While no one has a time machine, we can't correct the past, we can certaintly plan for the future and this great book by Robert Kiyosaki will show you how to do just that---plan for your future and actually make some money investing...and in more than just the stock market too.

CAUTION: Brokers won't like this book and in fact will hope you never read this book, but then, you know why they are called brokers don't you? It's because they are usually broker than you are! The massive downsizing of brokers by so many brokerage firms shows just how valuable these guys really are.

By the way, I also recommend Rich Dad's Prophecy.

"We can all have three types of financial plans; one is to be secure, one to be comfortable, and one is to be rich. RICH DAD'S GUIDE TO INVESTING is an inside look at an entrepreneur's financial plan to be rich."

I found the advice in this great book to be a lifesaver during the recent Clinton Bear Market and The Clinton Recession. While I saw many people lose money, massive amounts of money, I was able to shift assets into other investments and even securities and continue to make money while everybody was screaming BEAR MARKET.

I heard a statistic that during the 1987 stock market crash, while many lost their their fortunes, some became millionaires that very day. WHY? HOW? It certaintly wasn't from following conventional advice.

Kiyosaki is controversial. He is unconventional and that is great. If in fact everybody accepted his ideas, then I would be worried.

Rich Dad's Guide To Investing is a great book for anyone who thinks like an entrepreneur - who has or wants to create the millionaire mindset.

This book allows you to look inside the mind of a millionaire. But more than that, to look inside the philosophy of not just one rich man, but the philosophy and mindset of what creates millionaires.

Chapter 37- How a Sophisticated Investor Thinks is alone worth the price of the book.

Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter have produced another winner right where Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cashflow Quadrant left off. This is must reading for investors who want to make money, not just circulate it.

As with his previous books, the details of how transactions work are missing. The substance of the book is very diffuse. I'm finding that I need to review the book, taking notes, to extract the usable information from Kiyosaki's life story.

If you're not interested in reading about his life and his 1st person accounting of discussions he had with his "Rich Dad", then you may want to buy second-hand, or pass on this book.

If, however, you enjoy this style of writing, this book may be for you.

As with his previous books, the details of how transactions work are missing. The substance of the book is very diffuse. I'm finding that I need to review the book, taking notes, to extract the usable information from Kiyosaki's life story.

If you're not interested in reading about his life and his 1st person accounting of discussions he had with his "Rich Dad", then you may want to buy second-hand, or pass on this book.

If, however, you enjoy this style of writing, this book may be for you.

I'm glad I had this information circa March 2000. Great book. Tahnk you Robert, Sharon and thank you Rich Dad!

1. Extraordinarily repetitive. Many of the exact same stories and quotes from his rich dad provide needless filler for much of the 400 pages over and over and over. A lot of groundhog-days reading this book.

2. Many chapters end in "the rest of the book will tell you exactly how the rich do [blank]..." Unfortunately, the next chapter tells you exactly the same thing and it just never seems to happen.

3. Although I think most of the educational offerings produced by his company are wonderful financial teaching aides, the ongoing infomercial hawking his board game is almost enough to ask for a refund on the book.

Overall it seems to me like the book was rushed to print with messages that are never answered or drawn out over chapters upon chapters. There are some hidden gems though in the book (too bad there aren't Cliff Notes...). Unfortunately, it was a real fight to get through the book and find them. The comments from his co-author, Sharon, are much more succinct and sum up a lot of the repetitive stories and missed messages that Kiyosaki attempts to convey.

There are much better books to spend your time reading in my mind. Specifically "Cashflow Quadrant" and "Think and Grow Rich" among many others I am sure. Happy reading!

The crossroads really begin when a young person leaves school and enters the world of work. That is when he or she has to choose between the four occupational quadrants, "E" (Employee), "S" (Self-Employed, or Star), "B" (Businessperson) and "I" (Investor). Anyone who wants to get rich needs to end up as an "I," but it is easiest to get there from the "B," business, quadrant. (It's hardest to get there from "E," the employee quadrant, while "S" is an intermediate case.) Businesspeople have to do many of the things that investors do, such as reading and mastering financial statements, and sizing up prospective jobseekers. (Managers of a company in which you own stock are really your employees.) This advantage is so large, that it often outweighs the advantages initially enjoyed by better-trained, higher-paid "S's" (like Robert's biological "poor dad"). On the other hand, Robert's mentor, "rich dad," morphed from a "B" into an "I," and got rich first before he became well paid.

Paradoxically, rich people typically invest in small, private companies (including their own) through private equities and limited partnerships, while middle class people invest in large, public companies through publically-traded stocks and mutual funds, or what "rich dad" called "sanitized investments." Poor people hardly invest at all. Rich people can function as "angels" or venture capitalists more because of their greater sophistication than because of their money, and can therefore catch small companies during their period of highest growth, before the IPO (initial public offering). On their own, people can also become rich by creating their own assets (Bill Gates and his "operating systems" are a case in point), and then become "selling shareholders" of such assets (e.g., Microsoft).

