Rich Dad, Poor Dad
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Rich Dad, Poor Dad (ISBN 0446677450) is the first of a series of books by Robert Kiyosaki that discusses what Kiyosaki feels rich parents teach their children that poor or middle class parents do not. It covers topics like real estate investing, financial planning, and the value of hard work. The most central element however, is an advocacy of owning the means of production, rather then being an employee of someone.
Present throughout the book is the unnamed "Rich Dad" who taught Robert Kiyosaki a variety of life lessons in a variety of ways. Among some of the topics are value of financial intelligence, that corporations spend first then pay taxes while individuals pay taxes first then save and that corporations are artificial entities.
The way the rich think and act differently boils down to how they define simple words like assets, wealth, and how they fund luxuries. An asset either earns income (i.e. increases in liquidation value), or it is a liability and does not.
No one can dispute that the rich buy "income-producing assets," the problem is the poor buy worthless items that they think are assets, which clearly do not earn anything, and may have no market value. According to Kiyosaki, wealth is measured as the number of days the income from your assets will sustain you and financial independence is achieved when your monthly income from assets exceeds your monthly expenses.
Some of the tactics suggested in the book may be illegal or unethical. For example, Robert Kiyosaki advocates knowing rich people because they will give you insider stock tips. Acting on insider stock tips is against most stock exchange regulations.