Kiyosaki team splits up

The Arizona Republic reports that Sharon Lechter, co-author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and participant in the Rich Dad Co. joint venture with Robert Kiyosaki, is calling it quits and has filed a lawsuit in which she alleges "that her ex-business partner and his wife are enriching themselves, diverting assets and wasting money in a business that she claims to have helped build from scratch."

Lechter, a CPA in Paradise Valley, claims that she "refined and created" the original book, while Kiyosaki is merely the public face of the book. If so, that makes the book even more bogus than it already appears to be--it's already apparent that the "rich dad" of the title is a fictional character and that the book is filled with bad advice. Lechter needs to be careful how much credit she claims if she wants to have any credibility for financial acumen--but I suspect she will care more about the cash.

The Kiyosakis respond that Lechter was the editor rather than the author of the book and that she is exaggerating her contributions.

The Republic article includes some of the allegations from the Lechter suit, as well as some quotes from Kiyosaki critic John T. Reed. The most interesting point I saw was that the Kiyosakis have earned about $9 million from their Rich Dad entities, which is a lot less than I would have expected, at least if seminar income is included in that amount.