This book is just a bit wordy, and therefore not as "punchy" as the other books in the series (many of which are five-star efforts), which is why I'm giving this one four stars instead of five. Still, despite a few minor faults, it is a valuable guide to becoming a businessperson-investor. Or as Warren Buffett put it, "I am a better businessman because I am an investor, and I am a better investor because I am a businessman." Take it from the world's second richest man.

School teachers make a living by teaching. Colleges make money off of you. Why shouldn't people like Kiyosaki.

In fact, writing books has become so popular that certain self publishers are attempting to cash in as well. Unfortunately, some of them only offer regurgitated albeit plagerized material.

For what it's worth, I'm glad that Kiyosaki is writing books. I have certaintly profited as have many others from applying his wisdom. And I hope that Kiyosaki keeps writing more and more books.

Kiyosaki's advice works. For more information, read Rich Dad's Success Stories and ignore these stupid websites that are the internet version of the cheap tabloids sold in supermarket check out lines.

Thank you Robert. Keep those books coming. We love em.

I am giving this and/or other Rich Dad books away as accessory gifts at weddings, birthdays, anniversies etc.

Disregard that previous review--obviously RT is a little upset that his newest website got shut down.

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing is a fantastic book as are all of the books in the series. ALSO recommend Rich Dad's Prophecy which has been right on target...as is typical with Kiyosaki and Rich Dad.

I recalled a saying by Will Rogers:

"I am not so worried about the return on my investment as I am on the return of my investment."

Listening to brokers was causing me to loose money.

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing gives you all the keys you need to get to where you want to go. It's not theory, it's how the rich invest. It is how the rich become rich.

I also recommend Rich Dad's Prophecy which since it has been written has been 100% accurate. That is a pretty good batting average. I'd count on the rest to be accurate as well.

If you are serious about making money investing, read and apply Rich Dad's Guide to Investing and Rich Dad's Prophecy my two favorite Rich Dad books after of course Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Take a look at the Millionaire Mind and the Millionaire Brain, both these books, which are my favorite financial success books, also accentuate the philosophy that a truly successful investor needs to look outside of the box in order to be able to capitalize on the outside of the market investment opportunities that exist in the marketplace.

The book makes two major points, which is that most people who get rich usually start their own businesses, work hard at making them successful, and first acquire wealth that way. Then they take the money and invest it in the stock market in solid assets that will gain in value. Since the value of money is constantly decreasing, according to Kiyosaki, why hold onto cash? Kiyosaki uses the example of ancient Romans clipping silver coins, which is how the ridges or "reeds" came to be engraved on coins, as an example, but in our time it's the government that is essentially "clipping" with policies that negatively impact the value of the money. The wise rich dad, therefore, is the one that first makes the money in business but then knows how to preserve and even increase its value by investing in stocks and also in real estate.

On the con side, as I said, the book doesn't really give much detailed advice on how to properly invest, and if you're going to play the stock market you'll need to read more than this book. I would recommend several classics such as William O'Neil's How to Make Money in Stocks (I would read this rather than his more recent books, such as 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success, or the others) or the legendary Peter Lynch's books, such as One Up On Wall Street. Kiyosaki says the rich dad also knows how to make money in the market when its going down as well as going up. This implies shorting stocks, but the novice investor is strongly advised not to do this until he or she is much more knowledgeable because of the risks.

Despite Kiyosaki's statement about the currency, the U.S. dollar doesn't always decline. For example, if you went long the dollar in the late 90s against several other currencies, such as the Deutschmark, the Japanese Yen, or the New Zealand dollar, which got to 2.4 to one against the U.S. dollar, you would have made a killing.

As someone else already noted, Kiyosaki is dismissive of people who get degrees and work hard to have a career as a way of making money and becoming financially secure, and repeatedly mentions the hapless poor dad in the book who worked hard his entire life and yet was laid off and is now faced with the task of finding a job at age 52, and that having your own business is the only sure road to job security. However, a Rand Corporation study done in the 90s showed that most people who had acquired significant wealth by the time they were in their forties were those who'd gotten good educations and degrees, and then had successful careers, not those who'd founded businesses. Furthermore, government statistics show that 90% of small businesses fail within the first two years. In fact, in another recent study, the people who were most well off financially were those who had had good jobs and yet lived well under their means and had saved aggressively.

Simce Kiyosaki's book is light on actually how to invest, I thought I'd give you one piece of advice, and it might be the best piece of investment advice you'll ever hear. There aren't very many easy ways to get rich. As someone once said, "Real money is easy to come by; it just takes a lifetime of work." But the miracle of compound interest is one of them. Over the last 75 years, the stock market has averaged an 8% annual return. If you put $100 each month into a mutual fund, such as the Vanguard Russell 5000 fund, which mirrors the broad market, each month, and started doing that in your twenties or early thirties, and the market averages the same rate of return, you would have a million dollars after forty years. You can do this with an deduction from your savings account each month so that its automatic.

