Why We Want You To Be Rich by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump book review

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki two of the best selling business authors, their advice is priceless and they certainly know what they are talking about. Robert Kiiyosaki is a millionnaire, Donald Trump is a billionnaire, however their thinking about the worlds economy and personal goals and finance are the same. They are both teachers, and therefore want to teach us, everyones abilities are different, however, everyone has the ability to do something, and what this book motivates is for people to make the most of what they have, develop it, and be smart about how they approach things.


This book had less of an impact on me as "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", but what it has done is motivated me more. This book in my opinion is a Robert Kiyosaki book, with commentary from Donald Trump the views he shares with him. In fact, that is how the book is structured, Robert Kiyosaki says his view first, and Donald Trump expands. However, it is still interesting the similiarities and differences in the views.

Some of the points in the book that made me think more:
What kind of investor are you? - Are you someone that doesn't invest at all, a passive investor (safe investor), or aggressive investor. The aggresive investor is the investor that plays to win and will do the work to achieve it.

Have fun making money - You may think to yourself, of course people will have fun making money, who wouldn't? Well, in the real world the majority of people are not having fun. If you enjoy your job you may say you're having fun making money, your wrong, you are making money for somebody else and they are paying you. The risky investor in the stock market is also not having fun, he is waiting to sell as soon as the share price drops, how many times in the news have you seen a "rich" stock broker suicide? Robert and Donald see making money as a game, they see money as a game, they enjoy it and want to get good at it. The fear of losing is what destroys someones spirit in this game. How do you erase the fear? You take control of it, look at what your scared of and understand it, then you will be in control of yourself.

Leverage - One interesting point I heard from the book is how rich people use leverage. The definition of leverage in the book is:

"the ability to do more, with less"

Robert Kiyosaki also warns that you should not use leverage unless you have the financial education or ability to use it. Robert explains the term "work hard", when people hear this they immediately think about themselves working hard, but Donald and Robert also think of other people working hard for them, this is leverage.

Borrowing money - Rich people that are financially smart borrow money to get richer, unlike the majority of people that have gotten poorer. Donald and Robert use debt as leverage, and can do so because they are smart enough. Don't get me wrong don't be negative and think you are not smart enough, you need to work hard to be smart enough, and anyone can achieve it.

Time - Make the most of your time. How many people take time to lookat their life, investments and financial situation and seriously think about improving it, furthermore, how many people actually take action and do what they are thinking. Robert explains that you can watch a movie every night or play computer games, but how is this developing yourself. Yes, you can get enjoyment and relaxation from these activities but there should be a limit. These activities would only improve your financial situation if you are for example, a film critic, actor or in the business. People need to stop wasting so much time with short term enjoyment and look to improve their future, once you've built your future you can enjoy these things much more.

Why We Want you to be Rich, in my opinion is not a revolutionary or life changing book like Rich Dad Poor Dad, or some of Donald Trump other books. I recommend this book to people who have already read other books by Robert and Donald, this book will restructure and remind yourself of what you need to do and how to organise yourself, motivation is a difficult thing to follow up with as it can wither and fade so easiliy.

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham Book Review

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham is another best seller that has held true over the years that it has been out in print. The stock market changes constantly and there are up and downs, huge bear and bull runs, and disasters, stock market crashes and recessions around the corner. No one can fully predict the stock market, not even the brokers and the experts, but what people can do is minimize their risks. A huge amount of people lose money from the stock market, whether they are experts or not. The version I read was the most current edition with edits from Benjamin Graham himself highlighting some key factors which he thought wasn't emphasized enough in the previous editions and further examples of more current (at the time of editing) stock changes to show that what he said in the 1950's was still true. The version I read also had commentary after every chapter by Jason Zweig a student/employee/friend of Benjamin Graham. The commentary helped me a lot to digest what Graham was trying to say after every chapter.



The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham Book review - Conclusion
How can a book about an ever changing and unpredictable thing such as the stock market be relevant over 50 years after its first publication? The answer is that things don't really change, things aren't as unpredictable as you think they are. Compared to most theories and strategies about the stock market, Benjamin Graham's has held true and outlasted the others. He gave core values in which you have to follow to beat the stock market, and it's still a bestseller. I admit I didn't digest all the information that was given in this book on the first read, it's a lot to take in, but after reading I felt I can approach the stock market with more confidence and belief in myself, not blind belief, belief from sound research and analysis and decisions. To fully understand everything that Benjamin Graham presents in this book you'll probably have to ready the book a few times and each time you won't regret discovering something new. If you feel your following a strategy in the stock market that you don't understand, check out this book, it will make things so much clearer, and although you may not be able to achieve instant stock market success your brain will be halfway programmed into thinking the right way

Key Points in the book:
A nice addition in the more recent editions with commentary is the analysis of other books and strategies and how they have broken down, these include:
- Cash in on the Calender
- What Works on Wall Street by James O'Shaughnessy -
Follow "The Foolish Four" ....... and many more......

