
    1. '92 - Ralph Kiyosaki (Poor Dad)
    2. '97 - Rich Dad
    3. '06 - Buckminster Fuller

    I'm not the only critic

  • Wall Street Journal: "Rich Men, Poor Advice"
  • Smart Money Magazine: "Karma Chameleon"
  • Fiction posing as non-fiction

  • Oprah needs to confront Kiyosaki about calling a fiction book non-fiction just like she did with James Frey
  • He asks why Rich Dad has to be any more truthful than Harry Potter
  • Admits fictionalizing on copyright page of Rich Kid, Poor Kid
  • Admits to 20/20 that he doesn't teach people how to get rich
  • "Marine corps made him what he is today" - he was laterally transferred to the Marine Corp from the Merchant Marine and Navy, he never went through the entry-level Marine training
  • Lied about desertion while serving in Vietnam (admitted later he just missed the boat)
  • Became a helicopter pilot to "lead men" (platoon leaders and company commanders lead men; pilots lead machinery)
  • Rich Dad, Poor Dad triggers the following items on my Real Estate B.S. Artist Detection Checklist: 1, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 38, 39, 46, 49.

Kiyosaki sued by co-author Sharon Lechter

Sharon Lechter, Kiyosaki’s co-author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, sued him in Clark County, NV (Civil Case #07-A-549886-C). It was filed on 10/12/07. I would be interested in seeing the complaint. Apparently, little has happened in the case other than motions to dismiss.

On 9/4/08, the Arizona Republic newspaper carried a story that said Kiyosaki had paid an undisclosed sum to Lechter to settle the suit.

Creature of Amway

Over time, I have received numerous reports that Kiyosaki is primarily a creature of Amway (now Quixtar) and other multi-level marketing organizations. Reportedly, his books were not selling until he allied himself with that crowd. Then the volume of sales to those MLM guys made him a “best-selling author,” which caused normal non-MLM people to think the book must be good.

Collection of age-old clichés about money

A reader suggested that Rich Dad Poor Dad is nothing but a collection of clichés about money. Old clichés. Clichés that have been around since way before Kiyosaki claims “rich dad” originated them. The reader further said that Kiyosaki then appears to have simply made up a bunch of accompanying phony stories to fill the cliché collection out to the length of a book. She may be right. For example, Kiyosaki’s fear-and-greed advice (see below) is an age-old Wall Street cliché about securities prices.

Another reader put it this way,

But you have to admire a guy who can spin two or three paragraphs of very ordinary financial platitudes into such a range of books.

Now admits 'fictionalizing'

On 8/15/01, a reader told me Kiyosaki now has the words “Although based on a true story, certain events in this book have been fictionalized for educational content and impact,” in the fine print on the copyright page of Rich Kid Poor Kid. I had not previously been aware that “educational content and impact” justified lying. Also, I am now confused as to why Kiyosaki’s books are on the nonfiction best seller list if they are fictionalized. Probably because as A Million Little Pieces author James Frey discovered, it’s a lot easier to be a “best-selling author” with a fictional book labeled non-fiction than with a novel