Robert Toru Kiyosaki (born April 8, 1947) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

entrepreneur, businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides

personal finance Personal finance is the financial management which an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. When planning personal fi ...

and business education to people through books and videos. The company's main revenues come from

franchisees Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

of the Rich Dad seminars that are conducted by independent individuals using Kiyosaki's brand name for a fee. He is also the creator of the Cashflow board and software games to educate adults and children about business and financial concepts. Kiyosaki is the author of more than 26 books, including the international self-published personal finance ''

Rich Dad Poor Dad ''Rich Dad Poor Dad'' is a 1997 book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It advocates the importance of financial literacy (financial education), financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, real estate i ...

'' series of books which has been translated into 51 languages and sold over 41 million copies worldwide. He has been criticized for advocating practices of debatable legality perceived as "

get rich quick A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...

" philosophy. Kiyosaki is the subject of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

suit filed by people who attended his seminars and has been the subject of two investigative documentaries by CBC Canada and WTAE USA. Kiyosaki's company, Rich Global LLC, filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2012.

Early life and family

Robert Toru Kiyosaki was born in 1947 in

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

, then in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

Education

Kiyosaki attended

Hilo High School Hilo High School is a Public school (government funded), public, Coeducation, co-educational high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. ...

and graduated in the year 1965.

Business career

In 1974, Kiyosaki attended the Erhard EST seminars, which he says changed his life. In 1977, he started a company called "Rippers". The company eventually went bankrupt. Kiyosaki took a job as a sales associate for

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

until June 1978. 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 Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

business. In 1997, Kiyosaki launched Cashflow Technologies, Inc., a business and financial education company that owns and operates the '' Rich Dad'' and '' Cashflow'' brands.

Other business ventures and investments

Kiyosaki's earlier two businesses (for surfing bags with Velcro fasteners and T-shirts) went bankrupt. In an interview with CBC, Kiyosaki described his books as an advertisement for his higher-priced seminars. In 2012, Kiyosaki's company "Rich Global LLC" filed for bankruptcy and was ordered to pay nearly $24 million to the Learning Annex and its founder.

Business and financial advice

Kiyosaki operates through a number of companies that he owns fully or in part, and through

franchisee Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

arrangements with other companies authorized to use his name for a fee. This includes Rich Dad LLC, Whitney Information Network, Rich Dad Education and Rich Dad Academy. Kiyosaki's financial and business teachings focus on what he calls "financial education": generating passive income by focusing on business and investment opportunities, such as real estate investments, businesses, stocks and commodities, with the goal of being able to support oneself by such investments alone and thus achieving true

financial independence Financial independence is the status of having enough income or wealth sufficient to pay one's living expenses for the rest of one's life without having to be employed or dependent on others.Cummuta, John. The Myths & Realities of Achieving Fina ...

. Kiyosaki uses the term " assets" for things that put money in one's pocket. He stresses the importance of building up an asset first to fund one's liabilities instead of saving cash or relying on a salary from a traditional job.

Personal life

Kiyosaki endorsed and supported Republican candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

for the

2016 presidential elections This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kir ...

. Kiyosaki also co-authored two books with Trump.

Criticism

In 2010, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

did an exposé on scams that were being perpetuated by Kiyosaki's company in Canada in the guise of seminars. Upon tracking the success claims of "Rich Dad" seminar organizers, they discovered that these claims were not true. Investments in trailers and trailer parks, which were being propagated as "successful" by seminar teachers, were found to actually be barren pieces of land that no one was using. Kiyosaki's advice has been criticized for emphasizing anecdotes and containing nothing in the way of concrete advice on how readers should proceed or work. In 2006 and 2007, Kiyosaki's Rich Dad seminars continued to promote

as a sound investment, just before their prices came crashing down. In 2010, Allan Roth of

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

documented what occurred when he attended one of Rich Dad's free seminars and dissected some of the tactics employed. The Marketplace exposé on his seminars in Canada showed what occurred in $450 seminars through a hidden camera including Kiyosaki's response to them.

Books authored

* ''

– What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!'' (first published in 1997) Warner Business Books. . * ''Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom'' (2000). . * ''Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!'' (2000). . * ''The Business School for People Who Like Helping People'' (March 2001). – endorses multi-level marketing * ''Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Children a Financial Headstart'' (2001). . * ''Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich'' (2002). . * ''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. . * ''Rich Dad's The Business School: For People Who Like Helping People'' (2003) . * ''Rich Dad's Who Took My Money?: Why Slow Investors Lose and Fast Money Wins!'' (2004) . * ''Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets About Money – That You Don't Learn in School!'' (2004) . * ''Rich Dad's Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business'' (2005). . * '' Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message'' (2006) co-written with Donald Trump . * ''Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money'' (2008). . * ''Rich Dad's Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money'' (2009). * ''The Real Book of Real Estate: Real Experts. Real Stories. Real Life.'' (2009) . * ''An Unfair Advantage: The Power of Financial Education'' (2011). . * '' Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich And Why Most Don't'' (2011), co-written with Donald Trump . * ''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). . * ''The Business of the 21st Century'' (2010), co-written with John Fleming and Kim Kiyosaki . * ''Second Chance: for Your Money, Your Life and Our World'' (2015) * ''8 Lessons in Military Leadership for Entrepreneurs: How Military Values and Experience Can Shape Business and Life'' (2015) * ''Why the Rich are Getting Richer: What is Financial Education...Really?'' (2017) * ''FAKE: Fake Money, Fake Teachers, Fake Assets: How Lies Are Making the Poor and Middle Class Poorer'' (2019) * ''Who Stole My Pension?: How You Can Stop The Looting'' (2020) * ''Capitalist Manifesto: Money for Nothing - Gold, Silver, and Bitcoin For Free.'' (2022) * ''Ravens: How To Prepare For And Profit From The Turbulent Times Ahead.'' (2023)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyosaki, Robert 1947 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American non-fiction writers American bloggers American book publishers (people) American people of Japanese descent American business writers American chief executives of education-related organizations American finance and investment writers American financial commentators American financiers American investors American mass media company founders American motivational speakers American motivational writers American online publication editors American retail chief executives American self-help writers American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Arizona Businesspeople from Hawaii People from Hilo, Hawaii Personal finance education Recipients of the Air Medal United States Marine Corps officers United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo alumni Video game producers Writers from Hawaii Writers from Phoenix, Arizona Writers from Scottsdale, Arizona American aviators of Asian descent