Page 105 - Midas Touch

The Rich Dad brand has been tested a number of times. The first test came
in 1997 when Rich Dad Poor Dad was first published, stating, “Your house
is not an asset.” Many real estate agents stopped sending me post cards
after that comment. I received hate mail and was publicly accused of not

knowing what I was talking about. Many financial experts called me a
“quack.” Today, with millions of people losing their homes or owing more
than their homes are worth, all too many people sadly now know why their
home is not an asset.

I did not state, “Your home is not an asset,” to win a popularity contest. I
am not a politician who wants your vote. I am not a real estate agent trying
to sell you a house. I stated those words because I was being true to the

brand, true to who I am. I am in the financial-education business, a person
who wants you to know the difference between an asset and a liability. If
you buy assets before you buy liabilities, you can live in any house you
want.

Another test came after I wrote Rich Dad’s Prophecy, published in 2002.
In that book, I predicted the biggest stock market crash in history was

coming. I also stated why I thought the mutual fund industry was going to
be the cause of the crash, and why millions of investors would never be
able to retire.

Once Prophecy came out, publications that profit from mutual fund
advertising came after me. Smart Money, a financial magazine, sent a
young reporter to observe me teaching in a large mega-church in Atlanta.
The young female reporter stayed through the whole two-day event. A few

months later, she stated in her article that I went to a poor black church in
Atlanta and took money from poor black people. She wrote this in her
magazine, even though she knew I raised over $385,000 that weekend and
left every dollar with the church. I did not take any money for travel
expenses or for the cost of products sold. After the Smart Money magazine
article came out, I was even happier I did not take the $4 million
endorsement money offered by the mutual fund company.

As you know, the financial services industry is a powerful force operating
behind and profiting from the current financial crisis. They have the power
to use taxpayer dollars to bail them out of their mistakes and cover their
fraudulent practices. They have arms that reach far and wide. They are not