Midas Touch (book)

Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich — And Why Most Don't is a non-fiction book about personal finance, co-authored by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki.[1] The book was published in hardcover format in 2011. The coauthors became familiar with each other through mutual work at The Learning Annex, and The Art of the Deal. Trump was impressed by Kiyosaki's writing success with Rich Dad Poor Dad. The coauthors then wrote Why We Want You to be Rich together in 2006, and followed it up with Midas Touch in 2011.

Trump and Kiyosaki intersperse financial lessons with personal anecdotes from their respective careers. They elaborate on points previously raised in Why We Want You to be Rich, and criticize a dearth of financial literacy education in the U.S. system. The authors warn of the middle-class squeeze and the harm this will cause to the American middle class. They praise entrepreneurship and advise aspiring business owners to embrace failure and learn from it. Trump and Kiyosaki end the book by extolling the economic benefits of immigration to the United States.

The book received a positive review from Publishers Weekly, which called Trump and Kiyosaki, "the gold standard of the entrepreneurial spirit". The review called the book a "galvanizing narrative", and "an impassioned argument for business self-actualization".

Summary

Midas Touch elaborates on points made by Trump and Kiyosaki in their prior work Why We Want You to be Rich, implementation of which they claim would improve the American economy. They lament the lack of financial literacy provided by the U.S. education structure and argue students should be taught how to become business owners instead of employees. The current model instructs students to achieve academic excellence through risk avoidance, but they claim students who take risks will learn from their mistakes.[2]

Kiyosaki expands on the idea of taking risk, advising that financial success is not something which can be learned in an academic setting. He emphasizes a different set of skills are needed to be a successful business owner, telling readers the path to entrepreneurial success is learned through multiple failures.[2] Trump agrees, pointing out that students who succeed academically fear failure and are thus not always those who succeed at entrepreneurship. Trump compares this educational model to the business sector and differentiates between practical intelligence and academic intelligence.[2]

Trump and Kiyosaki emphasize that business owners help create opportunity for others while federal bureaucracy does not have the power to create meaningful employment. Their strategy for success is elaborated upon in five segments which the authors refer to as the "Midas Touch" formula. Requisite parts of learning how to become a good business owner include networking skills, brand name value, concentration to the task at hand, mental fortitude, and innumerable lesser characteristics. The authors advise that the middle-class squeeze creates an opportunity for readers to gain wealth.[2]

The authors illustrate their arguments with anecdotes throughout the work. Kiyosaki discusses his military contributions during the Vietnam War, an unsuccessful business venture attempting to sell wallets made out of Velcro, his increased success and popularity after an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and his surprise when he found out one of his businesses used a sweatshop. Trump recounts adventures experienced while engaged in real estate investing in Manhattan and what it was like to star in the television program The Apprentice.[2]

Trump and Kiyosaki conclude the book by embracing the phenomenon of entrepreneurs created through immigration to the United States, pointing out that for hundreds of years immigrants came through Ellis Island seeking economic opportunities. The conclusion emphasizes the hardship some immigrants experience prior to arrival in the U.S., acknowledging their effort to create a better life for their families as Americans. Trump and Kiyosaki assert immigrants to the U.S. are especially motivated to find economic success and are willing to take virtually any job to start improving their lives.

alt	Book cover
authors	Donald Trump Robert Kiyosaki
country	United States
language	English
subject	Personal finance
publisher	Plata Publishing
pub date	2011
media type	Print (Hardcover)
pages	240
isbn	978-1612680958
oclc	701019420
preceded by	Why We Want You to be Rich (2006)
followed by	Time to Get Tough (2011)

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Composition and publication

Critical reception

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