Rich Dad Poor Dad

Vladimir Oane (Founder/UberVU)

The funny thing is that the books that had the biggest impact (like my Verne’s favourite) are not necessarily the best books, objectively speaking. They were good enough to present a new worldview that I was not aware of. Timing probably was more important than their intrinsic literary qualities. They “managed” to fall into my lap at the right time. Such a book was Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, a mediocre book by my standards of today, but deeply inspirational by the ones from yesterday.

Robert Hajnal (Founder/Trail Running Academy)

Robert Kiyosaki's “Rich Dad Poor Dad” stopped me from making a mistake and buying a car - because it wasn’t an asset. It also convinced me to invest in shares, while the books “Rule no.1” and “The Snowball” taught me how to choose them.

Kris Reid (Founder/Ardor SEO and Media Factory)

The first business book I ever read was Rich Dad, Poor Dad. My father gave it to me when I was about 14 or 15. Just the other week an old friend of mine reminded me of when I read it. She said I wouldn’t shut up about it for months. It influenced me greatly at a time of growth and helped put me on the entrepreneurial journey

Burly Vinson (Founder/Snappies)

It may be cliche, but Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad impacted me greatly and helped start me on my path towards being an entrepreneur. It was given to me from a friend of a friend who started his own business. I think a lot of entrepreneur books try and sell a secret tip or convince you that success can only come from following specific steps. Personally, I don’t believe that and I think that kind of thinking can limit a person’s creativity or ability to adapt and try new things. The thing I love about Rich Dad Poor Dad, and the reason I think it’s a great book for people just starting out, is how it doesn’t try and sell a formula. All it asks of its reader is to think critically to create success.

Darren Chua (Co-Founder & CEO/Markedshot)

The first book that inspired me was actually Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I read the book when I was 12 and provided me with another perception of school and money. It was a good starting point for me to reconsider everything that was taught in school. School does not prepare us for life after graduation. Robert’s lessons inspired me to seek experiences and advice beyond the typical school system.

Malcolm Tan (Founder/Gravitas Holdings)

The business book series that set me on the path to entrepreneurship is from Richard Kiyosaki - from Rich Dad, Poor Dad to the Cashflow Quadrant, and his other books. My paradigms shifted after reading those books and made me decide that in order to achieve some arbitrary financial goals, what I was doing at that point in time (being a company lawyer) wasn't going to enable me to reach those goals, and therefore that I should go into the B (business) quadrant since I was more interested in that than the I (investor) quadrant.

Benjamin Kwan (Co-Founder/TravelClef)

It gave me a clear overview of what financial education is and how important it is to understand the true meaning of being financially free.

Marvin Liao (Partner/500 Startups)

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian).

Jesper Bylund (Co-Founder/BlankPage)

My favorite book on business is Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Which might be a little cliche. But for me it’s exciting because it really reaches the fundamentals of what all business is about; discovering ways to create value for people.

Dr. Monali Y. Desai (Cardiologist & Founder/If We Were Family)

Many years ago I was trying to figure out how to invest my Roth IRA (retirement account). I went to Barnes & Noble and happened to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert T. Kiyosaki) and my major takeaway was that I needed to start reading 1 hour a week about personal finance and investing. After I started medical school, I had stopped reading about everything outside of medicine. But after I read that book I read a lot of books about personal finance and investing and learned how to manage my own finances and investments.

Vincent Pugliese (Author & Professional Photographer)

When I was reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Kiyosaki described the difference between how employees are taxed and how business owners are taxed. I immediately saw a $20,000 difference in what I would have brought home the previous year. At that point, $20,000 was a really big deal!! It was the moment that I realized that I needed to stop being an employee and start being a business owner.

Daylon Soh (Product, Growth & Design Architect)

The first business book I read that perhaps inspired me to read more was Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

Auston Bunsen (Co-Founder/CBlocks)

I’ve got a few, one book that really impacted me early on as someone coming from a middle-class family was “Rich dad, Poor dad”.

Florian Hubner (CEO/Decondia, Startup Creator)

Strange title, but it let's you redefine how you see work.

