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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, March 2, 2008 Invest in silver, real estate and stocks, celebrated author advises By Tim Grant Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki believes there's a silver lining in the clouds over the sluggish U.S. economy in the form of silver itself. "If you have $10,000 cash, I would take $5,000 and buy silver either in an exchange-traded fund or coins and sit on the rest instead of keeping all of it in cash because the purchasing power of silver will go up and cash will go down," Kiyosaki said. The celebrated author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" recently discussed his views on the current economy in a wide-ranging interview in which he recommended that people look for bargains while real estate and stock prices are low, and offered a cursory glimpse of his own investment strategy in these changing times. As a personal-finance guru best known for challenging traditional beliefs about the real definition of assets and liabilities, Kiyosaki, 60, has earned a reputation for offering what some would say is unconventional advice. His prevailing theme is that great economic changes in this generation behoove people to think more like investors instead of wage earners and consumers. "Right now, everyone has to learn to invest," he said. "I always say savers are losers. The purchasing power of the dollar has dropped and it will continue." Kiyosaki predicts that silver, which is trading for about $17 an ounce now, will reach its 1980 record high price of $52.50 an ounce in three or four years. Unlike gold, which is hoarded, silver is an industrial commodity used in products such as cell phones and television sets. And like oil, the supply of silver is declining while demand rises. "For the average guy, silver is the way to go," Kiyosaki said, adding that gold has gotten way too expensive for most people at this point. "Twenty-eight years ago, silver was $50 an ounce. Gold was $850. Today gold is at $900 an ounce. Silver is at $17. Which do you think is the better bet? I think silver." As for real estate and stocks, Kiyosaki says now is a great time to be an investor. "The real estate and stock market are having sales," he said. "So, this is the time to look for bargains. Between 2004 and 2005 was the worse time for real estate and stocks." The trouble with stocks, he said, is that U.S. companies that have always been considered good solid companies are more vulnerable to foreign competitors. General Motors will face stiff competition if and when India-based Tata Motors releases a $2,500 automobile on the world market. The Chinese are building their own jetliners. Microsoft could get hurt by open-source and Internet-based software. Kiyosaki's book series has sold more than 28 million copies worldwide since its release in 1997.

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