Rich Dad Coaching / Rich Dad Experts review: False Advertising, Aggressive Marketing, Predatory Practices 75

I am presently attending the three day $500 seminar (in Canada), and was not surprised at the pitch they have been selling. About 50% of the information that they pass to us is based on having to get better educated about investing, etc. All good information. What they have been supplying in the course comes very fast, and is impossible to write down, and forget about remembering what has been said, it just comes too fast. I have to admit that I have learned much that I did not know, and the info is probably worth the $500.

I actually looked into the training manual supplied, although our instructor said NOT to as he would not be following the sequence of the manual too closely. What he really meant, I think, was if I followed the manual, I would discover that there is very little information in it that is useful! I am glad that I did manage to take 27 pages of notes in the first 2 days.

One thing that really rang alarm bells for me was the constant disclaimer that kept coming on the screen saying that they did not teach 'illegal or unethical practices' (or some similar language), but that it is important to discuss anything you do with a professional to make sure that you are following the law. Then they state that Real Estate agents, Lawyers and Accountants who are successful and have been in the business for years will tell you that what you may be trying to do is illegal. They tell you to think 'outside the box", something I have done my entire life and it has always benefited me. However, I can't see myself following many of their practices as to me, they just seem to close to unethical. I want to be able to sleep at night.

I will not be buying into the program as I don't have the slick salesman style to me, and this is something that you NEED to be able to succeed using these methods. I am sure that those that are highly confident, smooth and eloquent talkers (don't forget FAST) will do well and can make a fortune by following these methods. For the 99.9% of us that aren't, we won't be anywhere as successful. It's not as much an investor course as a selling course. You need to SELL yourself to whoever you are trying to purchase the property from, using Tigrent's methods, and if you aren't a slick salesman, I don't feel that these methods will work very well.

I may get into the business doing re-habs, but the other methods hit me as unethical and borderline illegal. Recent articles in the papers in Canada have mentioned that the government is concerned about the realestate investor business and is looking into these practices. Our instructor was asked about this yesterday. He stated that he hadn't heard anything about this and would check into it and let us know today what he found out. I'll be interested to see if this actually happens.

One thing that struck me during the course so far is that as we were ALL asked to turn off our cell phones, I found it interesting that his kept vibrating and he'd look at it. Then he'd come out with "My partner just got the three properties that we had been looking at" or some such comment. I am sure that this was more a demonstration as to how wonderful the training works than actual fact. It must have happened two or three times over the first two days.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are not the slick, pushy, extremely fast thinker, overly confident, don't let anything get in your way personality, then using these tactics and courses will get you nowhere. Although I would love to be able to implement them in my life, I am realistic. I'm not the type to be able to pull it off, but I did get a lot of interesting info from the course. At least I now know what (and who) to look out for, and what (who) not to.

A good friend of ours signed up for the $500 course and invited my partner to join him as his "free guest" this weekend. The first thing we wondered was why the Rich Dad and/or Tigrant organization just charge $250 per person. Our guess is that they probably wouldn't be able to get as many participants. By charging $500 per couple/pair however they've doubled their potential market.

Yes, "market". Tigrant now have a group of people to whom then can market and SELL their products to.

I was appalled to learn that most of Saturday afternoon (day 2) was a lengthy sales pitch encouraging the students to invest in their learning under the auspicious that their spouses and children will benefit somehow. How so when the full package is in the region of $90, 000 BUT, they made an exclusive and seemingly generous offer that, if you sign up this weekend, you can have it all for half price. Yes, that's right ! Only $45, 000 CDN.

Sorry, but wouldn't $45k be better spent as a deposit on buying a small property?

We worked out that, after a show of hands of those wanting to invest in their education to become rich, and if each of them followed through this morning and paid $45k each, Tigrant would walk away with approximate 3 million dollars! Not bad for a weekend's work. It's no wonder that the main lesson they teach is to always use other people's money when investing in property and, it's clear that the facilitators and the organization are doing exactly that. They could have 3 million bucks of other people's money to play with.

I'm fairly certain the $500 fees for the weekend has nicely covered the cost of the hotel room, the expenses and the flights for the 4 or 5 facilitators. From the comments I've read above, and after watching the on-line version of the CBC's Marketplace program aired on January 29, 2010, I'm amazed that people are still putting their hands in their pockets.

I would urge anyone who is considering buying the Rich Dad / Tigrant course, but is genuinely interested in property investment to first watch the above program. Secondly, they should visit the Real Estate Institute of Canada's website at http://www.reic.ca/en/education-schedule.cfm. The REIC publish a full course catalog and and an up-to-date list of legitimate 3 - 5 day courses which range in price from $430 to $1320. More importantly, completing a combination of these REIC courses and passing a final exam, leads to a nationally recognized accreditation in Real Estate.

