Response to charge that John T. Reed is envious of Robert Kiyosaki
Posted by John Reed on
A number of people have dismissed my criticism of Robert Kiyosaki as being motivated by jealousy and therefore meritless. Actually, that’s irrelevant. My criticisms should be judged on their truthfulness. See my article on intellectually dishonest debate tactics. But I’ll address the jealousy issue for the lower-IQ crowd who don’t get logic.
Exactly what is it that I would be jealous of regarding Kiyosaki? It seems to me that our lives are quite similarand to the extent that they differit would appear that he should envy me in at least as many categories as I should envy him. Here’s a comparison.
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| Born | 1946 | 1947 |
| Father | alcoholic former 5¢&10¢ store manager | Ph.D. head educator in Hawaii government |
| Childhood hometown | Wildwood, NJ (seashore resort) | Hawaii |
| College | U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY Class of 68 |
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY Class of 69 (He got left back one year in high school) |
| Branch of service | Army | Marines |
| Overseas service | Vietnam | Vietnam |
| Extra military schools graduated from | Paratrooper, Ranger | Helicopter Pilot (although he characterized himself as a “fighter” pilot in one book) |
| Graduate school | Harvard Business School M.B.A. Class of 77@ | failed attempt to get MBA |
| Marital status | married 40 years and counting | divorced, remarried |
| Children | 3 sons:
1 Ivy League grad (Columbia Class of 2003) 1 U.C. Santa Barbara grad Class of 2006) 1 U. of Arizona class of 2011 |
0 (It is noteworthy that this guy who tells us how to raise our children, a man who trashes his own fathers performance in that category in several books, himself is childless. I think we would all like to know how Mr. Rich Dad, Poor Dads own kids turned out before we switch to his formula for child raising. Claiming to speak on behalf of the children is a popular ploy with demagogues.) |
| Grandchildren | girl born 9/2/10; boy to be born 11/6/15 | 0 |
| Books authored |
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| Books sold | approximately 250,000* | 26,000,000 |
| Profit per book | Retail or wholesale price less printing cost: approximately $25 to $35 | best guess: royalty of approximately 72¢ |
| Newsletter issues sold | approximately 3,300,000 | Unknown, but only started newsletter 5/02 |
| National TV appearances | 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, Larry King Live | Oprah, Today Show, PBS pledge breaks |
| Board games sold | none | unknown, but probably over 100,000 |
| Home value# | approximately $1,750,000 | approximately $2,000,000 |
| Year home purchased |
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| Current home town | Alamo, CA | Phoenix, AZ |
| Financial low point | 1968 just out of college 2nd lieutenant in Army | 1985 homeless living in car with wife |
| First civilian job | Seashore resort singles bar bartender | officer on what he described as a Loveboat type cruise ship in one account; however, his 1993 book Dont Go To School says his only merchant marine job was 6 months as third mate on a Standard Oil of California tanker |
| Net worth | Comfortable
A reader complained that I was not more forthcoming since I have criticized others. My criticism is of those who claim to be rich. I have never done that. Normal people do not disclose their income or net worth. But if you claim either is huge to get people to buy your stuff, then you have an obligation to prove it. I have a son who graduated from an Ivy League college where we had to pay full sticker price because we were not eligible for financial aid, another pays out-of-state tuition, and we own a home worth a million plus. My wife and I are both Harvard MBAs. That ought to give you enough of an idea. The rest is private, as it should be unless you’re some sort of financial show off or very insecure. |
Claims “$50,000,000 to $100,000,000 depending on the day.” That is impossible to verify without Kiyosaki providing more information about what he owns and it is very hard to believe about a guy who says he was bankrupt in 1985 and who does not own a public company or major real estate holdings like shopping malls or fifty-story office buildings. Also, people with that much money do not let it sit in investments where it fluctuates so greatly in one day. What goes up 100% or down 50% in one day? Pork belly futures? |
@ My wife is a member of the Harvard Business School M.B.A. Class of 78. We were married before either of us entered Harvard.
* Many of my books were never offered to book stores. None are anymore. Books sold only by the author direct to the public are orders of magnitude more profitable per book, but sell far fewer copies than books sold to book stores.
# Anyone can get this sort of information from Internet appraisal services nowadays.
So, again, exactly which of the items on the above list am I supposed to be jealous of? It ain’t board games. I never had any interest in producing such a product. I wince at the thought of some poor kid being dragged over to the kitchen table to play John Reed’s board game with his parents.
Actually, there is one area where I envy Kiyosaki. I wish I had a dad like his Poor Dad. Maybe at some subconscious level, it really bothers me that he had a good man, not a mean drunk, for a dad, then trashed him in his books for the crime of not making little Robert rich enough in his childhood to be invited to the right parties.
Since grade school, I prefer my life to his.
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