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Report: #282122

Complaint Review: Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Education, Rich Dad Academy, Wealth Intelligence Academy, Russ Whitney - Cape Coral Florida

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  • Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Education, Rich Dad Academy, Wealth Intelligence Academy, Russ Whitney richdadeducation.com Cape Coral, Florida U.S.A.

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A Few Houskeeping Issues:

please email ripoffreport and have them put Kiyosaki, and Rich Dad Education as a seperate category. Also, if you post here, the Topic should be chosen as "Education & Instruction" with the Topic being "Seminar Programs"

Well, I am green when it comes to knowledge about real estate investing, but a friend of mine & others (even ones in real estate) always talked about the Rich Dad Poor Dad Book alleged to have been written by Robert Kiyosaki. Upon that recommendation, I heard about a free 2 hour seminar advertised in my email account, and decided to act on it. As a newbie to real estate investing, I learned quite a bit, and it seemed that the 3 day Workshop for 495 would teach me something which I could apply instantly.

Since the Rich Dad Education Book, Guide To Real Estate Investing and Choose To Be Rich DVD/CD book package were given to those who signed up for the 3 day, I figured that this was fair. The problem, is that when I reviewed the material in the handbook, only tidbits of information were given with no serious step by step procedure. The CD's/DVD's and other books were just motivational speaking fluff with no real substance.

Unfortunately, I reviewed this material after the 72 hr window for a refund closed. Overall, The 3 Day Workshop was informative to a degree for a newbie such as me; but there were other issues which give me a really bad taste in my mouth regarding Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Academy / Rich Dad Education / Wealth Intelligence Academy, et al . ..

The first red flag went up when the speaker, alleged to be Bonita Fieser (also an self proclaimed Christian); gave instructions on how to raise one's credit limit to upwards of 25K. It was presented, at first; as a way to boost one's credit score so that they would have a high enough rating to get loans in order to do quick foreclosures. She presented a script to follow, along with any rebuttals to any objections by a credit agent; in order to raise one's limit to a suggested 25K. Bonita Fieser had said that she goes to one of the several companies she has cards with and mentions that she wants her limit raised because she wants to do business with just them. Fair enough so far, right ?? Well, then she proceeded to say that she'll apply the same tactic with all of the other companies as well. First of all, that is underhanded, but for someone who claims to be Christian, that is flat out dishonest.

Anyway, there was an "assignment" for everyone to use the script over lunch break and up their credit limit. She had asked for a show of hands and had people come up and give a testimonial. However, I now recall that at the onset of the meeting that morning; Bonita Fieser had immediately ascertained by questioning and a show of hands who had bad credit, good credit, and certain levels in between by a show of hands. In fact, she had done numerous surveys that way to get clearer numbers. I believe that survey coupled with the forementioned "assignment" was all tied into the bigger upsell of their 12K-44K "advanced training" courses on Day 3.

On Day 2, nearly 2 hours of the class time was devoted to going through a catalogue and its description & pricing of the "advanced training" for "Rich Dad Education". The prices had to be handwritten by the students in the blanks provided on a seperate sheet handed out, as no prices were affixed in the catalogue. The whole time I was thinking "Why can't they put this on the website" ? "Why can't we be learning something practical right now" ?

The mantra was repeated over & over again "you need to get a mentor, etc . . " Well, what they meant was "you need one of OUR mentors for many thousands of dollars. The 3 day seminar is really carefully crafted in that each of the topics have tidbits of information leaving you wanting to know more with the rabbit hole disclaimer "you can't learn it all in 3 days, so you need advanced training".

Another Red Flag went up when Bonita Fieser threatened to call the police on anyone bad mouthing the program with what she termed as "hazardous waste". Evidently there were 2 men ejected from the conference for criticizing the program (although I don't know the details).

They have this other tactic where you go back and get your "certificate" & an "access card" to their website. All this is is for you to back to one of the reps so that they can get a last crack at you to sell their 12K to 44K training. They use this term over & over on the unsuspecting person when they haven't enrolled; "What's Holding You Back". That question is most manipulative in that no matter what your answer is, it seems like that is what is holding you back. The result is that you think that there is something holding you back and that you yourself has a serious problem because you are not ponying up 12K-44K.

In conclusion from my experience, and from the ones motivated to post here at ripoffreprt.com; I believe that these are the levels of manipulation administered by
Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Academy / Rich Dad Education / Wealth Intelligence Academy, et al . . .