It seems the only education one might take away from a Rich Dad / Tigrant seminar is that a fool and his money are easily parted!

cvb n

Even Robert Kiyosoki doesn't like Whitney information network/Tigrent
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/road_to_rich_dad/main.html
Busted!
Also see two class action suits pending against Tigrent and Whit ney
Suit complaint copies:
1. http://www.archive.org/details/3-07Musuit
2. http://www.archive.org/details/NorthPortSuit

I went through the same events as alot of people.The free seminar, followed by the 500 dollar 3-day. Then i got caught up in the moment. I did thus in the Feb 2009 and the economy was tumbling . I was really interested in learning Robert's secrets.So, like a dope I signed up with my mother, who is also looking to find a way to financial freedom.We took the 4-course with a mentor for the 26K. Went to a foreclosure class in March 09. Then could not schedule the next class because the one I wanted was not near New York City. Still had hope, but the economy, as we all know, is nothing like a year ago. All I wanted was to get the mentor program off my back and save 9K, since I am not going to use it and could use some relief. Tigrent Learning, where and when they came in I have no idea, Student resolution center was no help. Not only do you have to leave voicemails and wait for replies, but when you get the call they hold the 3-day cancellation policy over your head.But I only want a refund for services not rendered, mentors. You will then get an intern speaking to you like a child about how it's all about your education and there was a 3-day cancel policy.However, when I asked to only be reimbursed for the mentors i will not be able to use or afford, I was surprised to find out from Amanda Sachs that they are in the office everyday just waiting for dolts like me, so it does cost the company.The reality is we are all adults, but I have run a small constuction company for 15 years and service I prepaid for But will Not use, should be a non-issue.The most troubling though is the complete lack of actual concern to resolve anything legit, because all this amanda would go back to was the 3-day cancel policy-nah nah-nah nah. It was juvenile and frustrating. What happened to Lee escobars "real estate is about people, not money"

You know I disagree with everything written. Education is what you make of it. I have taken 9 of the trainings and am extremely successfull at the strategies mentioned in the 3 day training. You have to work the business like anything. You can't go to school to become a doctor and expect a large practice unless you have worked at maintaining your clients' confidence. It is the same thing! Get off left side thinking and learn the the biz to work for you.

I think everyone else has summed this up but you are constantly blaming others for your situation, I dont see you financially free. I took the course and am now almost approaching my first million.
I think if you stopped having such a negative attitude and stopped trying to find fault in everything it would be to your benefit.
I would also suggest you read some books about mindset, and then reconsider your situation and actions. I hope you achieve the best that life can offer you, but the first step is being open to opportunities and not finding the dark cloud on every silver lining!

Education is essential for preparation in any field:business professional, medical, trades, etc. Networking is essential to building a successful business, including real estate investing. So overall, WIA can provide the two elements here. Without any RE investment education and/or a like-minded network of folks, the "system" can be quite difficult to navigate successfully, especially if you are not a hands-on type.

I have been investing in multi-family (3 and 4 units) since 1986 and had come to the conclusion two years ago that I needed to find new strategies to diversify and build faster passive income flow via creative financing, private money, etc. My wife and I purchased a 4 class package from WIA and, like many posts here, find that the classes leave the student wondering, "Yeah, but HOW DO I DO THIS?". Also, I agree that the cost for these classes are high, but then again so are college credits (I teach post-secondary).

Therefore, we feel that the overall WIA system closely simulates most 4-year post-secondary educations: lots of cash outlay for mediocre information that, usually, has little to do with real world practices ( remember, I teach post-secondary). In the end, you motivate yourself to succeed so you can pay back your student loans. This, also, seems to be the case with WIA.

On the other hand, there is a tremendous opportunity to network with a variety of RE investors. In doing so, my wife and I have greatly improved our portfolio through much needed contacts with private lenders, project and property managers, and other "team members" . Therefore, attending the WIA classes has produced a wealth of "usable" information.

In conclusion, if you are a "go it alone" type who believes RE investing can be hacked through on the cheap, well then the WIA is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you are sick and tired of cashing out your savings account to buy dinky little investments (a revolving door system where it takes DECADES to get anywhere . . .I know), then educate yourself by any means possible, and learn to network with others.

NOTE: Although REIAs are a great place to network, beware of predators. We have joined a few REIAs and found that it is a mix of: 50% know-nothing novices, 40% "services" (mostly big-talkers offering promises never realized), 10% networkable folks worthy of your attention.

Good luck, and have fun!

If you were unhappy with Russ Whitney, Wealth Inteligence Academy, Tigrent learning, or Robert Kiosaki's services and feel that you were deceived I like I was, please contact me at russwhitneyscam@yahoo.com. They used every tactic possible to convince me to purchase their product. They are not very upfront and honest. That's a huge problem. Furthermore, their 3 day cancellation policy is a joke. So, please contact me. I can help.