Another reason this is a good strategy is that it is a form of dollar-cost averaging. When the market is up and over-valued, your $100 buys fewer shares. When the market is down and under-valued, it buys more shares. Over the long term, you optimize your purchase price for stocks and further increase your return. Over the last 25 years, the market has actually returned almost 12%, so this would work even faster. Even if you're long past your 20s or 30s (like I am), this is still a great way to invest. Unfortunately, too many even very knowledgeable investors don't pay attention to this one great little investing trick. It insures that one part of your portfolio over the long term will probably do quite well, even if your personal stock picking doesn't with the part of your portfolio you're actively managing. It also provides you with a long-term investing program that isn't dictated by the short term vagaries of the market, which is what paralyzes a lot of people. Let the experts thrash around trying to predict where the market will go from day to day or week to week, while you stick to your little, automatic dollar-cost averaging program, which will help to smooth out the inevitable bumps and grinds in the market over the long term.

He told us that real estate is the way to wealth and that is true also. He recommends network marketing as the perfect B-Quadrant business and that has also turned out to be true.

The man recommend small cap stocks and look at how they have performed. The guy knows his stuff, er, that is his Rich Dad knew his stuff and Kiyosaki is passing on that information updated for the times for all of us to benefit.

Thank you Robert for sharing. I for one am glad that I followed you investing advice and am not getting hammered by the current mutual fund scandal as some other people I know are. And I guess now we know who writes most of those negative 1 star reviews, don't we?

If you are pre-programmed to think in terms of 5%-10% annual returns, conventional contemporary types of investing,. then this book is not for you.

Or if you are the type that turns your money over to a broker, financial planner or other fiancial person with a sigh of relief and think "Here you watch my money for me." This book is definitely not for you.

On the other hand, if you are open minded and welcome a fresh, different approach and perceptive enough to catch on, this book is for.

Also suggest "Rich Dad's Prophecy" now in paperback to make the most out of your investments in the next decade.

Here is what I did like about it:
1. Sharon's notes contained a few good tips. When juxtaposed with Kiyosaki's portions, she comes off as brilliant. At times it felt like her comments were there as a disclaimer that some of Kiyosaki's ideas were illegal and bad business advice.
2. He encourages the reader to think of new business ideas. He encourages the reader to be alert for business opportunities.
3. Kiyosaki stresses the importance of sales in all business. It's easy for people in other fields to forget about sales thinking the world will beat a path to your door if your product or service is excellent. In reality, sales and marketing are required to bring buyers and sellers together.
4. Kiyosaki says the main value of a job is to gain skills and experience to start a business, not a paycheck. I really agree with this.

I agree with the tenor of the book of keeping your mind open to new ideas that could make money. I agree with the idea of never counting on a job to take care of you. I think Kiyosaki is too dismissive of basic values such as hard work and too eager to start a business without giving enough thought to the business model. I suspect this is to get the endorsement of the network marketing world, which is trying to sell their system. People who are on a mad dash to start "a business" will be more receptive to buying a pyramid system than someone who believes in creating real businesses.

While the book has some value, I don't think it's worth wading through all of the plugs for his other products, sophistry about how owning a business solves all problems, and needless dialog between Rich Dad and Kiyosaki.

This book was popularized not by merit, but by Amway (MLM company) and it's marketing "shout it to the world" ploy.

I have no need for this stuff, and I'm sure some people are going to get hypnotized by the wishful thinking, vague ideas and let downs of education. That in itself is very dangerous. The author should of been happy to have a great dad like his own, instead of knocking him down. Shame on him!

It's too bad you can't give a book -5 stars, b/c misleading people and buying into this hype is dishonest and impractical, and geez, investing in overpriced products is a sure fire way to start investing!

I give it two stars because for some people I imagine it will be motivational. Hopefully that motivation will push readers to read a more substantive book rather than purchase an overpriced Kiyosake product.

Good book and the best of the three in my opinion.

However, this book doesn't really offer any information on investing. He gives some basic ideas on what type of entity to use and how to read basic financial statements but there's not much other content in this book.
I wish I could get my money back because I won't make any new money from reading this book.

I think it's funny that the people who write these books usually make most of their money selling the BOOKS and not by creating other businesses as preached in the books.

If you learn anything from this book it's that you should start writing books on how to make money and get rich quick. Then you'll get rich quick.

Self-made men are usually stubborn. Most of the time, they reached the top without listening to what the others said. But Mr. Kiyosaki, I am aware of your point being a best-selling author not best-writing author schtick, but please listen to your editor.

In his third book "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing", Kiyosaki tells how he got started in his investment journey, starting with nothing, and in fact with a negative net worth. I still like his style of writing and message.

Most of us, having read his first two books, would have wondered if we could have embarked on our journey to become financially independent without much resource at hand. In this book, Kiyosaki shows how anyone can get started and how it does not take money to make money. He teaches how time is more important than money. How investing in one's self and getting an education and experience precedes excessive cash. How having a plan is more important than being in a hurry to make money.

The issue is not whether one should invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or precious metals versus hedge funds, private businesses, and rental properties. The issue is becoming a real investor: one who can thrive in the up times and down times. A real investor receives regular cash flow from his/her investments. And cash flow is the true bottom line.

