About this video

• Video Title: WARNING: The Stock Market Is a SCAM | Robert Kiyosaki
• Channel: The Iced Coffee Hour Clips
• Speakers: Robert Kiyosaki
• Duration: 00:09:41

Overview

This video features Robert Kiyosaki discussing his views on the stock market and traditional education's role in financial literacy. He contrasts investing in assets like oil wells and apartment buildings with the stock market, arguing that the former offers more control and better returns, especially when leveraged. Kiyosaki also touches on the perceived "laziness" of the modern workforce and criticizes aspects of the education system, suggesting it promotes Marxist ideologies over capitalist principles and financial independence.

Key takeaways

• Critique of the Stock Market: Kiyosaki considers the stock market a "scam" and a waste of time for him, preferring investments he can control, such as oil wells and apartment buildings, which generate consistent cash flow and offer tax advantages through leverage.
• Entrepreneurial Control: He emphasizes the importance of controlling one's investments, contrasting this with the lack of control investors have in the stock market. Kiyosaki's own success is built on tangible assets he directly manages.
• Education System Criticism: Kiyosaki argues that the traditional education system is flawed, promoting Marxist ideas and failing to teach essential financial principles like investing in assets versus liabilities, ultimately contributing to people remaining poor.
• The Value of Real Money: He illustrates the difference between "real money" (like silver coins with intrinsic value) and "fake money" (like fiat currency, which loses value due to inflation), suggesting that most people are drawn to the latter due to a lack of financial education.
• Call to Action for Non-Conformity: Kiyosaki advises the average person not to be average, encouraging them to seek alternative paths to wealth beyond 401(k)s and the stock market, and to actively learn about capitalism and asset acquisition.

Robert Kiyosaki prefers investing in assets that he can control and that generate consistent cash flow. Specifically, he mentions drilling for oil and buying apartment houses.

He favors these over the stock market because:

• Control: He can directly manage and control these assets.
• Cash Flow: Oil wells can produce for decades, and apartment houses provide monthly income.
• Tax Advantages: He utilizes 100% debt to finance apartment houses, allowing him to pay no taxes.
• Long-Term Value: He believes assets like silver coins have more enduring value than fiat currency, which is subject to inflation due to money printing.

Kiyosaki characterizes the educational system as detrimental to people's financial well-being. He believes schools fail to teach essential financial literacy, such as the difference between assets and liabilities. He suggests that the system promotes Marxist ideologies, as evidenced by the Communist Manifesto being a required reading in military school and the presence of Marxist teachers. This, in his view, leads people to make poor financial decisions, like relying on 401(k)s and the stock market, and contributes to them remaining poor and "average."

Kiyosaki distinguishes between "real money" and "fake money" by comparing a $10 bill to a 1964 silver coin.

• Fake Money: The $10 bill represents fiat currency, which he believes is "fake" because governments constantly print more, causing it to lose value over time due to inflation. The average person, he observes, chooses the $10 bill over the silver coin.
• Real Money: The 1964 silver coin represents "real money" because it has intrinsic value (it's made of silver). He points out that this coin, though currently worth less than $10, will likely be worth more in the future as its underlying value is preserved, unlike fiat currency.

This distinction reveals his investment philosophy, which is centered on:

• Preserving and growing intrinsic value: He advocates for assets that hold their value and appreciate over time, such as precious metals or tangible assets with underlying worth.
• Distrust of fiat currency and government control: His view on "fake money" reflects a skepticism towards government monetary policies and a belief that they devalue savings.
• Focus on tangible assets: He prefers investments like oil, real estate, and potentially commodities (like silver) over paper assets like stocks, which he sees as more susceptible to market manipulation and less tied to fundamental value.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, the primary reasons people become "lazy" and "poor" are:

• Laziness: He explicitly states, "I don't have time for lazy people." He suggests it's easier for people to be lazy than productive.
• The "Good Economy" and Debt: Kiyosaki believes that a seemingly good economy and the widespread availability of debt contribute to people becoming less motivated and more reliant on external factors rather than self-driven effort.
• Government Welfare and Social Security: He points to the large number of Americans receiving some form of government assistance or relying on social security, which he views as a system that encourages dependency and discourages proactive wealth creation.
• Flawed Education System: He criticizes the education system for not teaching vital financial principles and for promoting ideologies he identifies as Marxist, which he believes do not equip individuals to become financially independent or wealthy.