I don't know about his experience but I took the WIA stock classes and even though they were expensive I learned a bunch about something I was pretty ignorant about. I was able to earn back my class investment in about six months of option trading and have been matching my regular work income every year since. I haven't quit work because I enjoy my profession. I expect to continue trading the rest of my life and feel I learned something really valuable.

FYI - If you DO sign up for their "Advanced training" courses, they're NOT worth it. You can get good real estate education often at your local REIA or from various other CHEAPER sources through the internet. Be careful of "gurus" anyway.

I'm just another victim with nothing new to say except to validate all of the above. Tigrent as a company is truly ridiculous. Unethical, improper and misleading sales practices. You can't talk to anyone about your issues, you send a letter and they write back 2 weeks later and don't answer your questions. I wonder if any American News Shows have researched this compan...60 minutes, etc.

My wife and I recently attended the 3 day Learn to be Rich Training in Hasbrouck Heights NJ.

At first we were very impressed by the presentation and the examples or making money in real estate. We were actually excited to move forward and almost got hooked.

First of all we are not so naive to think that we could learn everything about real estate investing in 3 days. We know that it would take a lot of hard work, dedication and instruction. However, we were expecting to come out of 3 ten hour days with enough substantial information to get our feet wet.

Our trainer (salesman) is extremely good at what he does. He tells you stories of his family and how he and others were saved by real estate investing. As a matter of fact it struck us as kind of odd how much time he spent on these stories, sometime 45 minutes to and hour. It's nice you love your mom but after all I'm here to learn about real estate.

And that is where our disappointment, anger and scam factor comes in. The only things we learned is what you could possibly make with real estate (very extreme scenarios in our opinion) and that it would cost upwards of $45 thousand dollars in additional training to achieve that goal.

We actually decided not to go to the third day after realizing that we would not get anything else out of our time investment. My wife had a gut feeling and we started investigating the company and the training a little further which brought us to this forum.

As we looked back there are some key points which help to solidify our decision:

1. We were discouraged from making contacts. Hell, isn't that a good business practice?
2. We were discouraged from listening to the voice inside my head. That voice saved my [censor] plenty of times.
3. We were discouraged from looking up the training on the internet. Obviously.
4. We were told we could not ask questions during class. That's what class is, being taught something and asking questions to insure you have processed the information correctly. Oh sorry, there was no information.
5. The only way to get the training at the special price was to pay in full even if you had to beg and borrow. After all, you will make it back in two months.
6. The realization that the whole credit limit exercise was to accommodate point number 5 above.
7. When asked if all the training would be readily available in our area we did not get a direct answer. We have come to learn of many complaints of people having to incur additional travel expenses to attend training. I know there is the online option but I'm a face to face learner.
8. There's more but this is what really hit home to me. The trainer told us that for everyone who signed up for advanced training, out of the goodness of his heart, he would provide us with a packet of information on how to actually start investing in real estate so we could get our feet wet before advanced training started... WAIT A FREAKIN' MINUTE! ISN'T THAT WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LEARNING IN THIS CLASS? ISN'T THAT WHAT I WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT I WOULD GET OUT OF MY $200 AND 3 DAY INVESTMENT? HOW DARE YOU TELL ME THAT YOU WOULD MAKE GOOD ON THAT PROMISE ONLY IF I PONY UP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

It's very possible that the advanced training is everything they say it is but in my opinion this company did not show good faith. They led everyone to believe that we would learn something substantial and usable. Instead we were sold a bill of goods. Had they delivered and I was able to put some good, solid fundamentals into practice I would have certainly considered investing in more of their training. However, we got none of that.

Like I said before, I realize that it will take a lot of education to understand real estate investment. That point is very sound advice.

My wife and I will get more education, we will find a mentor, we will do our best to be successful in real estate investing...

Just not with Rich Dad.

As was noted in Rich Dad Poor Dad, real estate used to be easy - but now that too many people had found a slice, and it was time to move onto something else (and this was years ago!)

Oh yeah, and that the next Big Opportunities would be found in selling Information. Looks like he proved that right.

This all sounds like scientology.

