Rich Dad Poor Dad

Author : Robert Kiyosaki

The book is largely based on Kiyosaki's upbringing and education in Hawaii, although the degree of fictionalization in his anecdotes is disputed. Because of the heavy use of allegory, some readers believe that Kiyosaki created the Rich Dad character as an author surrogate (a literary device), discussed further in the criticism section below. The book highlights the different attitudes to money, work and life of these two men, and how they in turn influenced key decisions in Kiyosaki's life.

Among some of the book's topics are:

• the value of financial intelligence
• that corporations spend first, then pay taxes, while individuals must pay taxes first
• that corporations are artificial entities that anyone can use, but the poor usually don't know how

According to Kiyosaki and Lechter, wealth is measured as the number of days the income from your assets will sustain you, and financial independence is achieved when your monthly income from assets exceeds your monthly expenses. Each dad had a different way of teaching his son.