Rich Dad Poor Dad

“I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one.”

Kiyosaki’s opening line in the Introduction sets the stage for the book’s central idea: contrasting the financial philosophies of his two “dads” and the valuable lessons he learned from both. Kiyosaki’s rich dad was wealthy, but his biological father did not actually experience poverty. His use of “poor” to describe his own father instead sets up the contrast between the two figures that extends through the rest of the book.

“Most of us learn about money from our parents. So what can poor parents tell their child about money?”

Kiyosaki highlights the crucial role of parental influence in shaping a person’s financial education. While it appears that he is questioning the effectiveness of learning about money from parents who may not have financial success, he indicates later that one can indeed learn what not to do from “poor” parents. Thematically, this connects to The Importance of Learning and Mentorship.

“At the age of nine, I decided to listen to and learn from my rich dad about money. In doing so, I chose not to listen to my poor dad, even though he was the one with all the college degrees.”

Kiyosaki’s early decision to prioritize the financial teachings of his rich dad over the formal education of his own father represents his belief in valuing practical financial education over traditional academic credentials. This sets up the theme of The Power of Financial Education that Kiyosaki will emphasize throughout the book and that the author believes often comes from outside formal avenues of learning.