Kiyosaki is not the trainer and you will not see him at the advanced trainings. The problem is the way the trainings are sold with no way of canceling. I canceled and they still tried to take the money out of the bank account, that's fraud, so i had already put a stop on the check so they couldn't take it, which they tried, and I felt like I couldn't trust them, and I couldn't get the rest of the money to pay the 24, 000 the training costed, so that's why I stopped the check and I was right. If I can't trust them then neither can you or anybody else. Why say I can cancel and then still try to take the money. Do not use credit cards to pay, use a check and that way if you can't get the rest of the money to pay for the course then cancel, it's your right. Read the fine print, the contract says you must have the cancellation form in writing in their hands, 3 days after signing in order to cancel. To cancel by fax use phone number
[protected], to cancel real estate software data subscription by equimine which is the company you are subscribing to, the fax number there is [protected] include first and last name and customer ID# which they never told me what it was, to call equimine [protected] to speak to tech support about your account.Equimine main number is [protected]. You have 10 days after signing contract to cancel subscription. To cancel subscription after that just fax them 3 days before you are charged again. None of this information is given to you when you go and sign a contract with Tigrent learning, or wealth academy, or whatever company name they are using year to year. Roving company names are a negative sign something fishy is going on. They try to tell you to use bird dogging which is illegal unless you have a brokers license. They try to tell you to set up an s corp, then surround that with another corp, then surround that with a corp in nevada with the benefactor being a "see last page", and on that last page of the corporation filing papers is a smily face, illegal and very dangerous to your freedom, you will have the feds looking for you all over the world when they find your name in a real estate transaction.Then link you from there through whoever notarized the documents when you filed to form the corporation.This is part of what Tigrent learning 3 day workshop teaches you.Anybody here defending them are just thinking they know so much because they attended a couple of classes is fooling themselves because theres not so much movement of houses and anybody they try to do a deal with, with a "and, or assigns" contract is illegal because when they sign the contract there is a due on sale clause on the original mortgage application and they need to do a double close and that gets complicated as hell and you need a transaction funder to fund the first sale to give money to seller of house and then do the second closing separate with buyer and keep the difference. Try it in a state hit hard with hosuing woes and see where it gets you when the lender won't lend based on a contract with "and or assigns" on it.To get around that you need to pay for them to mentor you at to high a price when there are other cheaper sources of information.Kiyosaki will not be the mentor, one of his "students" will be, no license and illegal broker activity committing "student" for exhorbitant price is ridiculous.Get real and get serious about protecting whatever money you have saved and buy other cheaper same information having courses.Deeptive business practices and illegal activity teaching is what you're in for when dealing with rich dad training.Are you ready to get in a big hole then hope to score a big deal while broke and then maybe having to need a lawyer to defend yourself in court. I think not.Do the three day class and call it a day.I paid 199 for the 3 day and canceled the advanced training before the 3 days were up and they still tried to take 3, 000 from my bank account, but I put a stop on the check so they didn't get a dime.The bank ntified me that they tried to cash the check days after the 3 day period was up even though i canceled after 2 days. If kiyosaki approves of this then he sucks and not worth anything because a scoundrel will always be a scoundrel and if you can't live by your word then what good are you. Here I will upload the contract they present to the workshop students. I scanned it light to appear blank.no one shows ID at the workshops so you really don't know who they are. Also no mention of equimine in contract. Also workshop will be starting on a friday so if you sign up for training on fri then sunday is the last day to cancel, kinda bad because the main office will be closed and won't get your cancellation notice and you're on the hook for all the money.Also the prices are whatever the reps put on the contract, there's no prices in the catalog so they can make up whatever price they want for the advanced trainings.Beware. N wonder kiyosaki is always smiling, he has you by the balls.

Wow...So far I have heard of attendees of the 3 Day Seminar and how they are disappointed and some walking away satisfied. But, I have yet to hear of anyone who signed up for the advance classes, paid the thousands of dollars and have profitted from thier gained knowledge? Are their people out their that can atest for thier success due to the positives of this Program or Robert Kiyosaki's Education?

PLEASE SHARE. Any Successes? Any profiteer's?

i have to say i wonder why people do not check for information like this on the internet. i used to be exactly the same until i went for the workshop. i have to tell you though, i have been reading robert kiyosaki books for close to 10yrs now and i jumped in as soon as i heard about the workshop without researching thinking this is my idol, i have been waiting for this all my life! i should mention that i was lucky enough to slpit the $500 cost with a friend but unlucky enough to fall for the SCAM in the first place!it was just before the recession hit and i was really strapped for cash when the seminar came to my town. i attended the seminar twice and it seemed to me staged (bet it was). when finally asked to attend the workshop, they offer to teach you how to make money in real esatate for the cheap amount of $500. seems to good to be true? it sure is. when you attend they tell you to fill out on a form how much you earn and what your financial situation is so thay can keep trying to get money out of you by asking you to attend the wealth academy for about $32, 000 (not sure exactly how much anymore sorry). during the workshop they will also see if you can extend your credit to about $30, 000 so they can see if you can afford to attend the academy. the lessons itself, you can always learn that yourself from getting books at the library!
please, please, people, we all need to reseach whatever it is online before we do anything. we have the internet in this dayand age thank God so lets use it! this was a true learning experience for me. i hope we can inform all other friends about this by word of mouth.

