Author
Robert T. Kiyosaki
The teller of the two-fathers story, who taught readers to ask whether what they own puts money in their pocket or takes it out.
1 book on BookYol
The story and the impact
Robert T. Kiyosaki was born in 1947 in Hilo, Hawaii. He graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York and served as a Marine Corps helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He then worked in sales at Xerox before starting his own businesses. One of the first sold nylon-and-Velcro surfer wallets.
In 1997 he published Rich Dad Poor Dad, written with Sharon Lechter. The book is built around two father figures. One is his own father, a highly educated official in Hawaii's education system. The other is a businessman Kiyosaki describes as the father of a childhood friend and calls his "rich dad." Through the contrast between them, the book sets out two opposing attitudes toward money, work and security. It was first self-published and went on to become one of the most widely read personal finance books, translated into many languages. Kiyosaki expanded the ideas in later Rich Dad titles such as Cashflow Quadrant and in the Cashflow board game.
His influence lies mostly in vocabulary. Phrases like "the rat race" and his blunt distinction between assets and liabilities entered everyday conversations about money. He has also drawn sustained criticism. Reviewers have questioned whether the rich dad was a real person or a literary device, and financial commentators have challenged parts of his advice on debt, real estate and formal education.
The signature
Kiyosaki teaches by redefinition and parable rather than by spreadsheet. His best-known move is to strip a technical term down to a single test. An asset puts money in your pocket and a liability takes money out, whatever an accountant's balance sheet says. On that view a family home can count as a liability. He frames financial literacy as the subject schools forgot. He replaces "I can't afford it" with "How can I afford it?" and urges readers to choose jobs for what they teach rather than what they pay.
His method aims to change mindset, not to give precise technical guidance. The two-fathers story turns abstract money habits into a personal choice between two ways of living. That makes the ideas memorable and easy to argue with. Readers get the most from him when they treat his books as a lens for questioning their own cash flow. They should then check the specific tactics against sound, current financial advice.