INTRODUCTION Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are both concerned. Their
concern is that the rich are getting richer but America is getting
poorer. Like the polar ice caps, the middle class is disappearing.
America is becoming a two-class society. Soon you will be either
rich or poor. Donald and Robert want you to be rich.
This phenomenon - the shrinking middle class - is a global
problem, but predominantly in the richer G-8 nations (in countries
such as England, France, Germany, Japan, etc.)
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, "As I
have often said, this is not the type of thing which a democratic
society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept
without addressing." He went on to explain how the income gap
between the rich and the rest of the u.s. population has become
so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten
the stability of democratic capitalism itself.
The Problem Is Education:
What did the Federal Reserve Chairman state as the main
cause of the problem? In one word, his answer was education.
Mr. Greenspan points out that u.S. children test above the world
average levels at the 4th grade level. But by the 12th grade level,
they are far behind. He says, "We have to do something to prevent
that from happening."
Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki also place the blame on
the lack of education. But they focus on a different type of
education, financial education. Both men are very concerned
about the lack of quality financial education in America, at all
levels. Both men blame the lack of financial education for the
United States having gone from the richest country in the world to
the biggest debtor nation in history, so quickly. A weak u.s.
economy and a weak u.s. dollar (the reserve currency of the
world) are not good for world stability. As is often said in other
parts of the world, "When the United States sneezes, the world
catches cold."
There is a difference
between being poor
and being broke.
Broke is temporary.
Poor is eternal.
There is a difference
between being poor
and being broke.
Broke is temporary.
Poor is eternal.
4 : INTRODUCTION
Both Men Are Teachers
Both Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are successful
entrepreneurs and investors. Both men do business and are
recognized internationally. Both men are also teachers. Both men
are best-selling authors, produce educational board games, speak
at financial education events, and both have educational
television programs. Donald Trump has his megahit network
television show, The Apprentice and Robert Kiyosaki has his
television show, Rich Dad's Guide to Wealth, on PBS, the highly
acclaimed educational public television network.
Both men are teachers, not because they need more money.
They are both teachers because they are concerned about the fate
of you and your family, this nation and the world.
Rich people who want to make a difference typically give
money to causes they believe in. But Donald and Robert are giving
of both their time as well as their money. As the story goes, you
can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or teach him to fish
and feed him for a lifetime. Instead of just writing checks to help
the poor and middle class, Donald and Robert are teaching them
to fish. In addition, a portion of every book sale will be donated
to other organizations that also teach financial literacy.
Financial Advice
There are three levels of financial advice: advice for the poor,
advice for the middle class and advice for the rich. The financial
advice for the poor is that the government will take care of them.
The poor are counting on Social Security and Medicare. The
financial advice for the middle class is: get a job, work hard, live
below your means, save money, invest for the long term in mutual
funds and diversify. Most people in the middle class are passive
investors- investors who work and invest notto lose.The rich are
active investors who work and invest to win. This book is about
becoming an active investors - expanding your means to live a
great life by working and investing to win.
Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are best-selling authors and
popular speakers because they teach people to expand their
meansand improve the quality of their lives, rather than work hard
to live below their means.They want people to work and invest to
win.
A Little History
During the Hunter-Gatherer Age of human development,
humans lived in tribes and, for the most part, all people were
equal. If you were the chief of the tribe, you still lived pretty much
like the rest of the tribe. Chiefs did not have Learjets, multi-million
-dollar estates and golden parachutes.
In the Agrarian Age, there evolved a two-tiered society. The
king and his rich friends on one tier and everyone else (peasants)
working for the king on another tier. Generally, the king owned
the land. The peasants worked the king's land, and paid the king
a form of tax by giving the king a share of their harvests. The
peasants owned nothing and royalty owned everything.
In the Industrial Age, the modern middle class was born in
America and so was democracy.
The founding fathers of America were so impressed by the five
tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, who lived in what is today
known as New England, that they used the tribal model as the
model for our democracy. That model elected representatives, an
upper and lower house, and a supreme court (made up of entirely
women).
At the same time the founders of America were copying the
Iroquois form of democracy, the idea of democracy and a middle
class was still considered unrealistic in Europe - all while a
powerful middle class and democratic society were blooming in
the United States.
Today, in the Information Age, the middle class is slowly dying
and so is democratic capitalism. Unlike any other time in history,
there really is a very wide and growing gap between the haves
and have-nots. Are we going backward, into the Agrarian Age,
when there was no democracy and only two classes, or will we
evolve into a new form of capital ism and democracy?
Problems On The Horizon
Just as we are only now becoming aware of the effects of
global warming, we are also only now becoming aware of the
effects of the lossof our middle class. Currently, most members of
the middle class feel safe and secure. They are content, even
though most are aware that we have problems on the horizon.
They feel safe because they believe their government will step
in and take care of them and protect them. Little do they know,
there is little that government can do to protect them.