Just as frustrated parents want to buy a solution to their kid's behavior problems with pharmaceuticals for ADD or ADHD this person was looking for a solution to purchase that would solve all of their financial problems. They forgot their BEHAVIOR was the key variable. They have missed the point. Some people just need someone to tell them what to do and when to do it. Folks like that will always work for someone else. Rich Dad Education is very good at marketing and selling their product. If you could just buy financial independence then I would sell it too. I like the odds of that product being a hit. If you risk nothing you gain nothing. You obviously risked more that you could afford to loose and want to blame the person that gave you a model to do something you wanted to do anyway. Shame on you for slandering their product just because you weren't successful. Your free will entered the transaction without thinking about how it could turn out wrong and making safeguards to protect yourself. I have had a very good experience with this education product line. There were no guarantees that I would be successful using the methods they taught, but I have grown and learned a lot by practice. I have gained and lost but net gain is positive because they taught me not to enter a trade if I couldn't afford the loss and the risk tolerance was uncomfortable. People like you get regulatory agencies involved and trample on my freedom to use these products. Someone in Washington in order to protect miscalculating risk it all to get rich quick you is going to prevent me and my cohort who can use this education successfully from being able to purchase from this company. I didn't learn to play guitar the first time I picked it up. It took years of learning. This person couldn't stand that the first time they sat a piano their fingers didn't flawlessly play Beethoven even though a stranger showed them a piano and a recording of Ode to Joy and said, "you have the potential to sound like that, too." Are there any adults anymore?

First they advertise themselves to us as Rich Dad Poor Dad, then they move us to Wealth Intelligence Academy, and now they shove us to Tigrent Learning without even sending us an e-mail to advise us of these changes in the contract agreement. Rich Dad is the cruel bait to us poor people who's only fault is the eagerness to learn, to work hard, and earn a decent living. False advertising it is very true- we attended in San Francisco and signed on for classes because they assured us that they have several classes in the area and we have two years to attend them. We found out later that almost all classes require us to fly to Los Angeles everytime- Rich Dad deliberately shrewdly never gave us their class schedules, dates, and places before we signed up. WE NEED TO FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THESE RUTHLESS CROOKS!

Well said! Wish I could turn back the clock and save over 35K--now paying off credit cards instead of saving for kids college...what a fool I was. They are verrrry smooth. Never even thought to check them out on the internet. I see I'm far from the only one out there. We need to find a way to stop these people. Glad I'm not alone in my suffering, but sorry I'm not the only one---what a mess.

Real estate success software?

Reading Rich dad Poor dad, I understood I was already on the right path because of a 2b/1b purchase I do not pay for (tenant is paying). So my girlfriend and I went to the free seminar which was nothing more than a one day sales pitch for a three day intensive Real Estate Investing seminar, which in turn also was an intensive sales pitch for several bundles of Advanced Training Courses ranging from $10, 000 to $70, 000. Along with each bundle comes a mentor and computer software that looks, smell, and tastes like gold. To keep it interesting the mentor/salesman throws at us a few golden nuggets full of great applicable real estate wisdom. And I did learn to open my mind to more creative ways of making money.
I learned quite a lot those three days, though it was pretty much repeating all the info in the "guide to real estate investing" book that was given to us at when we paid for the tree day seminar. I learned because every time something is repeated, it gets engraved in our brains a little deeper.

I told one of the helpers I can make well over $100k a month doing this, so there is no rush in buying any advanced classes that weekend, I don't mind paying almost double the price...it's only one more pre-foreclosure deal I have to do right? They thought I was crazy! Needless to say I did not sign up for any further courses.

As I write, rich dad education calls me to ask for feed back on those three days and ask if I was ready to be helped! How funny they call right when I'm writing about them...! Anyway Does any one have feed back on the wonderful software they offer?

I can't believe some people are spending $1, 000's to $24, 000+ on going to "how to" seminars when pretty much all of this info is on the web for free, in books, etc. No one has the "secret" to anything. Everything that is out there or "how to" has been done before. For $24K, you could have paid cash for a Prius, put $2, 000+ in a Roth IRA for each spouse and help fund a child's education. You could get a financial advisor for life that will cost a lot less than $24K. After attending 100's of seminars over 20+ years, I known the high pressure tactics and buy now special offers they put on people. Before departing with large sums of your hard earned money, get a second opinion from someone NOT attending the seminar, or bring a disinterested person (independent advisor, CPA, or attorney) to the program.

I have just had a very negative experience with the stock investing courses. If their is a law suit, I would like to take part.

Welcome to the CLUB...We are all in the same boat. I too spent appx. $25K for the course, and my mentor training was disastrous, after paying for a Maryland hotel and
transportation, the hotel did not have any space for us to work (a room, or basic tools to utilize); the computer malfunctioned, but what I cannot understand is why we must provide driving service for the mentor, I don't event have a drivers license, because they indicate "liability" as the reason. My session did not go well for me, and I had hoped to at least get to do one deal, even just going through the motions, including the paper work and assignment process with another investor (leveraging) w/o actually closing. That would have taken the sting of emotional fear, if that were the case. I still have $17K to payoff, but I do not have a job. Social Security Benefits does not cover fixed mortgage, maintenance and other fixed utilities, phone, computer & cell bills. I have joined groups that should help give you information in connecting to buyers, but I am confronted with more money request to buy the "secret" they have to offer us. By the way, how is your software working? I have no funds to pay for it monthly, but I understand other investors are reporting that it does not work efficiently (updated information needed). I just have to chalk it up to what someone else said, it's like paying for college tuition, then you are on your own to make it work. I get more from the internet search, some webinars and to avoid the $2, 000 -$3, 000 coaches who contact me with guarantees. I thought $25K was enough, and until I get to close a deal and money coming in, where I can purchase more tools, I will continue utilizing the groups I have paid to network with and get minimal coaching. Don't give up on your dream; just find another way to move on...

