Thinking About Money

It was a gift, I swear. The opening line: “In a world of more than six billion people, there are only 587 billionaires… Would you like to join us?”

When he later describes the book as “the billionaire’s equivalent of those bestselling works of inspiration Conversations with God…” you will probably conclude that not only is this book going to help you become a billionaire, but that self-confidence bordering on conceit is an essential part of that process.

Sorry to disappoint: this book isn’t going to take you far on the road to becoming a billionaire. Oh, it may well help you learn how one thinks – since the book is chock full of Trump’s observations on everything. But getting there? That’s another thing.

The ‘Donald’ lives in a world where just about everyone he meets is a great person who is doing a great job – except for contractors who are all greedy and lazy and have to be watched over constantly. He lives in a world where just about everything cool you can experience or buy, from great meals to great vacations, can be bought from a Trump business (well actually, you just have to ask an assistant to order it for you – you don’t actually have to pay for anything unless you aren’t Donald Trump).

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Trump and no problems with his success – I wish him well. And I thank him for a book that was quite entertaining and often funny (sometimes unintentionally so).

And I’m not going to say it has no value for someone who wants to get rich. The book is chock full of anecdotal stories and words of wisdom, most of which don’t actually contradict themselves, and I suspect that some people might gain real insight from them. For example: discovering that rich people actually work hard might be an eye opener from those who are looking for a book that will lead them to easy riches. But I think most people will find the book entertaining – and that’s about it. Donald and Apprentice fans will love it.

If you’re looking for real financial philosophy, you’ll do much better with Kiyosaki’s books. From a financial education perspective, I regret to say that “Trump – Think Like a Billionaire: Everything you Need to Know About Success, Real Estate and Life” would be better titled “Trump – Things I think about: Entertaining stories that illustrate A few of the things I think you should know about Success, Real Estate and Life”.

Conclusion: Trump – Think Like a Billionaire: Everything you Need to Know About Success, Real Estate and Life: Not recommended except for true Trump fans.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Personal Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.