Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki
developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of
disparate influences:
his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and
the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend.
The
lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" (whose
weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family
needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad"
(that "the poor and the middle class work for money," but "the
rich have money work for them").
Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki
was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA
Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with
money.
Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points,
his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of "financial
literacy" that's never taught in schools. Based on the principle that
income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even
the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so
that the jobs can eventually be shed. --Howard Rothman
