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Are "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" based "Learn To Get Rich" seminars a rip-off, or just a way to see your fellow man as a sucker and think that it's normal to do so?

Ever heard of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter?
It's not a new book, it was published some ten years ago, has been widely read, and, for most part, was well received.

The book was so successful that Kiyosaki licenced his name to Whitney International, to be used in a series of financial self-help seminars and workshops.

These seminars have come under fire as nothing more than sales sessions designed to up-sell more expensive seminars and workshops in which nothing of real value is taught or learned.

CBC's Marketplace took a closer look at the current series of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' based "Learn to get Rich" seminars which are being hosted throughout major Canadian cities. The report is less than favorable.

Here's an excerpt from the CBC's write-up.

The seminars range from free one-day introductions to three-day seminars that cost $500 to longer courses priced between $12,000 and $45,000. say the marketing of the series is aimed at upselling participants on the more expensive next level.

At a $500 seminar in Kitchener, Ont., Marketplace found participants who felt pressured into raising their credit-card limits right on the spot. They were even given scripts instructing them on how to ask for limits of $100,000.

Others at the Kitchener session said they were bullied into keeping silent if they had doubts. Those who persevered in their questioning would be ejected from the seminar.
© 2010 CBC - Read the full story at the CBC website...

In their report, Marketplace goes on to detail problems and inconsistencies in the workshops, claims of intimidation and bullying by instructors, and exaggerated "success stories" by course instructors.

I had expected to hear that there wasn't much material of substance to be gleaned from the seminars - the book isn't much different.

John T. Reed, a real-life real-estate guru, wrote a scathing review of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", saying that the book contained nothing but bad advice.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the dumbest financial advice books I have ever read. It contains many factual errors and numerous extremely unlikely accounts of events that supposedly occurred.

Kiyosaki is a salesman and a motivational speaker. He has no financial expertise and won’t disclose his supposed real estate or other investment success.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice.
- © John T. Reed

As far as the original book goes, there isn't much financial advice to be found in it's pages, but some very basic guiding principals and premises are outlined, with the main idea being that in order to "get rich", you have to learn to make your money work for you, and that everything comes down to assets - which work for you - and liabilities - which cost you.

I liked Kiyosaki's concept of "Financial Literacy". It's really just the idea of being aware of the fact that your money can work for you, instead of you always working for the money.

During the 70's Canadian high-schools offered "home-economics" as an elective, and "financial literacy", at least the beginnings of it, was part of the course material. I mention this because in the following decades, research showed that students who had taken the course tended to be considerably more financially successful than students who didn't take the course - and the difference is made by a little "financial literacy".

I also thought that much of the book’s material was just so much bunk - I based that opinion on the simple fact that if everyone followed Kiyosaki's advice, all we'd have everywhere would be Bosses, and no Workers - and all the Bosses would be uneducated, because, according to the teachings in "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", college is generally a "waste of time".