Level 1 Manipulation:
Invite you to a free seminar & shake you down for $495 for the 3 day seminar. This is accoplished by giving you a book by Rich Dad Education, Guide To Real Estate Investing ; and Choose To Be Rich DVD/CD book package. All of which have a seriously inflated retail price; but are given to you for "free" if you pony up $495

Level 2 Manipulation
Through tidbits of information, cogent advertising, long drawn out teachings, up your credit card limit so that you can pony up 12K-44K for Rich Dad Education "advanced training".

Now these levels I am merely speculating on, but through what I have been reading, I believe this is accurate through deductive logic

I am not sure If I have these in the right order

Level 3 Manipualtion
Once signed up for 12K-44K, you are persuaded to buy, from their attornies; expensive multi-level asset protection packages in which your properties (which you haven't even bought yet because you are in the hole 12K-44K) are protected through a regional LLC, which is owned by a Nevada Corp, which is owned by an IBC.

Level 4 Manipualtion
Once signed up for 12K-44K, you are persuaded to "invest" in some dumpy land in Costa Rica; with the "honor" of being an "international investor" - Whoopdy Doo!

The Real Gist of this is that this is really a veiled MLM scheme. The "reps" are splitting up the booty of the 495 & the 12K-44K for "signing you up". If you sign up, you will now do the same, but the ones above you still make a cut of your cut, and so on down the line . .

They got talked into it and are now passing the curse along to you so that they can break even on the American Nightmare (and other failed investments) !

James
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/31/2007 11:11 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/robert-kiyosaki-rich-dad-education-rich-dad-academy-wealth-intelligence-academy-russ-whitney/cape-coral-florida-33904/robert-kiyosaki-rich-dad-education-rich-dad-academy-wealth-intelligence-academy-russ-w-282122. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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#9 Consumer Suggestion

...NOT A SCAM! IS TOO! NOT A SCAM! IS TOO!

AUTHOR: mary griges - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, November 22, 2009

     And when we reach 1st. grade, we will realize sadly that: YES, IT WAS A SCAM!

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#8 Consumer Comment

Not A Scam

AUTHOR: Forestmarie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Sunday, May 31, 2009

I just attended the 3-day scam, and I learned a lot from it. It opened up my eyes to some new things whic have resulted in some things I've changed that has helped already...

As far the 'sales pitch,' they are an education company. All education companies pitch you on their other classes.

Whether the investment is worth it or not is based strictly on results.

If it makes you a millionaire for the rest of your life, is $12 to $60K worth it to you?

To me, it is. Hands down ...

Will you succeed if you do it? I don't know. That's up to you. Only 15-20% of people entering college finish - many who have spend $30-$100K in school loans. Was the college a scam? A rip-off? Nope. Like any endeavor in life, the variable is you.

And that's really the bottom line.

If someone is posting negativity based on just on the price alone, it says a lot about them. It tells me they look at price first and value last and a big number scares them when that big number is really just a few hundred a month.

Additionally, if they haven't tried the product (the course) yet, they really don't know, so their comment is just hearsay and based out of anger that you were hoping to get something for nothing...

That's just my .02 cents.

P.S. For anyone interested, I didn't have sign up for their more advanced courses yet because I want to conduct more due diligence on the company and talk to some students, both successes and failures.

If there is one thing sorely missing from their presentation, it was definitely some social proof and testimonials...

I just hope to those doing real research, you don't let "Price" or message board negativity sway your decision.

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#7 Consumer Comment

I agree with the young lady and her boyfriend and her husband.

AUTHOR: No Doxy - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, November 07, 2007

While I agree that education is priceless and real estate is a phenominal way for the average person to build their wealth at a greater-than-average pace, I hope that people proceed with caution when offered a no-money-down preconstruction deal across the states. For us, it sounded too good to be true...and it was. Use caution at this stage and never regret the money spent on valid knowledge.

