Rich Dad, Poor Dad
"The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind."
— Robert T. Kiyosaki; Sharon L. Lechter, Rich Dad, Poor Dad (1997)
Introduction
| Rich Dad, Poor Dad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money—That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! |
| Author | Robert T. Kiyosaki; Sharon L. Lechter |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Personal finance; Financial literacy; Entrepreneurship |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Personal finance |
| Publisher | Warner Business Books |
Publication date | 2000 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 207 |
| ISBN | 978-0-446-67745-5 |
| Goodreads rating | 4.1/5 (as of 10 November 2025) |
| Website | richdad.com |
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a personal-finance book by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter. [1] It presents two father figures—a “poor” biological father and a “rich” mentor—to teach financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and the building of income-producing assets. [2] The book’s dozen short chapters include “lesson one: the rich don’t work for money,” “mind your own business,” and “the history of taxes and the power of corporations.” [3] First self-published in 1997 and later released by Warner Business Books in 2000, it became a sustained bestseller. [4] Publishers Weekly reports cumulative worldwide sales above 44 million copies as of 13 May 2022. [4]
Chapters
Chapter 1 – There is a need
🧭 In 1996, a bored teenager at the kitchen table challenged the family’s formula—study hard, get good grades, land a secure job—by pointing to stars like Michael Jordan and Madonna and to Bill Gates, then the richest American in his thirties. That push sent us to a playtest of the prototype CASHFLOW game with about fifteen people. The board showed a well-dressed rat circling an inner “Rat Race” track and an outer “Fast Track,” turning the goal—escape the inside—into a concrete target. Within fifty minutes I reached the Fast Track, while others played for nearly three hours. The stark finding was how many educated adults—a banker, a business owner, a programmer—struggled to connect an Income Statement to a Balance Sheet or see how one purchase changed monthly cash flow. At home, teenagers could get credit cards before learning compound interest, and schools still skipped money. The vivid “Rat Race” path—paychecks, taxes, credit cards, bigger houses, rising obligations—showed how conventional scripts compound into lifelong strain. Financial literacy is the corrective: language, ledgers, and simple games shift focus from wages to assets so work no longer sits at the center of one’s finances.
Chapter 2 – Rich dad, poor dad
👥 As a boy in Hawaii, I listened to two fathers: my biological dad, a Ph.D. who studied at Stanford, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern, and my best friend Mike’s dad, a businessman who never finished eighth grade. Both worked hard and earned well, yet their outcomes diverged—one became one of the richest men in Hawaii, the other left unpaid bills. Their advice clashed daily in short maxims about money’s morality and purpose, forcing me to test ideas against results. One voice leaned on degrees, promotions, benefits, and security; the other insisted on learning how money works so it could be made to work for you. Because most money lessons start at home while schools teach little about finance, even capable professionals can struggle. Beliefs script behavior; choosing the model that prizes assets and cash-flow literacy leads to autonomy long before a first paycheck.
Chapter 3 – Lesson one: the rich don't work for money
💼 In 1956, two nine-year-olds rode the bus to the poor side of town and worked three-hour Saturday shifts at Mike’s father’s superette for 10 cents an hour under Mrs. Martin’s eye. After weeks of stacking shelves and leaving with thirty cents, I decided to quit—no lessons, missed ballgames, and a light envelope. Confronted, Mike’s father made me wait, then dangled offers—25 cents, $1, $2, even $5 an hour—watching emotions rise and pass. On a park bench near a softball game, he explained how fear and desire chain most people to paychecks and security, and why the task is to think before reacting to money. We worked three more weeks for nothing and were told to use our heads; opportunities sit in plain sight. Seeing Mrs. Martin slice tops off unsold comic books for distributor credit, we asked for the remainders and opened a basement comic-book library from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., charging 10 cents admission, paying Mike’s sister $1 a week, and averaging $9.50 weekly for three months—even when we weren’t there. A scuffle with neighborhood bullies ended the room, but the lesson held: money earned while you are elsewhere differs from wages. Wages calm anxiety but dull judgment; stepping back from the paycheck to build small cash-flow machines creates leverage and options. The rich have money work for them.
Chapter 4 – Lesson two: why teach financial literacy?
