Rich Dad, Poor Dad's bankrupt company
(MoneyWatch) Robert Kiyosaki, author of the bestselling Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of financial advice books, took one of his companies into bankruptcy according to multiple news reports. The New York Post reported that Rich Global LLC, one of the corporate arms Kiyosaki has done business under, filed for bankruptcy protection in August. A court had ordered the company to pay just under $24 million to the Learning Annex and its chairman Bill Zanker.
According to AZCentral.com, the Rich Global-Learning Annex relationship dated to 2001, when Kiyosaki became a featured speaker at Learning Annex expositions. Four years later, the companies agreed to "develop and conduct the free seminar business with follow up fee-based courses," according to court papers. That relationship generated sales of $438 million, of which Rich Global got nearly $45 million in royalties, court documents said, but the court agreed with Learning Annex that Rich Global had not paid the required percentage of profits.
Rich Dad Education
Bank on Yourself promises don't add
Annuities and the hundred thousand dollar challenge
I wrote about my own experience at a Rich Dad, Poor Dad seminar back in 2010. It was a free seminar designed to sell me an expensive seminar.
Then came the real sale -- a three day training course on real estate investing. But, to attend, we would have to do a homework assignment. I would have to write down the amount of monthly money I would like to have from passive income. That's it? I only have to say what I want to make? Well, watch out Bill Gates, because the monthly amount has lots of zeros, and this $495 training class was going to teach me how to get there, working only three hours a week.
Had I forked over the $495 and attended the seminar, what would I have learned? Thanks to a hidden camera by a Canadian investigative news show, Marketplace, we can all see that it likely was largely a sales presentation for more advanced courses that cost up to $45,000.
Forbes reported that no one has ever documented any vast reserves of wealth earned by Kiyosaki prior to the publication of Rich Dad, Poor Dad in 1997. And a story in the late SmartMoney magazine reported that Kiyosaki did not actually have a rich dad and a poor dad as he claims in the books, but that the fathers were "composites."
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Yes, Rich Global is bankrupt. But you and I know that any successful business man have had more than their fair share of failures - some to his/her own bad decisions, or the people that ran the company did. But that's business Mr. Roth.
For you to run this piece, tells me your a total hypocrite. You're a founder of Wealth Logic, a man on top of his game. And you did all that by not attending courses and shelling out how much for your education? Rich Dad education program is for people who are serious about real estate. That's it. Just like the money you paid (how much dare I ask?) on your education.
For those that are SERIOUS about real estate investment, $495 is a steal. $45K for a investment courses is a stretch for most people, but realize that people will pay for what they really want. Let's face it, our kids carry that kind of balance on their student loan with slim chances of a $45K + annual salary. In addition, that's how much interest is being paid by middle class income earners in interest payments on their mortgage, in less than 2 years (assuming a jumbo loan 30 year). People will pay for what they really want. You DON'T WANT it, therefore, you write this piece and say "they're trying to sell you an expensive education program". Wow, really?
You're a financial planner, no? Do you NOT ask your clients how much they want to make on investments?
Personally, real estate investment is not for me. But after reading majority of Kiyosaki's books, I'm convinced that this great country, need more people like Kiyosaki to educate our youth financial education, and have a passion for learning real world stuff outside the classroom and not just know how to balance their checkbook and hand their money over to companies like yours to manage "wealth". You take middle class income and gamble with it, that's what your company does, and you assume 0 risk. Sounds fair, I guess.
Mr. Roth - I'm sure you're a respectable man, therefore, I'm shocked to read this article.
THANK YOU RICH DAD! WAKE UP AMERICA!
http://www.juliewilson.me/caviar-dreams-my-ass/
You summed up the essence of Rich Dad, Poor Dad in one sentence.
Kudos!