That is what separates true investors from pretenders. How many middle-class "investors" understand how to use options to protect their investments? How many know how to read a 10-K and make decisions based on the numbers? That is how a real investor thrives during bear markets. (They don't wait to hear the news on CNBC or CNN or even the Wall Street Journal; by the time the news hits there, it's too late. You MUST know how to interpret financial reports!)

Many "investors" talk about how they made money on this stock or that stock. They were not investing; they were gambling. True investors research their investments and make informed decisions based on objective criteria.

By becoming financially literate, you can effectively reduce your risk. After all, most investment risk is due to the investor.

That is Kiyosaki's point.

I am constantly looking for ideas on how to improve my investments. Pick up new ideas from others and incorporate them into my life.

While I was reading Rich Dad's Guide I couldn't help but feel something was missing.

Then on page 106 it hit me.

The conversation in the book (it's written mostly a conversation between the author when he was younger and his "Rich Dad") went to the Basic Rules of Investing.

Rule 2: Convert Earned Income into Portfolio Income or Passive Income.

Page 106: "But how do I do it?" I asked. "How do I get the money if I don't already have the money? What happens if I lose the money?" I kept asking.

Response: "How, how how?" said rich dad. "You sound like an Indian Chief from an old movie."

It hit me right there. I've gone 106 pages into this book and I have been told nothing. Imagine it. 106 pages and still nothing.

I then checked the internet for Robert T. Kiyosaki and came across an interesting page that I think all should look at before buying this book. ...

Although the review is on the original book by Kiyosaki, it still gives a lot of insight.

I'm glad that I went to the library first.

I get the sense that Kyosaki wanted to lay out strategies clearly, but the strategies don't exist, since there's nothing simple about understanding opportunity and risk. What is useful was well covered in the previous two books.

Read the first two books and skip this one.

Additionally, he makes clear that there is risk in investing, but the best way to reduce this risk is to increase what he calls your financial intelligence. What he means by this is the knowledge and wisdom about the whatever investment vehicle you are using that you will gain by reading about it, taking advise from experts in the field (seminars, classes) and probably most important doing it making mistakes and learning from those mistakes.

He makes it clear in the book what his rich dad told him: "most people will try these things, not do very well and give up", "the best advise to give the average investor to be more successful is not to be average", "focus less about having the best product or service or idea and instead focus on having the best SELLING . . ."

He also states in several places very valuable pieces of information that gave me insight into how he thinks and works. He stated how he became rich by learning about owning corporations and LLCs and LLPs and used them to invest in real estate. He gave a due diligence list that he uses to evaluate apartment buildings. He even confesses at his 30% success rate in investing in different investment vehicles.

The most important thing I learned from playing CF 101 was that you have to play the game to be rich. I have become rich in the game and gone bankrupt sometimes, but I would not have any chance at financial freedom if I did not play at all.

So I would recommend you use this book as a guide and not a hand book. It will help to give you some of the emotional intelligence to deal with the pressure and risk involved with investing. But if you don't start or you give up you will never be rich.

And the whole notion about that "rich dad" ... ...do you believe him...I would like to ask any of you out there...How many of your friend's dads would have the time to devote for you like Mr. Kiyosaki's so called rich dad...I bet you...none! So what makes you think that all this is true...

For all of you that do want to read this book, I suggest doing it in your local library, rather than spending the money on it..."good investing - starts with good saving" and here is a good place to start...

Now you might ask why I gave him 2 stars...it's quite simple...I admire his GUMPTION in publishing such a frivolous piece of work...

If you want to take my advice...go out and buy "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" by Andrew Tobias...and put your eyes on Peter Lynch's books too, trust me he's great...

In the discussion of going from the "S" quadrant to the "B" quadrant, Kiyosaki recommends Gerber's E-Myth, a great concept book. Add to that Susan Carter's How To Make Your Business Run Without You, and you'll be able to successfully develop the systems for business success Kiyosaki is talking about. For my money, coming away with a new perspective for business development and investing is valuable. Guide To Investing delivered on its promise.

I do enjoy his approach to investing, but every time I thought he was making a good point that needed a little development, he would reference one of his other products, hinting that the answer was located there only after you purchased it. He likes to refer to his board game quite a bit, and I don't blame him since they cost around [price] a piece.

Overall, I appreciate the information provided, but I do not appreciate being sold a book which tells me that in order to get the information I want, I must but another one of his own books. If you don't give in to marketing pressure easily and need a good extremely general approach to investing, then you should enjoy this book.

