Modi is a smart man; has a stupendous job on Indian economy: Kiyosaki

Bangalore: Robert Kiyosaki, American investor and celebrity author of 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' series of books, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a smart man but has a stupendous job to bring Indian economy on track as he could upset a lot of people with his innovative ideas.

"He (Modi) is a very smart man but he has got a tough job (to bring back the Indian economy on track). I mean I would never want to be in his job. So, I am glad I am not there ... I never know. His innovative ideas are going to upset a lot of people, because every time you bring some change, people will come after you," he told PTI here. Kiyosaki is an American investor, businessman, self-help author, motivational speaker, financial literacy activist and financial commentator.

He has written over 15 books which have combined sales of over 26 million copies. Kiyosaki, also the Founder of the Rich Dad Company and Cashflow Technologies Inc, said Modi should look at giving right kind of financial education to school children, instead of teachers who do not have any knowledge of money. "He (Modi) got to look at financial education. What is being taught. The problem with school teachers, you know, they are no rich people. So if a poor person teaches financial education, he will confuse students," he said. "So if I was Mr Modi I would be looking for real entrepreneurs who are real teachers. Who really know what they are talking about. Who practice what they teach every single day," he said. Kiyosaki also operates various investments and external business ventures, most of which are concentrated in the publishing, retail, education, mining, energy, financial market, and real estate industries.

He said he would have a channel especially for the best teachers in entrepreneurship, finance and investing, who is not part of the major corporation, as every major corporation has an agenda. "And I would stay away from the stock market because as you know it is rigged, big time," Kiyosaki said.

Asked about the mantra for becoming rich, Kiyosaki who has a networth of USD 80 million said he uses debt to become rich, not savings. "It is Ying and Yang. The savings is Ying and Yang is debt. Ying cannot have savings without debt. So the poor people and the middleclass are using savings, and richer using debt. I use debt to get rich - in colloquial English it is called OPM - Other People's Money," he said.

Asked why people remain poor, Kiyosaki said, "Because they work for money. The rich don't work for money. If you can understand that you can understand why those people are poor... I don't save money, I use debt". Kiyosaki, who owns oil drilling operations and oil wells around the United States, said former US President John F Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King were great leaders because they were spiritual.

"Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were great leaders because they were spiritual. Spiritual people inspires, a non-spiritual man intimidates," Kiyosaki said. Moreover, Kiyosaki said he did not like Barack Obama, George Bush, Ronal Reagan and Jimmy Carter. "I don't like Obama's politics. He does not inspire people. I didn’t like Bush either. I didn’t care for Ronald Reagan. I didn't care for Jimmy Carter. I didn't care for most of them," he said.