Lechter Sharon L - Rich Dads Advisors®: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Copyright 1997, 1998 by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter

All rights reserved.

Published by Warner Books in association with CASHFLOW Technologies, Inc.

"CASHFLOW" is the trademark of Cashflow Technologies, Inc.

Warner Books

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.

ISBN: 978-0-7595-2143-8

First eBook Edition: January 2001

Contents

To get over the top financially, you must read Rich Dad Poor Dad. Its common sense and market savvy for your financial future.

Zig Ziglar

World-renowned author and lecturer

If you want all insider wisdom on how to personally get and STAY rich, read this book! Bribe your kids (financially if you have to) to do the same.

Mark Victor Hansen

Co-author, New York Times

#1 Best Selling Chicken Soup

for the Soul series

Rich Dad Poor Dad is not your usual book on money Rich Dad Poor Dad is easy to read and its key messages such as, getting rich takes focus and nerve, are very simple.

Honolulu Magazine

I only wish I had read this book when I was young, or even better yet my parents had read this book! This is the kind of book you buy and give each of your kids and buy extra copies, on the chance you have grandchildren and this should be your gift, as soon as this child reaches 8 or 9.

Sue Brawn

President of Tenant Chek of America

Rich Dad Poor Dad is not about getting rich quickly. It is about taking responsibility for your financial affairs and improving wealth by mastering money. Read it if you want to awaken your financial genius.

Dr. Ed Koken

Lecturer on Finance,

RMIT University, Melbourne

I wish I would have read this book twenty years ago.

Larison Clark, Diamond Key Homes

INC. Magazines Fastest Growing Home

Builder in America, 1995

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a starting point for anyone looking to gain control of their financial future.

USA TODAY

Featured on the bestseller lists of:

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,

USA Today, Business Week, Amazon.com,

Amazon.com UK and Germany, E-trade.com,

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia),

Sun Herald (Australia), Business Review Weekly

(Australia), Borders Books and Music (U.S. and Singapore), Barnes & Noble.com

Featured on the bestseller lists of :

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia),

Sun Herald (Australia), Business Review

Weekly (Australia), Amazon.com,

Barnes & Noble.com, Borders Books and

Music (U.S. and Singapore),

The next Rich Dad bestseller:

To be released in
Summer of 2000

This book is dedicated to all parents everywhere, a childs most important teachers.

H ow does a person say thank you when there are so many people to thank? Obviously this book is a thank you to my two fathers who were powerful role models, and to my mom who taught me love and kindness.

Yet, the people most directly responsible for this book becoming a reality include my wife Kim who makes my life complete. Kim is my partner in marriage, business, and in life. Without her I would be lost. To Kims parents, Winnie and Bill Meyer for raising such a great daughter. I thank Sharon Lechter for picking up the pieces of this book in my computer and putting them together. To Sharons husband Mike for being a great intellectual property attorney, and their children Phillip, Shelly, and Rick for their participation and cooperation. I thank Keith Cunningham for financial wisdom and inspiration; Larry and Lisa Clark for the gift of friendship and encouragement; Rolf Parta for technical genius; Anne Nevin, Bobbi DePorter and Joe Chapon for insights into learning; DC and John Harrison, Jannie Tay, Sandy Khoo, Richard and Veronica Tan, Peter Johnston and Suzi Dafnis, Jacqueline Seow, Nyhl Henson, Michael and Monette Hamlin, Edwin and Camilla Khoo, K.C. See and Jessica See, for professional support; Kevin and Sara of InSync for brilliant graphics; John and Shari Burley, Bill and Cindy Shopoff, Van Tharp, Diane Kennedy, C.W. Allen, Marilu Deignan, Kim Arries, and Tom Weisenborn, for their financial intelligence. Sam Georges, Anthony Robbins, Enid Vien, Lawrence and Jayne Taylor-West, Alan Wright, Zig Ziglar, for mental clarity; J.W. Wilson, Marty Weber, Randy Craft, Don Mueller, Brad Walker, Blair and Eileen Singer, Wayne and Lynn Morgan, Mimi Brennan, Jerome Summers, Dr. Peter Powers, Will Hepburn, Dr. Enrique Teuscher, Dr. Robert Marin, Betty Oyster, Julie Belden, Jamie Danforth, Cherie Clark, Rick Merica, Joia Jitahide, Jeff Bassett, Dr. Tom Burns, and Bill Galvin for being great friends and supporters of the projects; to the Center Managers and the tens of thousands of graduates of Money and You and The Business School for Entrepreneurs; and to Frank Crerie, Clint Miller, Thomas Allen and Norman Long for being great partners in business.

There is a Need

D oes school prepare children for the real world? Study hard and get good grades and you will find a high-paying job with great benefits, my parents used to say. Their goal in life was to provide a college education for my older sister and me, so that we would have the greatest chance for success in life. When I finally earned my diploma in 1976graduating with honors, and near the top of my class, in accounting from Florida State Universitymy parents had realized their goal. It was the crowning achievement of their lives. In accordance with the Master Plan, I was hired by a Big 8 accounting firm, and I looked forward to a long career and retirement at an early age.

My husband, Michael, followed a similar path. We both came from hard-working families, of modest means but with strong work ethics. Michael also graduated with honors, but he did it twice: first as an engineer and then from law school. He was quickly recruited by a prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm that specialized in patent law, and his future seemed bright, career path well-defined and early retirement guaranteed.

Although we have been successful in our careers, they have not turned out quite as we expected. We both have changed positions several timesfor all the right reasonsbut there are no pension plans vesting on our behalf. Our retirement funds are growing only through our individual contributions.

Michael and I have a wonderful marriage with three great children. As I write this, two are in college and one is just beginning high school. We have spent a fortune making sure our children have received the best education available.

One day in 1996, one of my children came home disillusioned with school. He was bored and tired of studying. Why should I put time into studying subjects I will never use in real life? he protested.

Without thinking, I responded, Because if you dont get good grades, you wont get into college.

Regardless of whether I go to college, he replied, Im going to be rich.