As the book is so broad in scope, I will only line out here some concepts which I hope will engage the casual reader (yes, you!) to grab a copy of this book:
* To become a sophisticated investor, one must know the three E's: Education, Experience and Excessive cash. He makes a lot of emphasis all through the book on this. And the point about Education he emphasizes the most. In fact, when you realize how many times he repeats some concepts, you come to the conclusion that the author is on a true crusade to educate people, and by repeating things over and over (I don't only mean in this book, but actually all through the three books) he's trying to accomplish what most teachers try to do: to help you internalize these ideas.
* Investing is a Plan, not a Product or Procedure: it is often a dull, boring, and almost mechanical process of getting rich... following a recipe. The problem is that some people find such dull approaches... well, dull!
* Types of investors: (1) the accredited investor (a person who earns significantly more money than the average person yet does not necessarily know anything about investing); (2) the qualified investor(a person who has money as well as some knowledge about investing, a person who learns that "If you want to be a savvy investor you need to know how to exit an investment as well as how to get into the investment..."); (3) the sophisticated investor (also familiar with Tax Law, Corporate Law and Securities Law, and able to use the advantages of E-T-C: Entity -choice of business structure-, Timing -not only how much you pay in taxes, but when to pay them-, and Character -of income: earned, passive or portfolio; (4) the inside investor (someone who is on the inside of the investment and has some degree of management control); and (5) the ultimate investor, a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffet (someone who creates an asset that becomes so valuable that the asset is worh literally billions of dollars to millions of people).
* If you can learn to build a successful B (business owner) quadrant business, your business will generate excessive cash. Then you can use the skills you learned to analyze investments an an I (Investor). Ultimately Koyasaki goes into a lot of detail in terms of what he calls the B-I triangle, which essentially is a framework for creating a business: the three sides are the Mission, the Team and the Leadership. The inside is composed of Cash Flow Management, Communications Management, Systems Management, Legal Management and Product Management. There is an entire chapter devoted to each of these, so this book could also be called "Guide to Creating a Business."

The book will prove to be a valuable source of information if you are not familiarized with concepts such as tax benefits that can be obtained from running a business, basics of investing, and different types of business structures (although this is not the main focus of the book). If you are not a rookie in areas such as this, you'll probably be wasting your time with it.

I know that my previous statement sounds bizarre, but it is the best way to describe his books, and his followers. The basic message is "Buy assets, let others buy your liabilities", but he is right everytime he says it.

I think several of his books deserve space in my library, but not for the reasons many people may think. Robert does a wonderful job of explaining things in basic simple terms for the begining investor. No, he never does tell you how to do anything, and much of his numeration is flawed, but he is simply the best at explaining to my simpleton friends, what I don't have the patience to do anymore. For that alone he gets a four, then I can have a chance to educate them further.

If your looking for a serious or advanced manual, this is not it. If your just getting the nerve to look up investing, then start here.

I chose to read this one to add to my knowledge as well as to cement lessons learnt.

Unfortunately, this book was written to appeal to the masses and that is why it seems to oversimply things at times. For example, he repeatedly states that a business can purchase real estate tax free without hinting anything about how. Is it because of 27 year depreciation offsetting the principle on a nothing down loan, or is there something else? In his business systems section, he spends astonishingly little time talking about how to do market research and increase revenues. It's almost as if he assumes you already have the multi-million dollar sales, now he'll tell you how to build a system to process them. At the end, he says that aiming for low income and high expenses is what makes a peson rich and that it is the whole point of the book. If that point is so important, maybe it should have been introduced at the beginning. His chapter about financial ratios is at the level of a grade nine high school course and contains no insights at all about what to look for.

Still, the sophisticated investor insights are brilliant. The whole message of the book is to stop relying on promotions and pay raises, and putting money into your "diversified" 401k. Instead, start studying accounting, corporate tax, and communications skills so that you can build a substantial business that buys your investments with big tax breaks.

This book leaves me frustrated. It took me a long time to read, because it is extremely ponderous, and my overwhelming opinion is that there is a 'thread' holding the chapters together, but I'd have to read it again to 'get' it. I'm frustrated that the chapters can seem so short and lacking in details, yet the book ends up so long. I'm frustrated that as the book goes on, Mr. Kiosaki begins to pack in more and more 'plugs' for his other books and his (...) game. I'm frustrated that Mr. Kiyosaki repeatedly mentions the benefits of Network Marketing, while brazenly avoiding to mention the pitfalls you can encounter if you get involved with a Network Marketing company, AND does not mention any N.M. companies he has researched and can recommend as being established, ethical, responsive, with good training.

On the Other Hand, this book is valuable. About 2/3rds of the way through it, I realized this book is NOT about providing answers to specific questions... it's about changing your mentality. The other two books prepared you; this book repeats itself over and over, until it finally starts to sink in. This book is not about evaluating stocks or mutual funds; it's not about how to read financial statements, or how to get involved in IPO's. It's not about how to run the day-to-day operations of your own real estate or Network Marketing business.

This book is about making your habits, your mindset, your unconscious thinking change and view life, money, investments, and opportunities from a different perspective.

I don't believe it's successful at it's mission. Too long, draw-out, and repetitive to win me over. But I'll read it again, and hope that the nuggets of information work their way in.

Before you read this book, I recommand u to read Paul Polanco's review!!!

Richard

Cash flow quadrants is average.

Rich Dad guide to investing ...below average.

Cashflow game.....I don't have to play it to realise that I am wasting my money.

P.S. "Rich Dad always say try to write a good book...as many spin of as possible......to make millions off those ..."

