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Robert Kiyosaki
Kiyosaki in 2023
Kiyosaki in 2023
BornRobert Toru Kiyosaki
(1947-04-08) April 8, 1947 (age 77)
Hilo, Territory of Hawaii, U.S.
OccupationBusinessman, author
SubjectPersonal finance, business investing
Years active1973–1994
1997–present
Notable worksRich Dad Poor Dad
Spouse
Kim Meyer
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 2017)​
RelativesEmi Kiyosaki (sister)
Beth Kiyosaki (sister)
John Kiyosaki (brother)
Website
www.richdad.com

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 founded the Rich Dad Company, which provides personal finance and business education through books and videos, and Rich Global LLC, which filed for bankruptcy in 2012.[1]

Kiyosaki was sued in a class action suit filed by attendees of his seminars,[2][3] and is the subject of investigative documentaries by the CBC,[4] WTAE-TV[5] and CBS News.[6] In January 2024, Kiyosaki was more than $1 billion dollars in debt.[7][8]

Early life and family

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Kiyosaki was born in 1947 in Hilo, Territory of Hawaii, into a family of Japanese descent.[9] His father, Ralph Kiyosaki, was an educator, Hawaii's superintendent of schools, and a lieutenant governor candidate of the Republican Party.[10][11] His mother, Marjorie Kiyosaki, was a nurse.

Kiyosaki graduated from Hilo High School,[12] from which he was nearly expelled due to poor grades.[11]

Early career

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In 1977, Kiyosaki started a company called "Rippers" that marketed nylon and Velcro wallets.[13] The company eventually went bankrupt, and he took a job as a sales associate for Xerox until June 1978.[13]

In the 1980s, Kiyosaki became a motivational speaker in San Diego who ran a course on Erhard Seminars Training (EST) techniques called Money and You, which he attended in 1974 from the course's creator, Marshall Thurber. Thurber transferred the business to Kiyosaki and D.C. Cordova in 1984. They expanded the course beyond the U.S., including to Australia.[11] The course at one point had tens of thousands of students interationally.[13] The business nearly collapsed in Australia in October 1993 after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners aired a documentary about emotional abuse in the course of the Money and You program. Kiyosaki said the program was "unfair" considered suing the ABC before deciding against it. He left the business in 1994.[11]

Financial education career

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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.[14]

In 1997, Kiyosaki founded Cashflow Technologies, Inc., a holding company that owns and operates the Rich Dad and Cashflow brands.[13][15][16] Kiyosaki created the Cashflow board and video games to educate adults and children about business and financial concepts.[17]

Kiyosaki settled a lawsuit in 2008 brought by Sharon Lechter, his former business partner, with an undisclosed sum. Lechter said Kiyosaki and his wife had enriched themselves and redirected assets in the business, which the Kiyosakis denied. She sold her stake in Rich Dad Company to them after the settlement and ended the partnership that lasted about 10 years.[18]

Other businesses

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Kiyosaki's earlier two businesses (for surfing bags with Velcro fasteners and T-shirts) went bankrupt.[19]

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.[20] This includes Rich Dad LLC, Whitney Information Network, Rich Dad Education and Rich Dad Academy.[21] The company's main revenues come from franchisees of the Rich Dad seminars that are conducted by independent individuals using Kiyosaki's brand name.[22]

In 2012, Kiyosaki's company, Rich Global LLC, filed for bankruptcy and was ordered to pay $23.7 million to The Learning Annex and its founder because Kiyosaki had used The Learning Annex for speaking opporunities.[23][24][25] Mike Sullivan, the CEO of Rich Dad Company, one of at least 10 companies through which Kiyosaki conducts business, said Rich Global LLC had been dormant for years. At bankruptcy, the company had nearly $26 million in liabilities and $1.8 million of asset.[23]

Business and financial advice

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Main article: Rich Dad Poor Dad

Kiyosaki has authored more than 26 books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, which has been translated into dozens of languages. As of 2017, nearly 40 million copies of the book had been sold.[26] He said his books were an advertisement for his higher-priced seminars.[3]

Kiyosaki's financial and business teachings claim that financial independence can be achieved through passive income.[27][28] He also claims that wealth cannot be achieved from going to school and obtaining a traditional job.[29]

He advocates for using what he calls "good debt" as leverage to buy financial assets such as real estate.[30] Additionally, he is a strong proponent of buying gold and silver, often referring to them as "God's money."[31] 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.[32]