I DO A GREE WITH THIS POSTING: "Posted: 2009-01-12 by mauiflygirl "

rICH/POOR DAD IS A SCAM AT ITS BEST. THE ONES CLAIMING THAT IT IS NOT, THEY ARE NOTHING BUT GHOST WRITERS FOR THE COMPANY IT'SELF. IN SUCH TROUBLED TIMES, ANYONE PROMISED SOME CHEAP CASH CAN WRITE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS COMPANY. THE BOTTOM LINE, IS THEY ARE A SCAM:... THE ONLY LEGITIMATE THING ASSOCIATED WITH THIS COMPANY IS THE BOOK THAT KIYOSAKE WROTE. AND ALL LEGITIMACY ENDED RIGHT THERE.

HE THEN FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THE LEGIT FUNDS TO CREATE AN EMPIRE OF SCAM ASSOCIATES BY EXPLOITING LEGAL WEAKNESSES THE SYSTEM(S), HOPING THAT THEY WILL CONTINUOUSLY ENJOY LEGITIMACY "BY ASSOCIATION". MISTAKINGLY ASSOCIATING THE LEGITIMATE BOOK WORK, TO THE BARADE OF SCAM REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS. THE COROLLARY OF THI IS " HAVING ILLEGITIMATE BUSINESS THEN RE-INVESTING INTO LEGITIMATE BUSINESS LIKE ORGANIZED CRIMINALS DO!

I AM ACTUALLY SURPRISED THAT THE THEIR ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONS STILL OPERATE IN COUNTRIES LIKE CANADA, EVEN AFTER THE CTV/CBC BUSTED KIYOSAKE. HOWEVER, WITH THE HARPER GOVERNMENT, I DO NOT SEE THEM SURVIVING IN CANADA FOR THE NEXT 10 MONTHS, I WILL BE SURPRISED. THEY ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE BANNED.

AS PART OF THERE SCAM, THEY ALSO COLLECT THE FIRST HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS THAT THEY MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR A REFUND BEFORE YOU BUST THEM ON THEIR SECOND SESSION WHERE THEY ARE ALL OUT TO SCAM PEOPLE OF 10S OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, IT IS TIME TO COORDINATE OUR EFFORTS BEFORE THEY SCAM NEW PEOPLE...YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT!

this company is outrageous! i dont understand why they can still operate & none of our agencies have a way to stop them! This is insane!

I went to a free session just last Friday, June 5, 2011. They advertised on the radio and during the session talking about how, in the next 1.5 hours, you would learn lots and lots about how to manage and make more money, alluding to such things as starting a business and investing. However, 2.5 hours later, I felt overly pressured to buy the advanced class they were selling at a discounted rate of $199 (regular $995), which included 3 full days of education. I actually did purchase it, after clarifying that I did not learn much of anything this session and asking if I would feel the same after the advanced class. Of course, they said no. Then, I clarified: the speaker seemed to advertise many ways of enhancing wealth, but then everything seemed to hone in specifically on real estate. Was the class going to be only about real estate? Yes, but they claimed the skills were transferable to starting any business. Pretty broad claim, but considering for $199 I would get about 28 hours of learning (including lunch breaks, for which, despite all the company wealth, you must bring your own food... and pay for parking), I thought it was a good deal--especially since I could bring a friend and also get us both lifetime access to some online resource center.

Then I got home and buyer's remorse set in. I sat down and scoured the internet for reviews, coming across both good and bad. Here's my general take: If you know very little about real estate investing and are not likely to go to your neighborhood library to get a book to read on it on your own free time and if you do not have the time to try out a class on real estate at your local community college, the class is likely something that will give you a boost in knowledge you can use. Granted, many people across the nation are in debt and don't know a thing about how to improve their credit scores or do their taxes efficiently. You may improve these skills through this class, according to what I have read. But, if you're like me and are a bit skeptical of any product at the end of a hard-sell session without and satisfaction guarantees, you may want to read reviews across the board. Further, I am the type of person who is likely to read a book on a given subject to improve my knowledge, or better yet, take a full-length class on real estate (perhaps even based on Rich Dad ideologies) for about the same cost at a community college. So, I sent in my cancellation notice, which may open up another box of worms...