Yaro Starak (Founder/Entrepreneurs-Journey.com)

Rich Dad Poor Dad teaches you how to identify where you should be spending your time and investing based on your strengths and your passions not just because, for example, your parents are buying property, so you get into property, which is something I did and I didn’t really care about it so I didn’t really do super well with it.

Faisal Amin (Co-Founder/Fruitbowl Digital)

I believe reading is a habit that must be inculcated irrespective of the career paths. Below mentioned are a few of my favourites that can hopefully bring wisdom to aspiring entrepreneurs.

• Lateral thinking by Edward de Bono
• 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey
• The lean startup by Eric Ries
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by ‎Robert Kiyosaki
• Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt

Alex Circei (CEO & Founder/Waydev)

Question: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why?

Answer:

• Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life by Richard Branson
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
• Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
• Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Pedro Cortés (Independent Designer)

The books that had the biggest impact are the ones that are controversial and challenge people's beliefs around work, relationships, life, and money most of them were things I already thought about (that's how I found them or decided to read them) but just by putting it in an actionable and structured way it made me think 100x more clearly about my goals and beliefs. Such examples could be the 4hww, Rich Dad Poor Dad, F.U. Money, The Five Love Languages, So good they can't ignore, Predictably Irrational and Ego is the Enemy are the ones who stand out the most.

Tee-Ming Chew (Co-Founder/Seedly)

Rich Dad Poor Dad changed my perception on how to manage my personal finances.

Jochen Siepmann (Property Investing Mentor & Author)

My favourite book is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. It has opened my mind about the possibility of earning passive income, change the mindset to think differently to achieve it and it has inspired me to teach people about this too so I can help them to become financially free.

Nick Loper (Chief Side Hustler/Side Hustle Nation)

One of the most important ones that comes to mind is somewhat cliche: Rich Dad Poor Dad. My roommate recommended it to me in college and it was one of the first "business books" I read. It hammered home the idea of buying or building assets instead of liabilities or "stuff", investing for cash flow, and freeing yourself from the rat race when your business or investment income exceeded your expenses. Pretty simple, but powerful for my impressionable 19-year old mind!

Jack H. M. Wong (Trainer & Author)

Question: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why?

Answer:

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
• Second Chance - Robert Kiyosaki
• Why the Rich Are Getting Richer - Robert Kiyosaki
• The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience - Carmine Gallo
• The Little Voice Mastery - Blair Singer

Nicolae Andronic (Founder/Echoz)

It was a great introduction to the personal finance and business world, and I credit it for sparking my entrepreneurial spirit. It’s for sure the first book I would recommend to young people. It’s not the kind of book that I would read now, because of its “soap opera” stories and over-motivational style, but I certainly recognize its role on “opening my eyes” and dramatically changing the way I think about money.

Hong Qi Yu (Founder/TOKENIZE Exchange)

Rich Dad Poor Dad book helped me open my mind about finance and got me interested in escaping from this rat race. I can still clearly recall this particular quote, “You're only poor if you give up”, which since been a constant source of motivation for me.
It inspired me to focus, though specifically on these two areas, excelling in building businesses and also in investing into financial asset.

Peter Vu (Founder/Habitify)

I love Rich Dad, Poor Dad a lot. It has shaped my business mindset from “saving” to “investing” and spending on “assets” rather than “liabilities”.

Nowadays we can easily find all the technical knowledge, the so-called “Tips”, “Tricks” to growth hack the business, to manage and influence people. They are available at no cost and so I believe I won’t need to recommend any books of the like.

Yet, there are few books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad that can powerfully shape the mind of first-time-reader (or so I believe). I believe having a good mindset and the motivation to stick to our business is the most important when kicking off a business. Youngsters have energy and ideas, but they burn out just as quickly as when they found their company, both mentally and physically. At that time, the only thing that will, and can, keep them going is their mindset, their belief.

Mark Moses (Founder, CEO/CEO Coaching International)

Bill Widmer (Freelance Content Marketing & SEO Expert)

Sa El (Co-Founder/Simply Insurance)