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Comment by probablyfiction | Hacker News Reader

Robert Kiyosaki's claims are pretty hard to verify. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is not a good source for financial information.

Edit: Forbes link (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helaineolen/2012/10/10/rich-dad-...)

Even if it's true, property millionaires are outliers who simply used lots of leverage to accumulate property during a massive credit fueled orgy of speculation.

They got lucky. Those conditions are not likely to return and the path is likely to be much more difficult for anyone trying to do the same today.

I don't admire property speculators such as Kiyosaki. Recklessness rather than brains led many people down this path, and then they were subsequently bailed out with taxpayers money and ZIRP when it all went wrong.

In addition, hoarding property is actually a massive net negative to society.

(I am talking about our breed of buy to let investors here in the UK. I'm not sure if you have the same characters stateside.)

I couldn't agree more. It's because of buy-to-let `investors' that rents on one-bedroom flats start at about £550 per month in the city in which I live and only go up from there. That's up by about £250 in the ten years I've lived here, and has continued to climb even during the Recession. Prices to buy have more than tripled during the same period. The net effect of that is that some people got very, very wealthy, others got a little bit wealthier, and the majority got much poorer funding the wealth of the other two groups.

> In addition, hoarding property is actually a massive net negative to society.

I think that progressive task on real estate could help with that. If you own one, two or even three houses, no tax, but if more, tax should grow very fast. Fast enough that it's more economical to sell property than keep it.

It's some fishy stuff. But reading that book was also the first time that I realized I could have income besides a paycheck from a job; I remember the book fondly, even if its specific advice (if you can call it "specific") is questionable.

If that's the only take away you had from Kiyosaki then I would say you are ahead of the game. You've found the gem in his philosophy (probably the only gem.)

Kiyosaki teamed up with Donald Trump to write a more recent book, titled, "We Want You To Be Rich!". That speaks volumes about their angle and market.

That said, the core philosophy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a good lesson: make your money make money by buying "assets" and avoiding "liabilities".

Also, buy low and sell high.

It doesn't matter. The concepts he teaches is what matters.

Yes, it bloody well matters. What's the point in getting some high-level concepts correct if all the nitty-gritty detail is wishful thinking and fantasy?

Instead, read Warren Buffett's letters to shareholders and take it from there.

As much as I have not been a fan of Buffett over the past dozen or so years, I can't vote this up enough. Even better, the shareholder letters are available for free on Berkshire's website (some pdf, some html.) A little searching and you can find his letters to his partners from his hedge fund days. Buffett & Munger are exceptionally good at what they do and they articulate their philosophy & the nuts and bolts of how they do it for free to anyone that is interested.

I remember reading one and thinking that it was more insightful than most finance content that is actually supposed to provide actionable information.

The details aren't fantasty: they're history. Times change.

He is even very clear that they were specific circumstances, and that it's not generalizable advice.

History is usually not made up. The guy is a huckster.

Agreed. I think that there was a lot of snobbery the way he says 'look at how I got rich, you're doing it wrong'. But some of his concepts are immensely valuable. I like how he pushes the idea of strong education in accounting, law, and other business essentials, as well as his use of networking and assessing of market conditions.

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