Money
by Robert Kiyosaki
Why do clever people stay broke?
Robert Kiyosaki grew up with two fathers. His own was highly educated and ran Hawaii's state schools, yet never got on top of money. His best friend Mike's father left school young and became one of the richest men in Hawaii. The book asks what the second man knew.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Kiyosaki's first rule is to know the difference and buy assets. In his sense, an asset puts money in your pocket and a liability takes money out. The rich buy assets, he says. Everyone else buys liabilities and believes they're assets.
Get paid, pay the bills, wait for the next pay cheque. Earn more, spend more. Kiyosaki calls this loop the rat race, and says fear and greed keep people in it. Fear of unpaid bills sends them to work, and wanting nicer things eats every pay rise.
Your job builds your employer's business. Kiyosaki's advice is to keep the job but also mind your own, which he means as your column of assets. He lists the kind he has in mind: shares, bonds, property you rent out, royalties, and businesses that run without you.
Kiyosaki was shy and dreaded rejection, so he took a sales job at Xerox. He wanted the skill more than the salary. His advice to young people is to choose jobs for what they teach, above all how to sell and how to handle money and people.
Two dads
His poor dad worked for money. His rich dad taught him to make money work for him.
Assets
Count as an asset only what pays you each month. Anything that costs you each month is a liability.
The house
Kiyosaki argues your home is a cost, because it takes money from you every month.
Your own business
Keep your job, but put spare money into things that pay you, like rentals or shares.
Work to learn
Take jobs for what they teach you, and not only for the pay.
A story from the book
At nine, Robert and Mike worked in rich dad's shop for a few cents an hour, and felt cheated. Then they noticed unsold comics being thrown away. They asked to keep them and opened a library, charging other children to read. For once, money came in without a boss.
Hot take · true or myth?
Pay your bills first, then save whatever is left.
Myth. Kiyosaki argues the opposite. Pay yourself first, even if the bills have to wait, and let the pressure push you to earn more. That's the book's view, and many advisers disagree with it.
One thing to try
Tonight, list everything you own and everything you pay for each month. Sort each item by Kiyosaki's test, whether it puts money in your pocket or takes it out. Then pick one cost you could drop this month, and put that money towards the first column.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Rich Dad Poor Dad comes with a Hot Take round and a Name That Idea round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy do clever people stay broke? Robert Kiyosaki grew up with two fathers. His own was highly educated and ran Hawaii's state schools, yet never got on top of money. His best friend Mike's father left school young and became one of the richest men in Hawaii. The book asks what the second man knew.
Asset or liability; The rat race; Mind your own business; Work to learn.
Tonight, list everything you own and everything you pay for each month. Sort each item by Kiyosaki's test, whether it puts money in your pocket or takes it out. Then pick one cost you could drop this month, and put that money towards the first column.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Rich Dad Poor Dad in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Hot Take round and a Name That Idea round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