Think with your brain not your emotions - i.e. Be and Intelligent Investor
This is a key point that is highlighted in nearly every business advice. For the stock market you need to take what everyone is saying and what you read with a pinch of salt, don't ignore it, but don't take is as the truth, the system is designed like a Casino, the house always wins, so the house will also lure you in with bold claims to get you rich quick, be patient and research before you dive in. The book gives an example of Sir Isaac Newton buying stocks and selling when he felt it would go bad, however, soon after this he bought back more stocks in the company at a higher price with the belief that it will increase further due to the fact that it was still increasing and the influence of his peers. In the end he lost £20,000 in that stock(over $3 million in today's money). This example was just to show that the most intelligent person in the planet was not an Intelligent Investor, he was influenced by his emotions. Be an investor not a speculator, if you feel tat your investment relies mostly on speculation, don't invest until you know enough to call it a real investment.


Minimise your risks
The basic principles to minimise risks when investing is:

Know your stock - You need to research the stock thoroughly and think about the risks of losing money. Check the financial reputation of the company and its underlying business. Benjamin Graham gave an example of airline stocks back in the 1970's, how it was a sure bet that the market would increase and air travel will become more and more common. This was true, however in many companies it was managed poorly and due to over expansion and other poor management, even though it became a huge business, it made a loss.

Check that the price that you are buying isn't too expensive. Analyse stock prices, what has influenced them in the past, what may influence it in the future, and set strict criteria in buying and selling.

You must protect yourself against serious loses - This is reduced by the first point, but if for example a natural disaster, a war or the stock market crashes, then you need to still be financially able. Depending on the situation you could sell before anything serious happens, or manage your stocks in a way that you will not be in debt if you lose it all. When people see a "hot stock", many confident and over enthusiastic players will borrow money to make the most of it, but this game has a even higher risk if you lose, you will be in even greater debt, this reminds me of the film James Bond film "Casino Royal" remember what happened to that guy?

Aspire to adequate profit - Don't get too greedy, analyse the market, have a target price and sell when appropriate. Think with your brain.

Another nice quote I found is:

"invest only if you would be comfortable

owning a stock even if you had no way

of knowing its daily share price"

Bonds and Shares and inflation
Benjamin Graham advises investors to aim to have equal amounts in bonds and shares, however, they must also change the percentages according to the market and other factors, for example when prices are high or low, or when inflation has an influence. If you've locked all your money in bonds and inflation rises then you could even make a loss from the bond, but that does mean stocks are always a better investment in the long run. Benjamin Graham explains how to make the judgment on how much to invest in bonds and shares in a detailed analysis.

Defensive investor vs Enterprising investor
The defensive investor as described in the book is the investor that will invest to make as little mistakes as possible and leave the stocks without looking at it's progress or researching changes that may occur. The enterprising investor is the opposite, they will research thoroughly, will check constantly, but will do high risk investments. Benjamin Graham devotes chapters of his book to analyse the psychology of both and risks and strategies that both need to be aware of.

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The Intelligent Investor

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Book review

Robert Kiyosaki's best selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad has been read by millions worldwide. If you haven't read this book then your missing out. Robert Kiyosaki had a rich dad and a poor dad, the poor dad had a stable job but didn't manage money well and therefore was poor, the rich dad built an empire and managed his money like a rich person even though at the start he was poor. He teaches about financial intelligence. What's financial intelligence? Financial intelligence is knowing how to make money, how to money can make money. Here's some of the key points in the book:

Acquire assets, reduce liabilities
One of the main points in the book that made a lot of sense to me is to acquire assets and reduce liabilities. This seems like a simple idea that a lot of people try to do, but Kiyosaki explains that there are millions of people doing it wrong! Your house and car is not a asset, if you have a mortgage it eats away at your money. Assets are things that make you money such as stocks, real estate that you acquire to sell on for a profit, or a business that you own.

Cash Flow
Robert Kiyosaki designed a simple diagram of the cashflow of a poor person, middle class person, and the rich. The poor and middle class's money comes in and out. The rich circulate their money to make more money.

Wealth
Some of the "middle class " consider themselves wealthy due to the fact they they have a nice car, house and are enjoying the luxuries in life. But Robert Kiyosaki thinks differently, he measures true wealth from how long you can survive if you lose your job or retire. Robert Kiyosaki retired in his mid 30's, cause he felt like had enough wealth and could continue his lifestyle with what his assets were giving him, and decided to work only when he needed more money or felt like it, when he said work, that just meant actually doing something to make money, not getting a job and working for someone else. Wealth is measured by the ability to be financially independent without doing much work, he explains how this is possible through his asset/liabilities ideas.

This book is not a get rich quick scam, this book is just a guidance on the basics of how to think about money.