My advise buy the first book or better yet barrow it from a friend........and invest the money you would use to buy the other books/audio cassettes/board games/etc. etc.etc.

But, looking at how this book really didn't say anything different from RDPD, along with all the new "Rich Dad" books, I think that he is just simply capitalizing off a fad. Think about it! Isn't a coincidence that all these investing books and people who say "I made a milllion" are popping up all the sudden? You notice how real estate was the top thing in the 80's and how you rarely(only some infomercials) are seeing anything about real estate?

The best finance book that GIVES you technical answers is "Multiple Streams of Income" by Robert Allen. I would say that reading that along with "Rich Dad Poor Dad", and take action, that you will do well. But, after RDPD, I am starting to believe that is starting to test our wits!

This is not a *HOW-TO* book on HOW to become wealthy or which steps to take to become wealthy. Like the author states, this book is about the INVESTOR, not specific strategies. To become truly wealthy you have to do two things. First, you NEED to change how you think, not just about money but about all areas of your life. Why go after riches if your marriage is in trouble or you don't spend enough time with your children? Secondly, you NEED to take different actions. If your last 5 years were miserable, then your next 5 years will be the same unless you DO something different. If at least 95% of the people in this country are not wealthy then you cannot do what 95% of people do. You have to do what the other 5% do; people WILL tell you you are crazy or what you are doing won't work. This happened to me and I am GLAD I did not listen to those people who still work at a job (I don't).

Most people do not Incorporate, most people do not invest in mutual funds and stocks correctly (they buy high and sell low), most people do not know how to buy real estaste, and most people know little about taxes, accounting, and personal finance. If one book was to be written about all those subjects in a general sense, it would still be thousands of pages long.

Robert's genius is that with his "Rich Dad/Poor Dad" metaphor, he gets the average reader to realize that it is not some magic formula or some great unattainable secret, but that it is our responsibility to go out and learn what the rich do and WHY they do it.

I never thought I would read a book about the Investor that would have given me this many new ideas. A must have for those who want to get out of the "rat race."

Beware the negative reviews regarding this book because they are written by people who "don't get it." You either "get it or you don't." Reviews written by people who have not read the book and have not been there are a waste of your time.

Like I said, I've been there, I own and have read this book twice already. People WILL put you down in obvious or subtle ways if you go for your dreams. Don't listen to the 95%, listen to the 5% that have made it.

Good luck and may all your dreams come true.

For me it opened new horizons and suggested new ways of making money and becoming rich. I have decided that what the author said makes sense and I now see new opportunities around me.

As the author suggests, being rich or poor is just a state of mind. All there is to becomning rich is starting to think like rich and then new venues of achieving this appear in front of you.

Very good audiobook if not excellent.

As most of the reviewers have already pointed out, this book intends to reshape an average American's thinking habit on the money subject rather than giving specific steps on stock picking. Therefore, the readers shall focus on the theory and principles that Mr.Kiyosaki tries to pass onto us rather than focusing on how he turned a $45000 real estate property into $95000 in 2 years. All these vivid examples are just the EXAMPLES that Mr.Kiyosaki uses to help us to visualize his theory. It is not practical that all of us will suddenly have the brain and the guts or the money to dive into the real estate market overnight. We are all different and thus have different psychological patterns when dealing with stress, change, failure and more importantly, the situation of losing money. A lot of things are already built into our personality, which will not change over a short period of time. Therefore, before feeling excited and wanting to act on Mr.Kyhosaki's investment path right away, you may want to take a closer look at yourself and knowing your limit. Then, you have to work on this whole millionaire's package such as your spending habits, financial knowledge, courage, and etc. Just the first several steps such as cutting off our credit card debt and giving up the idea of owning a nice large house could be tricky to some of us. And don't even talk about mastering the pile and pile of the corporation law, tax law and accounting books! All takes time and lot of courage and discipline! And for a lot of us, exactly how easy it is to change our discipline and build on courage?

So, this is going to be a really long path for an average middle class to reach the top of the world by applying Mr.Kiyosaki's theory. If you skip all the foundation building process, then prepare to fall hard. If someone thinks that they find the secrets to become rich quickly by reading this book, think again.

I am not saying that his books are not being practical use to us. My point is that you have to prepare to take a long but solid path to reach the gold mine as the rule always says there is no short cut towards success. Just look at how long it takes him to finally build a company himself. AND, remember that all of his young life was mentored by an expect and every step he took incluidng joining the Marine Corp. was a step to build that foundation! Of course, Mr.Kiyosaki couldn't say that in his books even though he knows it well. It is not going to be a good marketing approach if he speaks the truth that "Hey, y'all listen up. To get to where I am right now is REALLY going to take some time and a lot of work!"

"Rich Dad's Guide To Investing: What The Rich Invest In, That The Poor and Middle Class Do Not" is Part Three of Kiyosaki's personal money trilogy. The saga begins with Kiyosaki as a young military officer and fighter pilot returning home from war only to find his Poor (Employee) Dad recently unemployed.

