Why We Want You to Be Rich notes in the introduction it is not intended as a technical manual with specific recommendations. The book warns the reader that the
American middle class strata is shrinking due to multiple factors including oncoming retirement of the
baby boomers, rising costs of
light crude oil, decreasing employer pay to employees, increasing
national debt of the United States, and a declining power of the
United States dollar. The authors caution that individuals should not rely on the federal bureaucracy for support from problems including the
middle-class squeeze,
economic globalization, and threats of terrorism. They assert that employment opportunities are not created by the government but rather through
entrepreneurship. Trump and Kiyosaki advise that these problems create opportunity for investors in the form of a future
social class in the United States with only two tiers. The authors assert such a system will mostly benefit wealthy individuals. Trump writes that wealthy individuals are able to spot strategic advantages, "The rich will spot the opportunities, while the poor will hide their heads and pretend it isn’t happening." The authors criticize those who wish to save money by being thrifty. Trump comments, "So many people think cheap and buy cheap. You can get rich by being cheap, but who wants to be a rich cheap person?" Trump recounts a story about a friend who would always fly in
first class no matter his financial straits, "he needed it mentally. … He wanted to fly first class because mentally, he wanted to think he was the best. … It put him in a good state of mind and he became a very, very successful guy."
Why We Want You to Be Rich imparts
personal finance advice to the reader from Trump's real estate background and Kiyosaki's investing experiences. The book includes quotations from prior works and speeches by both authors and illustrative graphs. Trump and Kiyosaki refer to
Warren Buffett for an example of investing success. The book educates the reader about the "Cashflow Quadrant" theory, classifying individuals into categories of investor, self-employed, business owner, or employee. The authors explain the advantages and disadvantages of each category. Kiyosaki emphasizes a different mindset required for their view of success: "When Donald and I think about working hard, while we both work hard individually, we mostly think about other people working hard for us to help make us rich." Kiyosaki advocates
financial literacy, and Trump cites historical case studies from his real estate career. Kiyosaki criticizes those who ascribe to
modern portfolio theory and invest in
mutual funds. Instead, the book recommends investing in
multi-level marketing companies, which are given a chapter in the work. He argues that by taking out loans from a bank, one can leverage
real estate investing to higher returns. Trump and Kiyosaki recommend more of their books and educational presentations in the book. The book describes a business mindset by introducing the reader to the terms ''other people's time
(OPT) and other people's money'' (OPM). Kiyosaki writes, "While the financial advice of saving money and investing in mutual funds may be good advice for the poor and middle class, it is not good advice for people who want to become rich." ==Composition and publication==