📚 In 1990, Mike took over his father’s business empire and began grooming his son, proof that wealth endures when its rules are taught. I reduce money to two pictures—an Income Statement and a Balance Sheet—and trace where cash actually goes. Numbers, not labels, tell the truth: wages fall into expenses, while true assets send money back to income month after month. To keep two boys from drowning in jargon, I sketch cash-flow patterns for the poor, the middle class, and the rich. In those sketches, a house drains cash through interest, taxes, and upkeep; assets like businesses, rental real estate, stocks, notes, and royalties spin off dividends, rent, interest, and licensing fees. I use Buckminster Fuller’s test—how many days forward you can live if you stop working—to measure wealth by cash flow rather than net worth. As asset cash covers expenses, dependence on a paycheck breaks and surplus compounds the asset column. Confusing assets with liabilities keeps people in the Rat Race; reading numbers on one’s own statements—watching the arrows of money and widening the gap between asset cash flow and expenses—makes work optional. An asset is something that puts money in my pocket.
Chapter 5 – Lesson three: mind your own business
🏪 In 1974 at the University of Texas at Austin, Ray Kroc joined an MBA class for beers and asked, “What business am I in?” When they said “hamburgers,” he laughed and said his business was real estate, pointing to the land under each franchise as the true engine of value. That distinction snapped into focus: a profession earns wages; a business builds and owns assets. Most people spend careers minding someone else’s enterprise—chasing raises, degrees, and overtime—while their own asset column stays thin. A simple diagram contrasts the typical path, where one’s profession feeds income, with the richer path, where one’s assets do. The fix is not to quit tomorrow but to keep the day job while steadily buying income-producing assets that work 24 hours a day. Luxuries come last, paid by asset cash flow rather than by paychecks and debt. Separate identity from payroll: your job can be banker or engineer, but your business must be the assets you own; disciplined accumulation—treating each dollar as a recruit and resisting upgrades that leak into expenses—builds that column. There is a big difference between your profession and your business.
Chapter 6 – Lesson four: the history of taxes and the power of corporations
🏛️ I set a historical frame: in England and early America, taxes were rare and temporary, often levied for wars; only later did permanent income taxes take hold, sold to the majority as a way to “soak the rich.” Once in place, the burden spread to the very voters who approved it, while the rich used a different rulebook. Corporations—born in the age of sailing ships to limit each voyage’s risk—remain the key vehicle for playing the game legally and safely. A corporation earns, deducts expenses, and pays tax on what remains; an employee earns, pays tax first, then covers expenses, which is why average Americans can work five to six months just to satisfy the government. I diagram how a personal corporation sits outside your individual statements, allowing certain costs to be paid with pre-tax dollars and shielding assets from lawsuits. The point is not to cheat but to learn how the law is structured and use it, just as the rich hire accountants and attorneys to do. Financial education—not outrage—turns changing rules into advantage; organized through entities that protect assets, route expenses before taxes, and limit liability to what you put at risk, income works harder. A corporation is merely a legal document that creates a legal body without a soul.
Chapter 7 – Lesson five: the rich invent money
💡 A TV biography shows Alexander Graham Bell offering Western Union his telephone patent and a small company for $100,000; the president refused, and AT&T emerged instead. The next segment shows a local plant layoff, including a mid-forties manager pleading at the gate with his wife and two small children—a picture of life when wages are the only plan. Teaching since 1984, I’ve seen the same brake in thousands of students: self-doubt, not a shortage of facts. Financial judgment blends technique with nerve; when fear dominates, options shrink. In class I push small, calculated risks so experience compounds into intuition. Building financial IQ expands choices; in fast, information-driven markets, prepared minds create deals rather than wait for them. In CASHFLOW sessions, players discover how doodads—like a boat—drag monthly cash flow negative and how a mid-game “downsizing” can wipe out comfort, mirroring real life. Inventors of money read numbers, scan for mispricing, and move before the crowd. Wealth grows when knowledge and creativity manufacture opportunities, and disciplined preparation in accounting, markets, law, and investing—paired with courage—lets you act under uncertainty. Often in the real world, it's not the smart that get ahead but the bold.
Chapter 8 – Lesson six: work to learn—don't work for money
🧠 In 1995, over coffee in a Singapore hotel lobby before a joint event with Zig Ziglar, a young reporter said she wanted to be a best-selling author; I pointed her to a local sales-training school, and she bristled. On her legal pad she had written my name with that label, and I explained that sales and marketing turn talent into income. Numbers tell the same story: many gifted professionals earn less because they are one skill short. My path reflects the rule—after Vietnam I joined Xerox in 1973 for sales training, formed my first corporation in 1974, ranked among Xerox’s top five salespeople by 1978, and then left to build businesses. Breadth beats narrowness; accounting, investing, marketing, and law create a synergy that makes money with money. Specialization soothes the ego, but cross-training builds freedom because real opportunities rarely fit a single job description. Work becomes a classroom when each role is chosen for the skill it teaches next, so cash flow comes from assets you control rather than a single employer. It says 'best-selling author,' not best 'writing' author.