So, at age 52, Poor Dad is looking for work. Rich Dad has been building up his assets and is incredibly wealthy. Poor Dad is edited out of the sequel.

After a day in Rich Dad's spacious mansion discussing accredited investors and private placement memorandums, Kiyosaki returns to his cramped officers' quarters, his three beer-guzzling, pizza-eating, TV-watching roommates, and his $12,000 annual officer's salary.

Kiyosaki contemplates what he wants from his life. He decides not to re-enlist. He wants to become rich. And, his officer's pay won't cut it. Rich Dad agrees to resume his role as Kiyosaki's financial mentor.

While I don't agree with everything in "Rich Dad's Guide To Investing," I think it is packed with some great observations, good advice, and excellent insight into wealth building. And, as with all RDPD books, it is highly readable.

Kiyosaki says you should make a plan to be financially secure, a plan to be financially comfortable, and a plan to be rich. Kiyosaki points out that it is risky to have a plan to get rich without having a backup plan to become financially secure. This was my main criticism of the original "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." I thought Kiyosaki focused too much upon trying to become wealthy quickly, without any consideration of the person's financial position in the event that his/her aggressive plans failed to materialize.

If Kiyosaki wants to get his educational materials more into the mainstream, formal educational system, he'll need to realize that saving, conservative investing, and prudent money management must be the foundation. Not trying to make a quick buck by trying to flip a real estate property.

Kiyosaki says people don't stick to boring, but workable, plans. People want riches fast. They are pulled in by tales of those who make wealth quickly. Kiyosaki advises setting realistic goals based upon your level of financial knowledge. Then, as you gain experience, add more ambitious financial goals.

Kiyosaki says to become a good investor, you should first understand business. He says your own business is your best aggressive investment. I agree.

The IRS says 89% of the individuals who make $50,000 per year or more are the owners of small businesses, which is shocking when you consider the number of highly-paid professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and computer programmers. If you raised the income level to above $100,000 per year, I have no doubt an even higher percentage of the high-earners would be business owners.

So, Kiyosaki recommends starting a part-time business. Even if your part-time business doesn't make you a lot of money, you will learn about business.

Kiyosaki says we have young billionaires because they created companies that people wanted to buy. He compares investors to people buying tickets to a game. Businesses are the one selling the tickets to the game (i.e., shares of stock). He acknowledges that part of the huge creation of recent wealth is due to Internet-IPO mania.

I particularly liked the sections called "Sharon's Notes." Sharon Lechter stresses the importance of a business having a mission, other than just making the founders rich. She says she expects many .coms to fail, because their only real goal was to make the founders and venture capitalists rich quickly by selling shares. Long-term success of the business wasn't the goal. Unfortunately, I have to agree.

However, I think Kiyosaki is a bit too obsessed with building a company for the sake of selling it to other investors. He calls people selling shares of publicly traded companies to investors the "Ultimate Investors."

There is a question of ethics in selling retail investors shares of dubious, new companies. (Although, I have no problem with those selling ownership to get capital to grow a viable business.) Also, only the smallest number of companies ever go public.

The book might better be titled "Rich Dad's Guide To Entrepreneurship and Investing," because there is some good discussion about building a business.

Kiyosaki says, to be successful in business, you should learn: communication skills, leadership, team-building skills, tax laws, corporate law, and securities law. Of course, investors should know how to read financial statements.

Most crucial is overcoming a fear of failure and learning sales skills. Public speaking is important, because to lead you must speak. Kiyosaki, himself, says he wasn't a natural speaker. But, he worked on it.

He says financially successful people find their weaknesses and work to make them strengths. Less financially successful people ignore their weaknesses and only try to build upon their strengths. They specialize.

Kiyosaki says that building wealth should be based upon simple, not complex, strategies. When not building his own companies, he likes investing in small companies with market capitalizations under $25 million. The graph on Page 221, showing the relative returns by market capitalization, is pretty amazing.

From the graph, we can estimate the return of investing in companies of market capitalization less than $25 million is about 28%, compared to 12% for the S&P 500 over the same 45-year period. Of course, as Kiyosaki acknowledges, there are far more bad deals than good deals with ultra-small companies. So, you must know what you are doing to try to buy them.

All in all, "Rich Dad's Guide To Investing" is a good read, and I recommend it.

Peter Hupalo
Author of
Thinking Like An Entrepreneur

Here is what I got from the book. First if you have not read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Cash Flow Quadrant" you should read those two first. This book builds on the foundations and structures the other two establish. Finally the meat of the matter. RK shows very clearly that wealth is obtained first in the mind by becoming financially literate. That is the entire thrust. Time in educating yourself in financial matters such as reading and extracting information and analyzing information from financial statements is a key factor in the path to wealth. He feels gaining some knowledge in every area of business is essential such as tax law and accounting etc. If a person does not do these things, this book cannot help. Bottom line, your mind has to think in terms of financial statements if you want to be wealthy. The "how to" that many of those who reviewed this and the other two books and feel that they were not given any "how to" instruction was either missed or wasn't the answer they wanted. The "how to" is financial and business literacy. It means taking accounting and other courses and reading many many books on this subject matter and finding people who know more than you do about these matters and picking their brains!