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#6 Consumer Comment

A completely different experience

AUTHOR: Steve - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I also attended the Rich Dad 3 day seminar as well as the free 2 hour introductory seminar. While I did find the freebie to be a bit vague, my interest had very much been piqued. There was alot left to be desired (which is probably the aim of the company). So I signed myself up for the 3-day training sessions. Where can I start... well I started by reviewing the materials that I received upon my purchase of the 3 day training. Not only did I find them helpful and insightful, but they were a far cry from motivational speaking. In fact there was none of that "you can do it" junk in there at all. The guide to real estate investing was the crown jewel of the package and worth a heck of alot if you ask me. It's very in depth and to the contrary of the original poster, does have some step by step guidelines. Even the part where they strongly suggest getting the help of a lawyer when actually drawing up contracts and such. It's in my opinion is that the organization is truly interested in the education of it's attendees. They are teaching ethical and totally legal approaches to creating wealth using real estate as a vehicle. As far as the credit card technique being non-Christian and underhanded well... not sure I can aggree with that. The way I figure is you can either let the credit card companies keep telling you how it's gonna be, or getting them to compete for your business. I mean really... what good does it do them to have you as a cardholder if you're not gonna use their card? Kick em around a little bit. Besides it only stands to help your credit rating in the long run. You're not cheating anybody by exercising this technique.
As far as feeling pressured into attending more classes... I felt none. Besides it's education. You have to consider how much money you leave on the table by not getting one compared to how much it costs to get one. After all you do have a choice. You don't have to go and make a post on website if you don't want to participate. Simply opt out all together. This is the USA. You still have a choice... ya know?
I just wish my financial situation was a prime to take more of the Rich Dad classes. Until then I'm gonna ponder the question I learned to ask myself in the class... "How can I afford it?" I'm sure I'll find an answer and proceed. Great stuff, Rich Dad.

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#5 Consumer Comment

A completely different experience

AUTHOR: Steve - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I also attended the Rich Dad 3 day seminar as well as the free 2 hour introductory seminar. While I did find the freebie to be a bit vague, my interest had very much been piqued. There was alot left to be desired (which is probably the aim of the company). So I signed myself up for the 3-day training sessions. Where can I start... well I started by reviewing the materials that I received upon my purchase of the 3 day training. Not only did I find them helpful and insightful, but they were a far cry from motivational speaking. In fact there was none of that "you can do it" junk in there at all. The guide to real estate investing was the crown jewel of the package and worth a heck of alot if you ask me. It's very in depth and to the contrary of the original poster, does have some step by step guidelines. Even the part where they strongly suggest getting the help of a lawyer when actually drawing up contracts and such. It's in my opinion is that the organization is truly interested in the education of it's attendees. They are teaching ethical and totally legal approaches to creating wealth using real estate as a vehicle. As far as the credit card technique being non-Christian and underhanded well... not sure I can aggree with that. The way I figure is you can either let the credit card companies keep telling you how it's gonna be, or getting them to compete for your business. I mean really... what good does it do them to have you as a cardholder if you're not gonna use their card? Kick em around a little bit. Besides it only stands to help your credit rating in the long run. You're not cheating anybody by exercising this technique.
As far as feeling pressured into attending more classes... I felt none. Besides it's education. You have to consider how much money you leave on the table by not getting one compared to how much it costs to get one. After all you do have a choice. You don't have to go and make a post on website if you don't want to participate. Simply opt out all together. This is the USA. You still have a choice... ya know?
I just wish my financial situation was a prime to take more of the Rich Dad classes. Until then I'm gonna ponder the question I learned to ask myself in the class... "How can I afford it?" I'm sure I'll find an answer and proceed. Great stuff, Rich Dad.

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#4 Consumer Comment

A completely different experience

AUTHOR: Steve - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I also attended the Rich Dad 3 day seminar as well as the free 2 hour introductory seminar. While I did find the freebie to be a bit vague, my interest had very much been piqued. There was alot left to be desired (which is probably the aim of the company). So I signed myself up for the 3-day training sessions. Where can I start... well I started by reviewing the materials that I received upon my purchase of the 3 day training. Not only did I find them helpful and insightful, but they were a far cry from motivational speaking. In fact there was none of that "you can do it" junk in there at all. The guide to real estate investing was the crown jewel of the package and worth a heck of alot if you ask me. It's very in depth and to the contrary of the original poster, does have some step by step guidelines. Even the part where they strongly suggest getting the help of a lawyer when actually drawing up contracts and such. It's in my opinion is that the organization is truly interested in the education of it's attendees. They are teaching ethical and totally legal approaches to creating wealth using real estate as a vehicle. As far as the credit card technique being non-Christian and underhanded well... not sure I can aggree with that. The way I figure is you can either let the credit card companies keep telling you how it's gonna be, or getting them to compete for your business. I mean really... what good does it do them to have you as a cardholder if you're not gonna use their card? Kick em around a little bit. Besides it only stands to help your credit rating in the long run. You're not cheating anybody by exercising this technique.
As far as feeling pressured into attending more classes... I felt none. Besides it's education. You have to consider how much money you leave on the table by not getting one compared to how much it costs to get one. After all you do have a choice. You don't have to go and make a post on website if you don't want to participate. Simply opt out all together. This is the USA. You still have a choice... ya know?
I just wish my financial situation was a prime to take more of the Rich Dad classes. Until then I'm gonna ponder the question I learned to ask myself in the class... "How can I afford it?" I'm sure I'll find an answer and proceed. Great stuff, Rich Dad.

