PART ONE
WHY DONALD TRUMP AND ROBERT KIYOSAKI WROTE THIS BOOK
For many reasons, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki never should have met, much less written a book together. Donald Trump is from New York (the financial capital of the world), is from a wealthy family and is a billionaire who started making his money at a young age. Robert Kiyosaki grew up in Hawaii (the vacation capital of the world), is from a middle-class family and became a millionaire later in his life.
While both men are financially free and do not have to work anymore, they choose to continue to work harder than ever. While they do not run in the same circles, something brought them together: they share the same concerns.
Both Donald and Robert are internationally best-selling authors, and each could write another bestseller on his own.
Why would they choose to write a book together? You may have seen their books many times at the bookstore. Maybe you bought them, and maybe you didn’t. But isn’t it intriguing that these two superstars would join together to write one book? Maybe they are doing it to get your attention! It’s that important.
Part One of this book contains Donald’s and Robert’s personal accounts of how they met and why they decided to write this book.
Robert’s View
Chicago: November 6, 2005
It is early Sunday afternoon. Tens of thousands of people are attending a large real estate expo in Chicago. The convention hall is filled with exhibits and displays of wealth-building investments and opportunities. In smaller classrooms, instructors are sharing their knowledge about how the attendees can build their own personal fortunes. The cavernous hall is filled with a buzz that is contagious. People are excited about what they are learning and how it can alter their financial destinies.
Backstage, in the large room where the production crews are working, there is a different excitement. It is a quiet, electric excitement. A long, black limousine has pulled up and people have begun to whisper, “He’s here! Donald Trump has arrived.”
I am standing in the green room, a private lounge where the main speakers wait before going onstage, so I do not see the limo arrive. But when I see two police officers go past the door of the green room, I know Donald Trump is about to enter.
From inside the green room I can see a tall, imposing figure stepping out of the limo. It could only be Donald Trump, his silhouette known to millions of The Apprentice viewers from around the world. Those of us with backstage passes spontaneously form two lines. Almost on cue, Donald Trump walks between the two lines of admirers, smiling and nodding. It is a greeting reserved for royalty or heads of state. If it had been Hollywood, a red carpet would have been ordered.
“Oh my God!” gasps a young woman. “He’s even more impressive in real life.” “I cannot believe how tall he is,” says another young woman. “Did you see his hair?” asks another. For the most part, the men in the group are silent.
The door of the green room suddenly opens. Those who can peek in see that Donald is talking to reporters. The event promoter exits the room and walks over to me. “Are you ready to introduce Donald?” he asks. “Rich Dad’s Robert Kiyosaki introducing The Donald. The crowd loves it.”
Donald Trump emerges from the green room and walks over to where we are standing. After a few private words with the promoter, Donald turns to me and says, “Hello again. You’re introducing me?” I nod in response.
“Great, I see you’re still on The New York Times best seller list,” says Donald. “That’s amazing.” Then he lowers his voice just a notch. “I want to talk to you about something. Have you got time right now?”
“Of course,” I reply.
“You’re the number one personal-finance author, and I’m the number one business author. We should do a book together. What do you think?”
Stunned by the offer, I am speechless.
I recover and reply, “Great idea. Let’s do it.”
I extend my hand to see if he’s serious about this book idea. He is, and we shake. Donald then turns to Keith, his imposing bodyguard, and says, “Give Robert my card.”
Keith, the six-foot-three bodyguard suddenly stops being an intimidating figure, smiles, breaks out a gold card case and hands me one of Donald Trump’s personal business cards.
“Call me the next time you’re in New York, and we’ll begin putting the book together,” says Donald. “I’ll introduce you to Meredith. She’ll help us on the project.”
Soon it’s show time, so I turn and head for the stage where more than 24,000 Chicago fans in the main hall and satellite rooms are waiting for Donald Trump. As soon as I am finished with my brief introduction, the theme song from the mega-hit television show, The Apprentice, comes on, thousands of gold balloons fall from the ceiling, and the crowd erupts with applause as Donald Trump walks onstage.
The Long Ride Home
Flying home from Chicago to Phoenix, the reality of that handshake set in. “Who am I to write a book with Donald Trump?” I kept asking myself. “And what would we write about?”
“Care for a blanket?” the flight attendant asked, snapping me out of my turmoil.
“No, thank you,” I replied with a smile.
As soon as the flight attendant walked away an idea popped into my head: We could write about real estate.
With that thought, my personal critic chimed in, the critic who had been torturing me ever since the book idea was proposed. My critic cynically asked, “You and Donald Trump write a book on real estate? When it comes to real estate, Donald Trump is in the major leagues, and you’re in the Little League. He builds skyscrapers in New York. And what do you own? A few apartment houses, a few low-rise commercial buildings, and some raw land. Besides, he’s a billionaire, and you’re only a millionaire.”
Until now, I had been pretty satisfied with my accomplishments in life. But when considering a book with Donald Trump, my successes and accomplishments seemed very small and inconsequential. Instead of feeling honored to be asked to write a book with Donald Trump, I felt miserable. “What can we possibly write about?” I asked myself over and over again as the plane flew from Chicago to Phoenix.
The Boardroom
December 12, 2005
I was in New York to record a television program for PBS and to meet with Yahoo! Finance. Since I was to be in New York anyway, Meredith
