Book · 1997
Rich Dad Poor Dad
by Robert T. Kiyosaki
A kid picks his best friend's father, who quit school in eighth grade, over his own PhD-holding dad as the one worth learning money from.
What does Reddit think of Rich Dad Poor Dad?
r/financialindependence doesn't hedge. The ↑723 comment calls it 'terrible,' an embarrassment for the subreddit that once voted it No. 1, and compares Kiyosaki's investing philosophy unfavorably to Monopoly. The ↑322 comment goes further, calling him a charlatan running on MLM money and fabricated case studies, though it concedes the pay-yourself-first idea underneath is sound. r/investing is only slightly gentler, crediting it at best as 'a stepping stone' (↑164) with nothing more to offer once you've read it. None of the eight top-upvoted excerpts here carry a sentiment score, so there's no dial to point to, just eight comments, seven of them dismissive. The recurring warning isn't really about the ideas, it's about the audience: the ↑138 comment specifically begs people not to hand this to an 18-year-old already marinating in hustle-culture content. r/Bogleheads mentions it 23 times, none of which made this sample. Whatever this book taught a generation about assets and liabilities, the subreddits tracking it here spend at least as much time relitigating whether Kiyosaki himself is a fraud.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Two dad-shaped philosophies of money, one framed as bad advice from the start
- · Assets vs. liabilities as the one concept everyone keeps, argument or not
- · Real estate advice that ages differently depending on which decade you read it in
- · A standing argument about whether the author is a fraud, separate from the book's ideas
Common praise
- + The ↑322 comment concedes the pay-yourself-first idea underneath the book is 'the only valuable concept,' even while trashing everything else.
- + r/investing's ↑164 comment calls it a decent entry point, a stepping stone into personal finance for someone with zero background.
- + It still gets named as the book that got someone thinking about assets versus liabilities in the first place, even by commenters who go on to dunk on it.
Common criticism
- − The ↑723 r/financialindependence comment calls it 'terrible' and compares the investing advice to a Monopoly strategy.
- − The ↑322 comment calls Kiyosaki a 'charlatan' and says the rich-dad anecdotes were made up.
- − The ↑138 comment specifically argues against giving this to an 18-year-old, citing the hustle-culture framing it reinforces.
Who it's for
Read this one only for the pay-yourself-first idea, then put it down; that's the concession even its harshest critics in these threads make. If you're already fluent in personal finance basics, r/investing's ↑164 comment is right that there's nothing more here for you. Handing it to a teenager is the specific thing the ↑138 comment argues against, not because the ideas are dangerous but because hustle-culture framing doesn't need reinforcement. r/financialindependence, the subreddit with by far the most mentions here, treats recommending it unprompted as something you'll get downvoted for. Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad the way you'd read a controversial ancestor: acknowledge the inheritance, skip the reunion.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Rich Dad Poor Dad?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Oh no, guys... I missed the thread yesterday and I'll probably get downvoted for this but *Rich Dad Poor Dad* is terrible. What an embarrassment for the sub that this was the No. 1 book. His advice is better for playing Monopoly than actually managing your financial life. As I recall there's almost …
“Rich Dad Poor Dad is garbage and so is Robert Kiyosaki. Literal charlatan who got rich off MLMs, "success" seminars, selling courses, completley made up the stories told in the book, etc. Look up his YouTube channel - he doesnt have a clue about finance. The only valuable concept in Rich Dad Poor D…
“It's like the advice in Rich Dad Poor Dad, invest in companies before they increase in value!
“I remember way back when rich dad poor dad was big, i read a guy who hated the author and wrote extended rebuttal to all of his get rich schemes. The one that really stuck with me was his bit on flipping houses. Contrary to what HGTV makes it look like, real estate is actually incredibly hard and …
“His "rich dad, poor dad" book is a really good stepping stone into personal finance and money management. But that's about it. There is nothing more you can or need to learn from this guy.
“"Rich Dad Poor Dad", really?
“Simple Path to Wealth or Quit Like a Millionaire would be better choices. Rich Dad Poor Dad might be a bit simplistic in regards to real estate, but it really is market-dependent. Some places (and in some times, like 2005-2008 say) it makes more sense to rent. When I purchased my mortgage+HOA+taxes…
“I know you will be inundated with similar comments but please do not give Rich Dad, Poor Dad to an 18 year old. They are already steeped in the social media "hustle culture" / "rise and grind" and all the BS, and Rich Dad Poor Dad would only further cement that kind of pompous, flashy, "one weird tr…
“**Rich Dad, Poor Dad** is awful. Ill save you the trouble of reading it, and give you the only valuable piece of info on it. **Learn the difference between assets and liabilities.** Thats it. The rest of the book is a probably fake story, empty platitudes, and self help bullshit. *Edit: I havent …
“Thank you for compiling this. While Rich Dad, Poor Dad was a good read, the lessons were not all that helpful for me and the author has shown himself to be something of a shyster. The Millionaire Next Door was probably the most influential book on my FIRE journey.
“I donate 25% of my income, before taxes. Several financial success books including Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Give and Take by Adam Grant say that the way to become wealthy is by giving away money. I've found it definitely changes my mindset. If I give away money, I am never despe…
“Rich dad poor dad was one of the first finance books I read, it was garbage. Seems like he was one of the first financial guru scammers and his YT videos still don't say much. The information he does give is so basic it didn't need a series of books, but it's obvious how he made his money.
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad is great for those who are more or less clueless about personal finance and are finally taking the steps to help themselves and pay attention to it.
“Rich Dad Poor Dad is a questionable source of financial wisdom. Some stuff is good; some not so much. I’d encourage you to read some of the criticisms, and decide what rings true for you. Your primary residence is an asset, but it is NOT an investment. I think that’s the key distinction to make …
“I think you are missing the point of the book. It's about providing various examples to illustrate the importance of becoming knowledhe about finance. His views on house ownership are done to break through the traditional thinking habits to show being educated is needed in order to have options. A…
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Readers also mention
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Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Rich Dad Poor Dad — frequently asked
Is Rich Dad, Poor Dad actually bad advice?+
According to r/financialindependence, yes, emphatically. The ↑723 top comment calls it 'terrible' and 'an embarrassment,' and the ↑322 comment goes further, calling Kiyosaki a charlatan whose anecdotes were largely invented. r/investing is milder but still unflattering, at best crediting the book as 'a stepping stone' (↑164) with nothing to offer past that. None of the top-upvoted comments in this dataset defend it outright.
Should I give Rich Dad, Poor Dad to a teenager?+
The ↑138 r/financialindependence comment argues no, specifically: don't give it to an 18-year-old already steeped in hustle-culture content, because the book will 'further cement' that mindset. That's a targeted warning about audience, not a blanket verdict on the ideas, but it's the most upvoted take on the age question in this dataset.
What's the one good idea in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, according to Reddit?+
Pay yourself first, per the ↑322 comment, which calls it 'the only valuable concept' in the entire book while dismissing the rest as fabricated MLM-adjacent storytelling. It's a backhanded endorsement: one idea salvaged, everything around it discarded.
Is Rich Dad, Poor Dad better than The Simple Path to Wealth?+
Not according to the ↑147 r/financialindependence comment, which names Simple Path to Wealth and Quit Like a Millionaire as the better choices, while allowing that Rich Dad, Poor Dad's real-estate take is merely 'a bit simplistic' rather than wrong. That's the most direct head-to-head comparison the top-upvoted data offers, and it doesn't go in Kiyosaki's favor.