Why We Want You To Be Rich. Robert T. Kiyosaki

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СКАЧАТЬ smiled and nodded, “In spite of your financial challenges, you have both been very public about your successes as well as your failures. Tell me, why have you been so open about your financial troubles?”

      “Because I want people to know that it’s how I learned so much. I want people to know that, rich or poor, we all have financial problems,” I answered.

      “Exactly! Mr. Trump is the same. He truly wants people to learn. That’s why he shares his wins as well as his losses. How many other rich people will do that?”

      “Not many,” I said. “Most rich people don’t want others to know how they got rich…much less tell people about their failures…and that includes my rich dad’s family.”

      “How so?”

      I looked to Kim, and she smiled reassuringly. “After I wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad,” I said, “I took the book to his family, and the family asked that their family name not be disclosed in the book…even though I said nothing bad about my rich dad. They simply didn’t want anyone to know how they got rich. So to respect their wishes, I have not disclosed the name of my rich dad.”

      “And has that caused you problems?” asked Meredith.

      “Yes,” I replied. “Some people have even called me a liar, saying there never was a rich dad.”

      “It’s ridiculous,” Kim said. “All Robert was doing was respecting the wishes of the family.” We respect their privacy. This was a sore subject for both of us. “Most rich people want to keep their success secrets to themselves.”

      “Which is where you and Mr. Trump are different from other rich people,” smiled Meredith. “You are both teachers and are willing to share what you know, in spite of the criticism.”

      “Mr. Trump is criticized for teaching and sharing his knowledge, too?” asked Kim.

      “Oh, yes. More than you know.” said Meredith. “A lot of people think he talks and writes and creates educational products like his TV show and his board game because he wants more publicity or more money. While he does make more money and the publicity is good, his primary motive is to teach and educate people. He really wants others to become rich. He is very concerned about the financial situation our nation and people face. He is worried about how mismanaged our economy is and how it will affect the world. He wonders why there is no financial education in our schools. That’s why he is very generous with his knowledge.”

      Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was Rhona, Donald’s personal assistant. She said, “Mr. Trump will see you in five minutes, and he apologizes for the delay. He hates to keep people waiting, but he was tied up on a phone call.”

      “Not a problem,” I said. “The extra time with Meredith has been useful.”

      After Rhona left, Meredith stood to lead us out of the boardroom. I looked around the plush interior and thought back to places I had worked. “You know,” I said, “Donald and I both had rich dads who we learned from and often worked for. So, in many ways, we were both apprentices as youngsters.”

      “So maybe what you have in common is that you really are teachers, and you can become mentors to the world,” Meredith said as we headed out of the boardroom and across the hall to Donald Trump’s office.

      A Meeting of Minds

      “Welcome,” Donald Trump said, standing up from behind his desk. “My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

      “Not a problem,” I replied as I looked around his office, noticing all the awards and plaques and gifts from people all over the world. Beside his desk was the radio equipment he uses for his weekly radio show. It was all very impressive.

      After the usual pleasantries, we got around to why we were meeting in the first place. “So what should our book be about?” asked Donald.

      “I believe we’ve all had the same question,” I replied. “Since there is such a wide gap between our respective real estate dealings as well as the size of our respective financial statements, I don’t think we match when it comes to money. After all, you’re a billionaire, and I’m a mere millionaire.”

      Donald chuckled. “Don’t ever put down being a millionaire. Billions of people would love to trade places with you financially.”

      “I realize that, but there is a definite difference between millions and billions. After all, today, there are many millionaires who are actually broke.”

      “What do you mean, exactly?” asked Donald.

      “Well, we all know people whose homes have increased in value but their incomes have not. For example, I have a classmate from Hawaii who inherited his parents’ home after they died. Since the real estate prices have skyrocketed and the house has no debt on it, he is technically a net-worth millionaire, but he and his wife still struggle financially because they earn less than $90,000 a year. They have three kids in school and are wondering about how to afford their college educations.”

      “So they are asset-rich and cash-poor,” said Donald.

      “Yes. They are millionaires on paper, but very middle class in reality. If one of them or their children becomes ill, they could easily slip into poverty.”

      “That does happen to a lot of people, especially after they retire and stop working. They have to sell everything if they become ill, just to survive,” added Donald with a somber tone.

      “And the problem will grow as the baby-boom generation retires in a few years.”

      “Yes, I know,” said Donald. “Even more than Social Security, Medicare is the biggest debt our nation bears. I don’t know how we will afford to pay for 75 million new retirees, their health care, their medicine, and their long-term care once they grow really old. I worry about my kids’ generation and how they will afford to pay for our generation’s financial dependence upon our government.”

      “Maybe that is what we should write about,” I said.

      “Well, I did write about it in The America We Deserve. Though it never got the readership I would have liked. I think it was my best book because it was about the problems we face, not just about getting rich. But it didn’t sell nearly as many copies as my other books.”

      “I had one of those books, too,” I said. “It was Rich Dad’s Prophecy, released in 2002. It’s about the demise of the stock market when baby boomers retire and the inadequacies of our 401(k) plans. It’s also about how a lot of workers will lose their pensions and retirement in the near future.”

      “And it didn’t sell either?” asked Donald.

      “No. Like your book, many people said it was my best book, yet it didn’t sell like it. But even worse was the Wall Street publications that didn’t appreciate my predictions.”

      “What happened?” asked Donald.

      “It upset me for a while. And frustrated me. Then, just a few months ago, both the New York Times Magazine and TIME magazine ran cover stories saying almost the same things I was saying in 2002.”

      “And what did they say?” asked Donald.

      Since СКАЧАТЬ