Chapter 9 – Overcoming obstacles
🧗 After people grasp money’s basics, five forces still block independence: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, and arrogance. Fear of losing money is universal; wealth builders take losses, study them, and move again, while the never-investing avoid even a dime in risk. A friend’s wife, an emergency-room nurse who runs toward blood but away from investing, shows how phobias depend on context. Cynicism multiplies “what ifs” until action stalls; small, repeated tests rebuild judgment. Laziness often disguises itself as busyness that postpones building an asset column. Bad habits—letting expenses absorb every dollar or neglecting basic record-keeping—starve investments before they start. Arrogance, defined as ego plus ignorance, turns blind spots into costly decisions. Inner reactions, not market conditions, decide whether literacy becomes cash flow; starting small, analyzing setbacks, making time for assets, and staying teachable puts behavior—not luck—in charge. The primary difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they handle that fear.
Chapter 10 – Getting started
🚀 In Peru, I spoke with a veteran gold miner of forty-five years and asked how he stayed sure about striking ore; his confidence came from training, not luck. From that vignette I lay out ten steps to wake up financial genius: begin with a reason bigger than reality, make daily choices that put learning first, and choose friends for the lessons they offer rather than their balance sheets. Master one money “recipe,” then learn another, and enforce self-discipline with the rule to pay yourself first—before bills and temptations—so capital accumulates. Pay professionals well for advice, and expect to get the initial stake back quickly—the “Indian giver” habit sophisticated investors use to lower risk. Let assets buy luxuries, not wages, and study heroes to compress learning. Teach what you learn; tithing money and sharing knowledge create a feedback loop that sharpens understanding and attracts opportunities. Across these steps run practical drills—draw cash-flow diagrams, track expenses, and treat each dollar as an employee you deploy. Purpose and discipline, not high income, turn small starts into durable wealth; a repeatable regimen of motive, associations, practice, and strict cash-flow management compounds skills and capital until work becomes optional. There is gold everywhere. Most people are not trained to see it.
Chapter 11 – Still want more?
📋 At a bookstore I picked up Joel Moskowitz’s The 16 Percent Solution, read it in a day, and by the next Thursday followed it into the county tax office, where a helpful employee who also invested in tax liens spent an afternoon showing me the ropes; by the next day I had two properties accruing 16 percent. I keep moving by taking the do’s seriously: stop what isn’t working, look for new formulas, and learn directly from people who have done it—over lunch if possible. I make many offers, even half-price to start, and use an escape clause—“subject to approval of business partner”—so I can negotiate without fear; the “partner” is my cat. I jog the same neighborhoods monthly to spot change—bargain plus change equals profit—and I ask postal carriers and retailers what they see. For stocks I lean on Peter Lynch’s Beating the Street, hunt value, and remember that consumers buy toilet paper on sale but flee when stocks are cheap. I think big to get volume pricing—friends and I negotiated better computer deals together—and I buy the whole pie, then cut it, rather than overpay for a small slice. Action under uncertainty wins: scout widely, make offers with safety valves, and iterate so preparation meets opportunity. Action always beats inaction.
Chapter 12 – Epilogue: college education for $7,000
🎓 In 1991, a friend saving $300 a month had about $12,000 toward an estimated $400,000 for four children’s tuition; Phoenix real estate was in a slump, so we shopped for two weeks and found a three-bedroom, two-bath house listed at $102,000. We offered $79,000 and the downsized owner accepted; because a non-qualifying loan left $72,000 outstanding, the cash required was $7,000, and after expenses the place put about $125 in his pocket each month. Three years later, the tenant offered $156,000; we sold on a 1031 exchange and moved the proceeds into a mini-storage facility in Austin, Texas, which paid just under $1,000 a month. When that mini-warehouse sold in 1996 for nearly $330,000, the money rolled into another project throwing off more than $3,000 a month, and the college fund raced ahead. Assets—not wages—funded a major life goal while building retirement. The method is simple: buy mispriced cash-flowing property, use tax-deferred exchanges to compound gains, and recycle income into stronger assets. He is now very confident that his goal of $400,000 will be met easily, and it only took $7,000 to start and a little financial intelligence.
