Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the most successful books ever written on personal finance and
financial education. The book,
co-authored by certified accountant, Sharon A. Lechter, was on the New York Times best seller list for more than a year. It has also been translated in numerous languages.
However, regardless of its sales
success there are several controversial views about this book.
The story begins with Robert describing his natural father as the poor Dad because of his believes about money and his friends father, who taught the two boys a lot about his thinking, is his rich Dad. One of the strength of the book is to teach you to have a completely different look at what you consider as an asset or a liability and it tries to illustrate in plain words why the rich become wealthier and attain their wealth and why the poor stay that way. It is more of a conceptual approach so do not expect the book to teach you how you gonna make a lot of money yourself, however, arguably you need to have the right thinking first, before considering any investments. The authors personal
financial success comes mainly from real estate as becomes clear throughout the book and some other potentially very powerful investments are not given sufficient credit. But one must remember that the authors have published a whole series of books where one can hopefully expect some more practical advice of how to go about improving one's financial situation.
Despite its controversy I would agree that the book contains some ideas which are well worth teaching your kids. The authors also take the view that crucial knowledge concerning finance is not taught in school, thus he describes his own Dad, who is a lecturer at University as a poor Dad. As, despite his knowledge and probably fairly decent income, he was never getting ahead financially and still taught his son to ensure he obtains a good education and then goes for that good and secure job.
In summary, the book is probably worth a read if you do not expect it to be a sole guide to your financial success. It will be required on your part to obtain more information elsewhere. Also be aware that you may find that Robert is bragging a little about his own success as at least this is how he comes across to some.
If you are looking for a good starting point and you know little about money or you always wonder where your paycheck goes or you may need some inspiration give this book a try.