In 2010, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Marketplace broadcast a documentary on scams that were being perpetuated by Kiyosaki's company in Canada in the guise of "Rich Dad" seminars.[4] Investments in trailers and trailer parks, which seminar instructors claimed to be evidence of success, were found to be barren and unused land.[17]

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.[6]

WTAE-TV, the ABC television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, produced another critical segment about Kiyosaki in 2013.[5]

Kiyosaki's advice has also been criticized for emphasizing anecdotes and no concrete advice on how readers should proceed or work.[33]

Personal life

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Kiyosaki divorced from his first wife when he was 32.[34]: 181 

Kiyosaki met his second wife and business partner Kimberly "Kim" Kiyosaki (née Meyer) in 1984, and they got married in 1986.[34]: 114 [11] They amicably divorced in 2017.[35]

Kiyosaki is said to have a net worth of around $100 million, primarily derived from his investments and his "Rich Dad Poor Dad" brand.[36] When asked about his net worth, he claimed to be more than $1 billion in debt.[37]

Political views

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Kiyosaki endorsed and supported Republican candidate Donald Trump for the 2016 presidential elections.[38] Kiyosaki had previously co-authored two books with Trump.[39]

Bibliography

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  • 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. ISBN 0-446-67745-0.
  • Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom (2000). ISBN 0-446-67747-7.
  • Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! (2000). ISBN 0-446-67746-9.
  • The Business School for People Who Like Helping People (March 2001). ISBN 99922-67-42-9 – endorses multi-level marketing
  • Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Children a Financial Headstart (2001). ISBN 0-446-67748-5.
  • Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich (2002). ISBN 0-446-67843-0.
  • 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. ISBN 0-641-62241-4.
  • Rich Dad's The Business School: For People Who Like Helping People (2003) ISBN 979-686-729-X.
  • Rich Dad's Who Took My Money?: Why Slow Investors Lose and Fast Money Wins! (2004) ISBN 0-446-69182-8.
  • Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets About Money – That You Don't Learn in School! (2004) ISBN 0-446-69321-9.
  • Rich Dad's Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business (2005). ISBN 0-446-69637-4.
  • Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message (2006) co-written with Donald Trump ISBN 1-933914-02-5.
  • Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money (2008). ISBN 0-446-50936-1.
  • Rich Dad's Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money (2009). ISBN 0-446-55980-6
  • The Real Book of Real Estate: Real Experts. Real Stories. Real Life. (2009) ISBN 1-4587-7250-0.
  • An Unfair Advantage: The Power of Financial Education (2011). ISBN 1-61268-010-0.
  • Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich And Why Most Don't (2011), co-written with Donald Trump ISBN 1-61268-095-X.
  • 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). ISBN 978-1-61268-076-7.
  • The Business of the 21st Century (2010), co-written with John Fleming and Kim Kiyosaki ISBN 81-8322-260-9.
  • Second Chance: for Your Money, Your Life and Our World (2015) ISBN 978-1-61268-046-0
  • 8 Lessons in Military Leadership for Entrepreneurs: How Military Values and Experience Can Shape Business and Life (2015) ISBN 978-1-4915-8387-6
  • Why the Rich are Getting Richer: What is Financial Education...Really? (2017) ISBN 978-1-61268-088-0
  • FAKE: Fake Money, Fake Teachers, Fake Assets: How Lies Are Making the Poor and Middle Class Poorer (2019) ISBN 978-1-61268-084-2
  • Who Stole My Pension?: How You Can Stop The Looting (2020) ISBN 978-1-61268-103-0
  • Capitalist Manifesto (2021) ISBN 978-161268-114-6
  • Ravens: How To Prepare For And Profit From The Turbulent Times Ahead (2023) ISBN 978-161268-100-9

