By Scott A. Grant
mail@floridanewsline.com
In 1997, Robert Kiyosaki self-published a book called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” The book initially sold poorly before becoming popular with Amway salespeople who used the book to motivate those beneath them in the pyramid. Then, on April 27, 2000, Robert Kiyosaki appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The book took off and enjoyed some popularity before fading and then being whole-heartedly re-embraced by a new generation of followers.
Criticism of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” centered on two aspects. First, many argued the advice was not that good. Second, was the broader question of who was Rich Dad, and did he even exist? At times, Kiyosaki suggested he was an unnamed Hawaiian businessman who taught him to play Monopoly, or perhaps a composite figure, or maybe even motivational guru and inventor of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller.
Monopoly is a cutthroat game that was originally invented to highlight the evils of capitalism. You win the game by making everyone else go bankrupt. You need to be ruthless to win. Robert Kiyosaki was ruthless in his portrayal of his “birth father” and vilified his reputation for an entire generation. So, the question that intrigued me was: who was Poor Dad?
Ralph Kiyosaki was born in 1919 on the island of Maui. He was the son of Japanese immigrants. As a young man, he recalled walking barefoot down the dirt roads of his native island and deciding that the only way to escape the poverty of colonialism was through education. He would dedicate most of his life to education — first his own and then then that of the youth of Hawaii.
Kiyosaki senior attended the University of Hawaii. After that, he attended Stanford, Northwestern, and the University of Chicago. Today, Stanford is highly regarded. It was well respected in Kiyosaki’s day as well and was noted as the alma mater of President Herbert Hoover. But, in Kiyosaki’s day, the University of Chicago, first home of the atomic bomb, had an even better reputation.
Kiyosaki returned to Hawaii and took a position as a teacher and then later a school principal before becoming Superintendent of Education for the State of Hawaii. Kiyosaki was an innovative educator who gained a national reputation. His term as superintendent was considered transformational. He unveiled a “Three on Two” program of three teachers for every two classrooms and a revolutionary freeze-dried lunch program modeled after the airline industry.
Ralph Kiyosaki was so well regarded that in 1970, he was slated to run for Lieutenant Governor alongside running mate, former federal judge, Samuel King. King and Kiyosaki ran as Republicans in a highly Democratic state and lost badly to incumbent John Burns and George Ariyoshi. The younger Kiyosaki considered this to be one of his father’s many mistakes, saying he was “black balled” from future office.
However, Ralph Kiyosaki went on to be head of the Hawaii Teachers Union, a powerful position in any state. His wife died and he remarried another teacher named Edwina Bright. In 1975, Kiyosaki resigned his position with the teachers union to “pursue other interests.” He opened a Swensen Ice Cream franchise. Swensen’s was a San Francisco institution that just started to franchise. An ice cream parlor seems like a natural for Hawaii, but this one failed. Maybe we need to rethink what it means to be a “Poor Dad” in a society overly enamored with the pursuit of material wealth at any cost.
Scott A. Grant is a local author and historian. By day, he is a fiduciary asset manager at Standfast Asset Management in Ponte Vedra. He does not believe in “get rich quick” schemes. This article contains the answers to two popular Trivia Night questions. scottg@standfastic.com.