Governments, even the U.S. government, cannot protect their
people as they once could simply because the problems are now
global problems. For example, the price of oil is determined by
countries outside the control of the Un ited States. Terrorism is not
a war against nations. Terrorism is a war against ideas. A terrorist
can strike anywhere and disappear into the populace. And
globalization, causing the loss of so many American jobs, is the
problem of multinational corporations becoming richer and more
powerful than many countries. This globalization has also been
made more possible through the World Wide Web making
communication instantaneous anywhere in the world.
Communication has become possible any time any where.
On the home front, just as environmentalists are noticing that
some species of frogs are disappearing, economists are noticing
that pensions and health care are disappearing for the middle class
and poor. In a few years, the biggest baby boom generation in
history begins to retire all over the world. Most governments do
not have the financial resources to keep their promises.
Businessmen, Not Politicians
People expect their elected government officials to take care of
the growing problems facing the poor and middle class. Donald
Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are not politicians (although there is a
strong movement brewing for Donald to run for president). They
write this book as entrepreneurs, investors and educators.
Instead of promising to solve your problems, they want you to
avoid becoming a victim of the problems. Do not expect your
political and government officials to provide solutions. Do not
think you are entitled to a secure, prosperous and healthy life.
Instead Donald and Robert want you to become rich and become
part of the solution to the problems we face as a nation and the
world.
Not A How-To Book
When it comes to money, many people want to be told exactly
what to do. They often ask specific questions, such as, "I have
$25,000. What should I do with it?" When you tell people that
you do not know what to do with your money, they are happy to
tell you what to do ... and their recommendation is that you give
your money to them.
This book is not a how-to book. Donald and Robert will not be
telling you what to invest in. They will share with you how they
think, why they win financially and how they see the world of
money, business and investing.
A Matter Of Vision
Most rich people do not want you to know what they know or
their secrets to becoming rich. But Donald and Robert are
different. They want to share their knowledge with you.
One of the definitions of leadership is vision. This book is
about vision, about seeing what most people never see through
the eyes of two men who have won (and occasionally lost) at the
game of money. Why We Want You To Be Rich is a book about
how these two men think and why they think the way they do.
Through their eyes you will gain additional insight into how you
can improve your financial future.
A Word Of Caution
In the world of money, there is another word often used -
transparency. Transparency has many definitions. Three definitions
applicable to this book are:
1. Free from pretence or deceit.
2. Sheer enough to be seen through.
3. Readily understood.
People want greater vision so they can see with their own eyes
and make their own decisions. Because our educational system
does not really teach people to be financially literate, people
cannot see. And if they cannot see, there is no transparency. Due
to this lack of vision and transparency, people are simply investing
by giving their money to someone else to invest. They blindly
follow the advice of "work hard, save money, invest for the long
term in mutual funds and diversify." They work hard and follow
this investment advice because they cannot see.
A word of caution: If you believe that working hard, saving
money, investing for the long term in mutual funds and diversifying
is good advice then this book may not be for you.
Donald and Robert do not invest in mutual funds because
mutual fund companies are not required to be transparent; they
are not required to disclose their true expenses. Since most
amateur investors cannot see, this fact does not bother them.
Professional investors, as Donald and Robert are, require
transparency in all their investments.
While the financial advice of saving money and investing in
mutual funds may be good advice for the poor and middle class,
it is not good advice for people who want to become rich . This
book is about seeing through the eyes of two rich men and
understanding a world of money very few people get to see.
How History Affects Today
This book will also discuss how history has brought us to this
financial state of emergency. Some important dates are:
1971: Our money stopped being money and became a
currency when it ceased being backed by gold. This is the
year that "saving money" became obsolete and bad
financial advice. Today, the middle class has very little in
savings.
Could it be because they know that savings is an
obsolete idea?
1973: The first oil shock was felt. It was a political problem.
However, today the current oil shock is an actual supply
and demand problem that wi II affect all of us. Some of us
will get richer, but most of us will become poorer as a result
of today's oiI shortage.
How will the current oil crisis affect you?
1974: ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
was passed. ERISA eventually led to what we now know
as 401 (k) plans. Few law changes have affected so many
of us as this one. The 401 (k) was originally an arcane
subparagraph in the u.s. Tax Code originally created only
for high-income CEOs and executives looking for a way to
shelter a few more dollars. It became a revolution in
retirement savings after the IRS ruled in 1981 that workers
could use the same rule. The problem is that the 401 (k) is
a savings plan and not a retirement plan. Many workers
who have 401(k)s will not have enough money to retire on
simply because the 401 (k) was designed for very high income
executives, not lower wage workers. In simple
terms, the 401 (k) savings plan will not be adequate for
approximately 80 percent of all workers, especially those
making less than $150,000 a year. Millions of middle-class
workers will be downgraded to the poor class even though
they have a 401 (k) plan today.