Upon signing up, they have you sign your life away, giving you three business days to cancel. But, you get the exact terms only after having signed up, which is sketchy, but still, in my litigious nature, I assumed I was still in good hands. I got home and read the terms, however, and wondered whether or not I would get my money back. Specifically, the terms state that you must mail or deliver the cancellation notice to the company (in Utah) but midnight three business days later. It does not say "postmarked by" three days later. It says "received" by then. Now, unless you're ready to shell out extra cash for expedited shipping, this is difficult to achieve depending upon where you live. Either way, I took my chances and sent my cancellation certified on Monday, hoping it will be received by Wednesday at midnight. I backed up my cancellation by emailing the company as well, although of course that does not qualify under the "mailed or delivered" provision. I also tried to attach a copy of my cancellation notice, but that bounced back as undeliverable. Further, I tried to fax a copy to the number I found on the Utah Better Business Bureau website [protected]), but that never went through; the number was incessantly busy. All in all, the cancellation process in and of itself made me quite skeptical of the company. Granted, you may learn a bit from the class and find the methods to promise a good return on investment, which makes your $199 good money spent if you have it. But, question the honesty of the company itself before you believe just using your local library in combination with a good dose of ambition can't do just the same.

Please note all the weird signs in my above comment are either commas or quotation marks. Not sure what happened there...

Or apostrophes... and clearly I need a little rest! :)

all of you that were scammed, start a class action lawsuit.. see how quickly you'll bring the giant down.
No one can do it on their own, but with the voices of thousands that have been duped, you will make them buckle and break.

Per above, I did end up getting my money back. I guess they got my cancellation in time via mail (as email and fax would not go through even after scouring the internet for this contact info) and they refunded me rather quickly. Granted, I'm sure they screw with many other people. So, buyer beware. I don't know if it's a lawsuit to be sketchy; they are following the policies that are clearly written in their materials. However, those policies are difficult for any reasonable person to abide by, so maybe Utah law (or federal) must change to say such a stringent cancellation policy can't exist.

I will share my experience here, in hopes that it will help others make an informed decision.

I first heard of the Rich Dad mark/brand from a trusted friend who is now a financial advisor. We were both in college during this time, and my friend said no more than "I've read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and it's a good book." Because I enjoy reading new things and finding new ideas, I read the book. It sounded great, but I also did not read the book as nonfiction, or I should say, when I was done, I didn't have the impression in my mind that it was a nonfiction book.

Some months later, I can't recall how exactly, I saw an ad (I think on the internet, probably just as Facebook ads were starting to gain traction) for a FREE! Rich Dad seminar NEAR YOU! I clicked through and read all the fine print, and yes, it really was free. I committed to attend, and it took place in a rental hall of a local Holiday Inn.

Arriving, my immediate perceptions, or "spider sense" if you will, were that something was off. Most of the people filing in (about 40 I'd say) were dressed casually or less-than-casual (think People of Walmart). I actually wore long pants and a button-down shirt in an attempt to not look like I crawled out of a box. There were about 3 "official" men there, all in 3-piece suits that were WAY over the top. Armani et. al. with pocketwatches, waistcoats, you name it. Diamonds and gold lame everywhere. As I wrote my name on the attendance roster, this (pardon me) Italian mobster-looking guy gazed down at my signature and goes "Lovely, strong handwriting" or something like that. I'm sure he was trying to endear himself but it just creeped me out. Moving on:

Inside the actual room where the presentation was to take place were two folding tables butted up together covered in RDPD materials. Two columns of chairs were arranged, and I sat towards the back. The presenter began (a younger guy himself), and ran us through a bunch of slides to show us how "normal" he "used to be" before he "became free." Then he started showing us all the properties he supposedly had flipped, with pics of and (again, supposed) family members in ratty t-shirts "putting in the work." Finally he showed some pictures of rehabbed homes with "SOLD" signs in the yards, and then him next to a sports car.

After this initial ra-ra speech, he said something like "I know you're all going to be sitting here wondering 'What is he selling?' throughout the presentation. Since I don't want you concentrating on that, and actually want you to benefit from the presentation, I'll just tell you know. We're offering our 3-day training for $795 (or however much - many on here have put 495 and 595)."

Wow! What an honest guy/team. No high-pressure. Just gonna lay it out there right now! And $795?! Who has that kind of money? Glad he told us upfront.

Just wait for it. The presenter proceeded to go over a few easily googleable/wikipedia-able real estate investing terms and went through a quick "memory" game to make people really feel like they were learning. Then, the shocker! "If you had fun learning that, you'll learn about 20 times as much in our 3-day course. It's normally $795, but tonight only we're going to give it away for $495." Typical used-car salesman trick, and I wasn't buying. He then admonished us, "If at ANY point during this presentation you know this training is something you need, feel free to walk back to our representative/Italian mobster in the back."