—Note: The above summary follows the Warner Business Books paperback edition (2000; 207 pp.; ISBN 0-446-67745-0).[1][5]
Background & reception
🖋️ Author & writing. Kiyosaki and coauthor Sharon L. Lechter shaped the book after Kiyosaki and his wife launched the CASHFLOW board game in 1996. [6] Publishers Weekly notes that Rich Dad, Poor Dad was first self-published in 1997 via Cashflow Technologies before a major-house pickup; the widely circulated 2000 edition was issued by Warner Business Books. [4][1] The voice is didactic and parable-driven, presenting contrasting lessons from two “dads.” [7] Discussion of the mentor’s identity has persisted; in 2009 the Honolulu Advertiser quoted Richard Kimi’s family saying Kiyosaki based the character on the late hotelier, who had mentored him. [8] Libraries catalog the 2000 edition with 207 pages and list the familiar sequence of “lessons,” from “the rich don’t work for money” to “work to learn—don’t work for money.” [9]
📈 Commercial reception. By late 1999 the title was a fixture on BusinessWeek bestseller lists; for example, the 7 November 1999 list placed it at No. 3 (TechPress edition). [10] Publishers Weekly’s year-end paperback tally recorded 237,593 copies sold in 1999, crediting the book to TechPress. [11] A 20th-anniversary edition with new material was released by Plata Publishing in 2017. [12] As of 13 May 2022, Publishers Weekly reported lifetime sales “upward of 44 million.” [4]
👍 Praise. USA Today called the book “a starting point for anyone looking to gain control of their financial future.” [13] Business Insider has repeatedly included it in recommended lists, describing it as a favorite among real-estate investors and early retirees. [14][15] Marking the franchise’s longevity, Kirkus Reviews called a related Kiyosaki volume “a treasure trove for entrepreneurs.” [16]
👎 Criticism. In a column summarizing Helaine Olen’s critique of celebrity finance advice, The Washington Post cast Kiyosaki’s message—embracing the “right” kind of debt—as a stance to approach with caution. [17] MarketWatch criticized the brand’s seminar arm in a “Stupid Investment of the Week” piece—“‘Rich Dad Academy’ a poor choice for investors.” [18] ABC News reported that Rich Global LLC, a company tied to the franchise, filed for corporate bankruptcy in 2012 following a Learning Annex judgment. [19]
🌍 Impact & adoption. The book remains a staple on widely read “what to read” lists for would-be investors and founders; Business Insider included it in roundups on 14 December 2020 and 9 August 2022. [15][14]
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Rich dad, poor dad: what the rich teach their kids about money-- that the poor and middle class do not!". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Robert Kiyosaki: The Man Behind 'Rich Dad Poor Dad'". Investopedia. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Rich dad, poor dad — Table of contents". LION Libraries Catalog. Libraries Online, Inc. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Seidlinger, Michael (13 May 2022). "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: 25 Years of Financial Advice Books". Publishers Weekly. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Rich dad, poor dad: what the rich teach their kids about money-- that the poor and middle class do not!". Marmot Library Network. Colorado Mountain College. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Robert Kiyosaki: The Man Behind 'Rich Dad Poor Dad'". Investopedia. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Robert Kiyosaki: The Man Behind 'Rich Dad Poor Dad'". Investopedia. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ Lum, Curtis (1 February 2009). "Richard Kimi of Hilo, hotel industry pioneer, 83". Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Rich dad, poor dad — Table of contents". LION Libraries Catalog. Libraries Online, Inc. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "The Business Week Best Seller List". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. 7 November 1999. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "PW: Bestsellers of 1999—Paperback: The Usual Suspects Prevail". Publishers Weekly. Publishers Weekly. 10 April 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Rich dad, poor dad: with updates for today's world—and 9 new study session sections (20th anniversary ed.)". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Summary and Reviews of Rich Dad, Poor Dad". BookBrowse. BookBrowse. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Top money personal-finance book recommendations from successful, wealthy people". Business Insider. Insider Inc. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "16 business books successful entrepreneurs read religiously". Business Insider. Insider Inc. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ Singletary, Michelle (5 January 2013). "One cautionary tale you can't afford not to read". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ Jaffe, Chuck (13 July 2007). "'Rich Dad Academy' a poor choice for investors". MarketWatch. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' Author Files for Bankruptcy for His Company". ABC News. ABC News. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2025.