Do you have a 401(k)?
1989: The Berlin Wall came down and the World Wide
Web went up. In other words, communism, an economic
system designed to protect the workers, failed. At the same
time, in the same year, we entered the Information Age.
Suddenly young Internet millionaires and billionaires were
being created while baby-boom workers were losing their
jobs.
Many older workers have to work for younger workers
simply because they are not technically current. Instead of
receiving pay raises as they did in the Industrial Age, many
older workers are receiving pink slips because their years
of education and experience are obsolete.
Are your skills obsolete?
1996: The Telecom Reform Act was passed. This Act
allowed the world to be connected via fiber optic cable,
facilitating globalization. This meant that white-collar jobs
could be exported. It now makes economic sense to hire a -
programmer, doctor, lawyer and accountant in countries
where the costs for these services are much lower due to
the lower cost of living abroad.
Are you working in an area that fiber optic
cable could change?
2001: China was admitted into the World Trade
Organization (WTO). Today, America and many Western
nations such as the G-8 nations have become consumers
rather than producers. This sets up a huge balance-of-trade
problem and also takes away our factories.
Many small businesses are not able to compete with
companies like Wal-Mart, who has direct lines to China's
factories.
Today in America and other Western nations, our middle
class is shrinking as the middle class in China and India is
growing.
Do you consume products manufactured overseas?
2004: During the Kerry-Bush debates, there was talk about
the outsourcing of American jobs. But there is a bigger
problem both parties avoided. There was little said about
the outsourcing of American debt into the hands of
foreigners.
While there is much discussion about illegal immigrants in
our work force , there is a more serious immigration
problem not being discussed: the amount of foreign capital
that keeps the United States. afloat. In 2004, 44 percent of
our Treasury debt was owned by foreigners. No leading
country in history has ever incurred this level of foreign
debt. As a nation we cannot afford the payments to service
this debt, and there is a limit to the amount of our debt the
world will tolerate.
Are you able to service your own personal debt?
This book is not a political book. It will not blame Republicans
or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives. This book is about
money, financial education and the effects of a lack of financial
education and money management. It is about protecting yourself
from national money mismanagement. Today's problems are
bigger than our government can handle. That may be why our
politicians avoid discussing the real problems.
The United States has the highest standard of living in the
world. We have attained that high standard of living by becoming
the greatest debtor nation in the world . The U.5. dollar is also the
world's reserve currency and so far, the world has allowed us to
print as many dollars as we want. Is this a fairy tale scenario or a
nightmare? Donald and Robert do not think this fantasy can last
much longer. They expect a global correction on a massive scale.
Unfortunately, the poor and middle class will be hurt the most.
And this is why they want you to be rich.
This Book Is Not About Changing The World
This book is not about changing the world . This book is about
changing you so that you do not become a victim of a changing
world. The world is changing rapidly. Politicians and government
bureaucracy cannot change fast enough or protect everyone from
these shifts.
It was recently announced that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett
have joined forces to solve some of the world's most pressing
problems. This is commendable as money does have the power to
solve many of our world problems, such as hunger, affordable
housing, and hopefully many diseases (such as cancer and AIDS).
Money Cannot Solve Poverty
The one problem money cannot solve is poverty. While there
are many underlying causes of poverty, one of the causes is a lack
of financial education. The problem with throwing money at the
issue of poverty is that money only creates more poor people and
keeps people poorer longer. This is why Donald and Robert are
teachers. They know that the one true solution to worldwide
poverty is financial education, not money. If money alone could
solve poverty, they would donate their money. But since money
cannot solve poverty, they donate their time. In addition, a portion
of the profits of this book will be donated to charitable and
educational organizations that also teach financial literacy.
As your financial education increases, you will start to
recognize financial opportunities everywhere. Once you become
rich, you may choose to help change the world as well. This is
what Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki have done. This is why
they have joined forces as teachers.
As you read this book you will see the voices of two men, from
two different backgrounds, with two different perspectives, and
two different voices. Robert is a story-teller and uses dialogue
often in his writing. Donald is direct and to-the-point, using as
few words as possible. We have used two different typefaces to
emphasize their two voices (Garamond is used for Robert and
Trebuchet is used for Donald).
Can you read this book with an open mind? If so, you will see
the world through the eyes of these two successful men and you
may expand your own mind-set about money and what is possible
for your financial future.
To your financial future of freedom,
Sharon Lechter
"Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic.
But will they keep it ?
Or will they in their enjoyment of plenty,
lose the memory of freedom?
Material abundance without character is
the surest way to destruction.
Indeed. I tremble for my country when
I reflect that God is just."
- Thomas Jefferson,was an American Founding Father who was the
principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served
as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.
Born: April 13, 1743, Shadwell, Virginia, United States;
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello, Virginia, United States.