The last few chapters go into the different worlds of investing such as real estate and IPO's where the real wealth seems to be and gives some guidelines of what would be expected of you to enter these areas.

First off, I've been studying money books for almost two years. Most of them were for the middle class which told you to play it safe and diversify. Answers were little and fear was great. Basically, if you had a lot of time, you could at least retire adequately from those books.

So then I found RK last May and what a change! This was exactly what I was looking for: not people who couldn't walk the talk but people who had done it and done it well. Understand that RK and his wife lost most of their money and had to live with a friend (it's in their second or third book) but there's no shame in this per se as some people feel. This guy is basically telling you about his mistakes, at the risk of being attacked, and letting you avoid them.

I've played CASHFLOW 101 about 30 times and moved on to 202 and have played it about a dozen times now. THe group I am with is positive and training their minds to see the invisible. One guy has already started to do r/e deals in Calif and while he is still looking around in a tough market like the Bay Area, he's moving along.

RK's books are really about opening your mind to the possibilities as cliche' as it sounds. Once you decide to specialize in a particular investment vehicle (i.e. real estate, MLMS, stocks, etc), you will need to get the information from other sources.

In RDGTI, RK covers how he got started in investing. Now, some of this information will be out of your league unless you want to become a big time rich person but the most important thing is learning how he thinks. When you know he thinks, that will help you even more so in your future investments.

The important things RK's books do is give you smidgens of various fin. vehicles and, more importantly, teaches you to believe that the possibilities are out there.

Let me stress that again: the possibilities ARE out there. The problem is: most Americans have trained their mind to believe there are very few and they cannot get them so they repeat this vicious circle. That's the biggest problem I've noticed since training my mind and learning.

You've got to believe and you have to start seeing the possibilities: or, seeing the invisible as RK calls it. Once you start doing that, you're on your way.

After this book, check out his audio casette series RICH DAD'S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY (advanced) or YOUR FIRST STEPS. You can also check him out at RICHDAD.COM . . .or, you can get these items for less at ebay or your public library or half.com

The important thing isn't so much as where you get it but that you use it, learn it and apply it.

REVISION NOTE AS OF 09/05/03: I am at a loss for words as to why the RK books are getting slammed on Amazon. These are the books I started with two years ago, which inspired me to be more and never work a day job again. Since then, I won't say I haven't lost money but I've made more money and things are only looking up. Additionally, I've gotten involved with a group of other investors, who were all inspired by those books. In fact, if it wasn't for the RK books, I and my other colleagues wouldn't be on our ways to financial freedom.

So, when people slam RK and tell me it doesn't work, I just shake my head and realize that these are people who are living in their delussions. Everyday I'm surrounded by people who have accepted their financial cages and think things are too good to be true. Until they change their perceptions of abundance and money, they will forever be constricted.

I used to think like that and had a dead end day job. Now, I'm making more than ever and, in less than five years, I plan to be financially free.

Good luck to those who keep an open mind.

It is for anyone who wants to explore investing in a more detailed, higher level than the normal investing advice people look for "invest in X and make money".

As in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, this book has the delightful story line of advice from the father of a friend who became a very wealthy man before his death -- leaving his family well set financially for 100 years! I think it's that base in reality that makes these books so interesting.

One of the best ways to learn is to have a successful mentor who will guide us through the key challenges of getting started. This book is designed to duplicate the experiences that the author had his his rich Dad. For example, the key questions that rich Dad asked him are at the end of each section for you to answer for yourself. I found my answers to be revealing, even though I have been through a lot of similar sets of questions. Well done!

The story line picks up after the author is coming out of the Marines in his twenties to find his boyhood friend already wealthy from his own efforts.

The financial advice parts of the book are tied into helping you pick up a meaningful financial plan. You begin by deciding what you want money to do for you. That's an excellent thing to do. Some want security. Some want more income. Others want substantial wealth that keeps growing. You should decide. Some books make the mistake of pushing you to choose a goal that really isn't what you want. Rather than push you in a particular direction, the book emphasizes key principles (compound cash tax-free, create assets with your mind as well as with your money). The author notes that each of us has preferences that will take us in different directions for implementing whatever our goals are. I liked that approach a lot.

You will recognize a lot of the diagrams from Rich Dad, Poor Dad. But it is good advice, so it doesn't hurt to have the repetition. This part is fairly compact, so you can skim through it if you feel confident about the material.

This book would be outstanding as a gift for someone who is about to graduate from school and starting a first job, or for newly wedded people. It would be even more valuable if you would be a mentor for the person you give it to, like one of your children or grandchildren.

If you get to be good at this now, think how great it would be to be the rich Dad for your children and their friends. Now that's an irresistibly great goal!

Enjoy the riches you would like to have, for the reasons you would like to have them!

Remember, the sooner you finish these tasks, the sooner you can turn your attention to the other aspects of your life you want to improve. May your life be filled with much health, happiness, peace . . . and prosperity.