Rich Dad Poor Dad Summary & Chapters

The "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is the story of a person who is actually the narrator and author and has two fathers: the first was his well educated biological father, termed as the "poor dad" - and the other was the father of his childhood best friend, Mike, termed as the "rich dad" who is less educated. Both fathers taught the author how to achieve success but with very disparate approaches. Throughout this book, the author compares both fathers – their principles, financial practices, ideas and degree of dynamism and how his real father, the poor and struggling but highly educated man, against his rich dad in terms of asset building and business acumen.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad revolves around three main characters: poor dad (Kiyosaki’s biological father), rich dad (Kiyosaki’s second father) and the son (the author himself as narrator of the book). The essence of each character is:

Poor dad – educated but lacking the street smarts

Rich dad – very little education (eighth grade), tons of street smarts

Kiyosaki – the spectator who learns lessons from both but internalizes only rich dad’s traits

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 1 Summary

The story of Robert Kiyosaki and Mike starts in 1956 Hawaii, when both boys were a nine years old. Their first get-rich scheme was a counterfeit nickel making company which was illegal. Then Mike's father teach them the concept of "Rat Race" and how to get out of it. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 2 Summary

The author tells his readers to forget the notion that life teaches. He says “the only thing that life does is push you around.” This chapter talks about people who are more comfortable in playing it safe because they were not taught early to take risks. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 3 Summary

The author believes that financial literacy begins with a working knowledge of accounting. It is essential to know the difference between assets and liabilities. To make these two terms understandable to readers, the author makes a rudimentary diagram of these two concepts to motivate them to purchase assets in order to solidify the asset column, while keeping the liabilities (expenses) to a bare minimum. Also the chapter shows that both Mike and Kiyosaki became financially independent. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 4 Summary

In this chapter, the author slowly introduces the concept of real estate investing and uses McDonald’s as an example. He points out that McDonald’s may not make the best hamburgers in the world, but owns the “most valuable intersections and streets in America.” Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 5 Summary

We have omitted chapter 5 as it is irrelevant to stock market.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 6 Summary

In this chapter, the author discusses the importance of an education. The author is clear by saying, “a trained mind is a rich mind.” Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 7 Summary

This is the chapter where the author talks about the skills individuals need to develop for financial success. The author mentions management skills. He says individuals need to know how to manage cash flow, systems, and people. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 8 Summary

The opinion of the author is that five personality traits hamper human beings: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, arrogance. He explains that while it’s normal to have fear, what matters is how one handles it.  Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 9 Summary

This chapter serves as a section on tips to create and build personal wealth. His first tip is, find a reason greater than reality to motivate you. What he means by this is to wake up the financial genius in oneself by empowering the mind. He says that people must have a strong /purpose for living. Also Author explains the concept of "Pay yourself first" concept. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter 10 Summary

This chapter is sort of a supplement to the previous chapter. It gives readers additional tips to help them reach for financial reward. Read the chapter here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad Chapter Epilogue Summary

In this chapter Kiyosaki tells how he helped his friend to save money for his four children's college education with limited resources available. Read the chapter here