It is written as simply as possible about a very complex subject. It is written to include anyone Introduction interested in becoming a better informed investor regardless of how much money they have. If this is your first book on investing, and you are con- cerned that it might be too complicated, please do not be con- cerned. All Sharon and I ask is that you have a willingness to learn and read this book from the beginning to the end with an open mind. If there are parts of the book that you do not understand, then just read the words but continue on to the end. Even if you do not understand everything, just by reading all the way through to the conclusion of this book, you will know more about the subject of investing than many people who are currently investing in the market. In fact, by reading the entire book, you will know a lot more about investing than many people who are giving investment advice and being paid to give their investment advice. This book begins with the sim- ple and goes into the sophisticated without getting too bogged down in detail and complexity. In many ways, this book starts simple and remains simple although covering some very sophisticated investor strategies. This is a story of a rich man guiding a young man, with pictures and diagrams to help explain the often confusing subject of investing. The 90/10 Rule of Money My rich dad appreciated Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto's discovery of the 80/20 rule, also known as the Principle of Least Effort. Yet when it came to money, rich dad was more aware of the 90/10 rule which meant that 10% of the people always made 90% of the money. The September 13, 1999, issue of The Wall Street Journal ran an article supporting my rich dad's point of view on the 90/10 rule of money. A section of the article read: "For all the talk of mutual funds for the masses, of barbers and shoe shine boys giving investment tips, the stock market has Rich Dad's Guide to Investing remained the privilege of a relatively elite group. Only 43.3% of all households owned any stock in 1997, the most recent year for which data is available, according to New York University econo- mist Edward Wolf. Of those, many portfolios were relatively small. Nearly 90% of all shares were held by the wealthiest 10% of house- holds. The bottom line: That top 10% held 73% of the country's net worth in 1997, up from 68% in 1983." In other words, even though more people are investing today, the rich continue to get richer. When it comes to stocks, the 90/10 rule of money holds true. Personally I am concerned because more and more fami- lies are counting on their investments to support them in the future. The problem is that while more people are investing very few of them are well educated investors. If or when the market crashes, what will happen to all these new investors? The federal government of the United States insures our sav- ings from catastrophic loss but it does not insure our invest- ments.