[Bread-Baking Typewriter] 'Trump 2.0 Era' Not a Crisis but an Opportunity to Learn a Wealthy Mindset

Last year, the average monthly salary increase for working people in their 20s was the smallest among all age groups. Their wages rose more slowly than those of people in their 60s and even the elderly in their 70s. The wage growth in the hands of people in their 20s did not even keep up with the overall inflation rate, meaning their income effectively declined.

The current generation is the first to be worse off than their parents. Until now, the older generation has passed down a success formula: "Go to a good school, get a job, work hard to pay off debts, and invest long-term in the stock market." However, this formula no longer works in today's era.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author well known for the 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' series, emphasizes that 'financial education' is essential in today's era of widening wealth gaps between the rich, the middle class, and the poor. If 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' is elementary school, his new book 'Why the Rich Get Richer' is graduate school. It contains the stories needed in this era of increased uncertainty.

The author says we need to develop 'financial literacy' that cannot be learned in school. He warns, "The growing gap today between the wealthy and other classes is a moral crisis and a social time bomb." He explains the history of money and how the banking system works, clearly showing tax strategies and debt management methods actually used by the rich, contrasting them with common financial knowledge.

Kiyosaki explains the mindset of becoming rich through a somewhat provocative idea that "taxes are incentives." Salaried workers and self-employed people work for more money or higher wages. But entrepreneurs and investors work for tax benefits. For example, if a business owner receives tax deductions for hiring employees, a salaried worker only looks for higher pay and ends up moving in a direction that causes them to pay more taxes. This difference is the presence or absence of the rich mindset that makes the rich richer, and it is the core of this book.

Kiyosaki emphasizes the importance of 'financial education,' saying, "Most people without financial literacy blame the rich for their money problems. Financially literate people mostly believe they are victims of the tax system." He adds, "Such people call the rich 'thieves' and 'fraudsters' instead of finding out how the rich pay less tax (or how to minimize their own taxes)."

The author frequently mentions U.S. President Donald Trump throughout the book. In fact, Kiyosaki and President Trump co-authored two books expressing deep concern about the current state of financial education and emphasizing the need for genuine financial education. In the era of Trump 2.0, this book can serve as a guide for those who want to turn the current situation into a new opportunity to cultivate a rich mindset rather than a crisis.

Finally, the author stresses not to fear making mistakes in becoming rich. Mistakes make the rich richer, but one reason people face financial difficulties is because they fear making mistakes.

Why the Rich Get Richer | Robert Kiyosaki | Translated by Oh Woongseok | Minumsa | 388 pages | 19,000 KRW