Welcome back to our series on It’s not Easy Being a Guru. This week’s indication to the Hall of Shame is Robert Kiyosaki, author, seminar promoter and all-around guru.
Robert Kiyosaki originally self-published the book Rich Dad Poor Dad in 1997. It was later picked up by Warner Books and is still selling, today at over 41 million copies. According to Forbes, Kiyosaki is worth around $100 million. Kiyosaki has built upon the Rich Dad Poor Dad franchise with 26 other books.
Now the controversies. They started even before the publication of Rich Dad Poor Dad. Kiyosaki got his start marketing nylon and Velcro wallets in 1977. This company went bankrupt.
Kiyosaki was a motivational speaker with Erhard Seminars Training presenting a seminar called Money and You. Kiyosaki expanded the seminar internationally, including to Australia. In 1993, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program Four Corners aired a documentary critical of the Money and You seminar and the business nearly collapsed.
There was a co-author of Rich Dad Poor Dad – Sharon Lechter. Lechter is a CPA and co-authored many books with Kiyosaki. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed Lechter to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. The National Bank of Arizona honored Ms. Lechter with the Woman of the Year award in 2013. Lechter’s life is without controversy except for her litigation with Kiyosaki. In 2007, Lechter was the plaintiff in civil litigation with Kiyosaki in Nevada. Lechter claimed Kiyosaki and his wife enriched themselves improperly and misappropriated company assets, a charge the Kiyosakis denied. The case was settled out of court in 2008 with the Kiyosakis buying out their former partner for an undisclosed sum.
In 2010, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program Marketplace broadcasted a documentary on supposed scams being perpetrated by Kiyosaki’s companies in Canada, including controversies involving Rich Dad Seminars. Local affiliates of CBS and ABC have also broadcast investigations into Kiyosaki in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
In 2012, Kiyosakis’ company Rich Global LLC went bankrupt, the fourth time a company associated with Kiyosaki had sought this protection.
Kiyosaki has been divorced twice and claims to be $1 billion in debt.
Many believe that the Rich Dad character outlined in the book Rich Dad Poor Dad is fictional. Certainly, the identity of this individual has never been made known. The Kiyosaki seminar formula starts with a free one-day seminar that is also a sales pitch for a three-day workshop costing $500. This three-day workshop grooms participants for the next tier of courses costing $45,000 or more!
What is the bottom-line concerning Robert Kiyosaki? I think some of the advice is legitimate or else why would the books have continued to sell? Kiyosaki does seem to have trouble following the advice himself. The controversy over whether Rich Dad is a fictional character is unfortunate. Personally, I don’t think this person exists, but the contrast between how successful people and ordinary people think is helpful. Finally, one need not attend the expensive Rich Dad seminars to benefit from Kiyosaki’s wisdom.