References

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  1. ^ Kim, Susanna (October 12, 2012). "'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' Author Files for Bankruptcy for His Company". ABC News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Olen, Helaine (February 11, 2016). "This Legal Dispute Says Everything About the Shadiness of Personal Finance Gurus". Slate. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Marketwatch – Rich dad's seminar's deceptive marketplace". CBC. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2017 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Road to Rich Dad: Who's getting rich off Rich Dad?". Marketplace. CBC. January 29, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Van Osdol, Paul (May 9, 2013). "'Rich Dad' author's seminars cost thousands, but not everyone gets rich". WTAE-TV. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Rich Dad Education - The Ultimate Emotional Investment". CBS News. March 4, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "'Rich Dad Poor Dad' Author Robert Kiyosaki on His $1.2 Billion Debt: 'If I Go Bust, the Bank Goes Bust'". Yahoo Entertainment. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  8. ^ Lang, Hannah Erin (January 3, 2024). "Robert Kiyosaki, author of 'Rich Dad Poor Dad,' says he's more than $1 billion in debt — but that's 'not my problem'". MarketWatch. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Yoshikawa, Mai (January 18, 2018). "'Rich Dad Poor Dad' author Robert Kiyosaki appeals for financial literacy". The Japan Times. Kyodo.
  10. ^ Zia, Hoyt (April 2006). "Rich son, poor son". Hawaii Business. Hawaii.
  11. ^ a b c d e Carbonara, Peter; Caplin, Joan (January 1, 2003). "Poor Man's Prophet Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad says that everything you've been told about money is a lie. Is his vision setting us on the right track--or is it just more financial snake oil?". Money.
  12. ^ Caraccio, David (July 25, 2022). "Investor, author of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' lists Hawaii home on edge of ocean for $7.35M". The Sacramento Bee.
  13. ^ a b c d Youn, Jacy. "Robert Kiyosaki". Hawaii Business. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  14. ^ Kiyosaki, Robert (April 1, 1993). If You Want to Be Rich & Happy Don't Go to School: Ensuring Lifetime Security for Yourself and Your Children (2 ed.). Aslan publications. ISBN 978-0-944031-38-4.
  15. ^ "Entity Details – Secretary of State, Nevada". Nevada Secretary of State. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  16. ^ "Trademark Electronic Search System: RICH DAD". USPTO Trademark Electronic Search System. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Road to rich dad". CBC. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Harris, Craig (September 4, 2008). "'Rich Dad' partners settle suit, call it quits". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008.
  19. ^ "Interview with Robert Kiyosaki". CNN Money. July 1, 2015.
  20. ^ Jaffe, Chuck (February 10, 2006). "'Teach Me to Trade' seminar is a lesson in futility". MarketWatch. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  21. ^ Jaffe, Chuck (July 13, 2017). "'Rich Dad Academy' a poor choice for investors". MarketWatch. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  22. ^ "Robert Kiyosaki Net Worth: Exploring the Financial Success of the Rich Dad Poor Dad Author".
  23. ^ a b "Robert Kiyosaki files for bankruptcy, again". ABC News. October 12, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  24. ^ Roth, Allan (January 20, 2013). "Rich Dad, Poor Dad's bankrupt company". CBS News. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  25. ^ "Rich 'Dad,' bankrupt Dad". New York Post. October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  26. ^ Shiller, Robert J. (January 2, 2020). "'Gut Feelings' Are Driving the Markets". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  27. ^ Yardney, Michael (October 7, 2022). "Do Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad" lessons still apply? Here's what I learned from my interview with him". Property Update. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  28. ^ Silva, Derek (September 21, 2022). "Robert Kiyosaki - Everything You Need to Know". SmartAsset. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  29. ^ Chris Schnabel (December 1, 2015). "Robert Kiyosaki: Traditional school is useless". Rappler. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  30. ^ "Robert Kiyosaki Says Good Debt Makes You Richer — Here's How | Nasdaq".
  31. ^ "Gold is God's Money, Says Author Kiyosaki". www.bloomberg.com. October 21, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  32. ^ Jaffe, Chuck. "Stupid Investment of the Week". MarketWatch. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  33. ^ Sing, Terrence (July 13, 2003). "Writer ignores critics of his self-help success".
  34. ^ a b Kiyosaki, Robert T. (1992). If you want to be rich & happy don't go to school. Excellerated Learning Publishing. ISBN 9780646079370.
  35. ^ Byrne, Brendan (June 10, 2024). "Robert Kiyosaki Net Worth: A Comprehensive Overview of The Rich Dad, Poor Dad Author's Wealth". ValueWalk. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "What is Robert Kiyosaki's net worth?". MoneyWise.
  37. ^ "'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' author reveals he's $1 billion in debt—but says going bust would 'not be his problem'". Fortune. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  38. ^ Kiyosaki, Robert (October 20, 2015). "Why America Needs Donald Trump". Jetset Magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  39. ^ 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. ISBN 978-1-933914-02-2. OCLC 71305016.
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