A few more terms and anecdotes, then a revisitation "You'll also get ALL our basic materials [a bunch of rich dad books, a workbook, and a DVD] for FREE. In stores this would cost over $250." More hard selling and false value added then "real" value removed if you didn't buy.

A few more stories, then "If you buy and pay TONIGHT, you will get to bring ANY guest! Sell the extra spot on eBay to recoup your own cost. Split it with a friend. How can you go wrong folks?"

And now to come to the grand finale. By the time this guy was done, I was THE. ONLY. PERSON. who has not walked back to that table and plopped down a cool $500. Furthermore, the presenter had apparently done some time in Brazil and had learned to speak some Portuguese. I thought I might go ask him about his experiences but no, I got nothing but a stonewall since I hadn't bought into his mind-control. The respect I had been treated with when I arrived was long gone. I left with my "free gift" (a DVD) and sold it on eBay for an extra $10. So hey, for me it did create some wealth!

My account above was factual; now for my own opinions/interpretations: Any enterprise that promises returns greater than the stock market can achieve in less time (by an order of magnitude) is a scam. There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Anyone who only treats people with respect and dignity while they're selling to them isn't worth doing business with. Any company that doesn't offer a guarantee needs a closer look. Personally I will no longer have anything to do with this mark of this brand. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey and reading other independent columns and books, and I'm doing considerably better than if I'd taken the advice to borrow money at 25% to invest in a market that changes overnight. The end.

My experience with Kiyosaki's sales reps has really turned me off from the whole rich dad teaching... My wife and I went for the free workshop they had locally after reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad". We were excited to learn more about real estate, but ended up being sorely disappointed after realizing the whole "workshop" is designed more to get you signed up for their training seminars. Kiyosaki's sales dog's only cared enough about everyone's "financial education" to the point that if you didn't purchase their $199 training in Jan, you weren't worth being treated with any respect or class typical of a more professional crowd. The sales pitch I was given after attempting to leave without purchasing was about as volatile as a door-to-door salesmen - guilt tactics involving my wife, (trying to make me the bad guy because I didn't purchase the program), dividing the cost of the training by the total amount of day's until the seminar to give a cool .27 cent per day offer, the whole sha-bang. In my opinion, read Kiyosaki's books, but don't go to the workshops unless you like being swindled by a jerky sales reps who gets paid commission off how many people he gets signed up for their "3 day training session" & if you like being treated like a second class citizen in the event that you don't get manipulated/forced into purchasing. Sorry Robert, get a better sales team.

I spent a little over $16k with the WIA and paid for it with my 1st deal! People often ask me how I buy so many houses and I tell them that I invested in the right knowledge. It paid off for me, I just had to do it!

Kiyosaki has always been just a sales guy, who is a motivator and not, as he likes to portray as, a teacher.

His mantra "to know more about money, you need to be financially educated" is the equivalent of me saying, "to be a doctor, you need to get a medical degree and study medicine"!

That does not mean I am teaching people how to be doctors!

He is snake oil salesman, that has deluded a lot of people, including myself initially, into thinking he is telling you HOW to get rich, rather than simply saying these are the things you need to do but not telling you how to do them.

If the people going to his seminars or reading his books need either, to tell them that they do not get rich working for others, or that companies can minimise their tax payments more than individuals or that investing in property is a good way to get income from tenants or that running your own company is a good way to get rich or even that $50000 for a few days course is good value, than the people who say he has taught them a lot, and spent a ridiculous sum on "advanced" courses must have been totally ###ed dumb idiots prior to going in!

The sad thing is that their pride does not allow them to admit they have been conned.
I accept that I fell into the trap of thinking this guy must have secret, but his skill is alluding to the fact that he will tell you it soon.

I read 4 of Kiyosakis books, thinking there must be more substance in the next one. There never was. Just the same obvious simple common knowledge that any 21 year old would know.

At least I can see that I wasted my money on the books and watching a number of free seminars on the Rich Dad iphone app, has just confirmed what I thought.

I almost admire Kiyosaki for having being able to brainwash people into thinking he was telling them something they did not already know.

ie. Have any of you noticed that he keeps saying the words "does that make sense to you guys?" evry minute, after the most basic sentence!

When people keep saying yes, it convinces them into thinking that they have just been taught something, when in fact, they have just understood a very basic and obvious statement that was what they knew anyhow.

He is a sales and marketing guru, but certainly not a financial one.
I have nothing against the guy, but I have woken up to the fact that he does not have any great "secrets" but just tells you what to do to get rich, but NOT how to do it.

At least I woke up and have not fallen for the bigger scam and spent thousands on a three day course. Think of the amount of hours private tuition you could get for $50000 from a real estate specialist, you could research in depth before hiring.

It is great illusion he has got away with for 15 years, but anyone vaguely interested in their own finances or basic day to day money, must surely know everything he talks about in his books just from having lived to adulthood!

Enough is enough and it is time his "teachings"were exposed for what they are, a confidence trick!