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#3 Consumer Comment

A completely different experience

AUTHOR: Steve - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I also attended the Rich Dad 3 day seminar as well as the free 2 hour introductory seminar. While I did find the freebie to be a bit vague, my interest had very much been piqued. There was alot left to be desired (which is probably the aim of the company). So I signed myself up for the 3-day training sessions. Where can I start... well I started by reviewing the materials that I received upon my purchase of the 3 day training. Not only did I find them helpful and insightful, but they were a far cry from motivational speaking. In fact there was none of that "you can do it" junk in there at all. The guide to real estate investing was the crown jewel of the package and worth a heck of alot if you ask me. It's very in depth and to the contrary of the original poster, does have some step by step guidelines. Even the part where they strongly suggest getting the help of a lawyer when actually drawing up contracts and such. It's in my opinion is that the organization is truly interested in the education of it's attendees. They are teaching ethical and totally legal approaches to creating wealth using real estate as a vehicle. As far as the credit card technique being non-Christian and underhanded well... not sure I can aggree with that. The way I figure is you can either let the credit card companies keep telling you how it's gonna be, or getting them to compete for your business. I mean really... what good does it do them to have you as a cardholder if you're not gonna use their card? Kick em around a little bit. Besides it only stands to help your credit rating in the long run. You're not cheating anybody by exercising this technique.
As far as feeling pressured into attending more classes... I felt none. Besides it's education. You have to consider how much money you leave on the table by not getting one compared to how much it costs to get one. After all you do have a choice. You don't have to go and make a post on website if you don't want to participate. Simply opt out all together. This is the USA. You still have a choice... ya know?
I just wish my financial situation was a prime to take more of the Rich Dad classes. Until then I'm gonna ponder the question I learned to ask myself in the class... "How can I afford it?" I'm sure I'll find an answer and proceed. Great stuff, Rich Dad.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Rich Dad Education is NOT A SCAM

AUTHOR: E&n - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Rich Dad Education, The Wealth Academy Rich Dad Education/ The Wealth Academy HELPED US- it is NOT a rip off, and the people who say it is haven't opened their minds and need to read this! Scottsdale Arizona

For everyone who is saying that Rich Dad Education is a rip off, they need to open their minds a bit and see the bigger picture.

We are located in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, and attended a Rich Dad 3 day training in West Palm Beach. Yes, there was a sales pitch. But if you saw through the sales and listened to what you could actually do with the education they are selling, you would realize the magnitude of knowledge that Rich Dad / The Wealth Academy is making available to you, and that the price of the advanced training classes are actually quite low.

How much money did you spend on your college education?
And how much money have you MADE off of that college education?

For the price you pay for classes, CDs, books or whatever you need to excel your wealth, you WILL make it up in less than a year if you are aggressive, and then skyrocket after that, way beyond your current financial expectations.

My boyfriend and I attended the three day seminar in July of this year. We signed up for the advanced classes, and have taken three of them. As part of our package, we also had an incredible personal mentor come to our city for three days and make sure we were implementing the classes properly.

My husband and I have both quit our jobs to peruse this full time. We are making more money than we could dream of, and have met hundreds of wonderful and positive people along the way. Our dreams and goals have maximized beyond our furthest dreams, and we are reaching them at a fast pace. This is all thanks to Rich Dad Education and the Wealth Academy. I am personally saddened for those who do not see the value in this education, as it is not likely that they will never achieve total financial freedom.

E&N
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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#1 Author of original report

Protesting at Rich Dad Education Seminar Dates & Locations

AUTHOR: James - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Keep up with the dates & locations for the "free" seminars (the pre-$495 shakedown)

http://www.richdadeducation.com/index.aspx

attach small flyers to the cars outside with the ripoffreport.com web address and what keywords to type in, along with a suggestion to get the refund within the 72 hr period

Perhaps even find out where & when the 3 day is, and distribute the same flyers

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