Complaint Review: Scott Zuckman Wealth Intelligence Academy

There are a number of positive rebuttals to these complaints, many of them very well written.  These sound like successful, intelligent, educated people.

Now, if you go to these seminars, you'll notice that the tactics are designed to sway people who are very subjective in nature and don't have much ability to analyze and evaluate what they're being told.  They respond to positive energy.  Sadly, this positive energy is used to sell a bunch of illogical, nonsensical arguments that these people don't seem to recognize as such.  It all just sounds so wonderful.  Can it be true?  Can I start making $100k a week if I just get out of the rat race?

So, what about people who can see this scheme for what it is?  When I went, I saw two groups -- the group cheering wildly about getting rich, and the group staring at each other and wondering if there was going to be any substance for our time and money.

I suspect that *most* of the people who are successful from this already know a lot about business, law and economics, (etc etc) and are simply adding these Rich Dad strategies to their existing skills.   Or, that they can make these things work because they already have a great deal of business knowledge.  For most of the other people, sadly, they're just taking a huge risk, and are going to get many ugly surprises which can only be fixed by spending even more money on these courses.

The thing that puzzles me is how an intelligent person (who would tend to be the successful ones)  can sit and have their intelligence insulted for 3 days with these asinine sales pitches?   How does an intelligent person rationalize $250 for a board game?   Or the value of 50% of the course they paid for being a sales pitch for an even more expensive course?

College may be more expensive but... jeez, at least you get what you're paying for, and without all the BS.

I have read the previous complaints and comments and wanted to add my opinion. I too attended the Wealth Building Seminar just a few weeks ago and Scott was the teacher. I went in with my own reservations and opinions of what to expect. I on the other hand learned quite a bit. Just as reading Rich Dad Poor Dad the course was enlightening on connecting the dots. Some things I knew and did not know how to go to the next step. Others were truly eye opening. (AHA).

They were able in my opinion to teach in a format to give a lot of information in a small timeframe to a very versatile group of people. Some had experience and needed to learn how to go to the next step. Others like myself were novice. I consider myself a very intellegent person. I am known by my peers to be very analytical. Although I have not attended college I have come to realize that college would not educate me on this very topic without a lot of fluff. English 101, Math 101, and so on. I want to learn about money (currency). How it works from credit to investing. I have worked in my career for 27 years and my job pays my full tuition in most subjects (job related). I dont want to continue in the rat race.

It is true that we learn finance from our families. My dad retired at the age of 45. I was 5. I have known that this existed. Living on the other side. And I am now approaching his age and I feel very ansy. Because I have had his example of living without having to report to a job. But his time was different. I have the advantage of obtaining a good education in the subject. He dabbled in real estate enough to show me a scam when it comes my way. Everything that was presented in the conference rang true. By logical methodoligy or by life examples I have seen growing up.

When we attend college we rely on the instructor to teach the subject at hand. We dont argue about what we dont know. We protest if the instructor doesnt teach it well. If we knew it we wouldnt need to attend the class.

When I was in class I so wanted to experience the Cashflow101 game. I had not played it before and wanted to see it up and running. In my first experience Scott and the mentors there had a plan. To prove the need of a mentor. At my table a bashful student whispered to a mentor 'show me how to win'. He proceeded to give her all the answers. I asked several times for help. But only on specific questions. Needless to say I was hot! But as the premise was later explained by Scott; I gradually calmed down and really did learn from that less. You see. I am very much a self directed have to be in control person. And I know that to be a flaw of mine. It is hard to share control of a task with someone. Only with a open mind could I recieve the lesson. I am now able to use what I have learned from the books and class and can say that I have progressed quickly and can get out of the rat race in a timely manner and succeed in winning the game.

With an open mind I have learned so much. Nothing of value can you get quickly that would be a scam. Yes the price tag of furthering my education was a huge jolt for me but it is still less expensive than most colleges. My comparison to the initial 3 day course is...the advanced courses are as jam packed with as much information itI will be very much worth every penny.

I have attended other short term educational programs. I see with this one that they walk an individuals though their fears by working directly with you as you learn. Example: I looked at the online forum and one of the online classes had teacher student to student dialogue. One of there assignments was to obtain several investors. They were given a script and was to report to the teacher. The teacher in turn gave feedback to what was done and given further instruction to a particular student. For me that speaks of how invested they are in our success, not just collecting fees for tuition. They could have just given the steps and said they met thier educational requirement. On all angles I see this program as costly but worth it. I also believe the cost serves the program well not just financially but a basis for weeding out those that are serious and plan on working the plan. There are many people that want to loose weight and are willing to buy the treadmill, eat fruit and salads for a month, or do lots of outlandish things but read the facts and put in the true work that will offer them the true results they are looking for. In turn by using this method they also weed out a lot more nay sayers. This is the first negative report I have come across regarding Rich Dad Poor Dad. In the time he has grown to level he has now. I believe that the positive out weighs the negative. You cant please all the people all the time but as long as you are trying that speaks volumes for me.

And I still have to come across those that were disatisfied with the advanced courses. I know they are out there. And I'll weigh there opinions too. There are lots of people unsatisfied with their college, college education, weight loss diets and more. It really boils down to what right/wrong for you. For me I'm in. Best of luck to all of you and the decisions you made that you felt was best for you.

Monica, DC 4/9/10

My wife and I attended a Rich Dad workshop in Norcross GA. We both knew going in that this was going to be a sales pitch of some kind. However, we had very specific things we were looking for. The workshop was presented by a young lady by the name of Jesse. During the presentation we heard a few things that caught our interest and decided to spend the $495 for the seminar. The MAIN reason we opted for the seminar was because we were led to believe that we would have a one on one conference with one of the their people at the seminar. We were also led to believe this would take place on the front end of the seminar and the purpose was to come up with a course of action based on OUR interest. On the first day of the seminar Scott Zuckman also told us this would take place but it would happen the second day. It never happened. We did not attend the third day. At that point we knew the only one on one conferences that would take place was to sell you on the advanced classes. I guess that's what they consider a course of action. DEFINITELY MISLEADING AND DISHONEST.

I have read most of the blogs on here and could go on forever but I found a couple things that I found the funniest.

First: To the individual that stated Scott Zuckman did not use the newspapers because everyone didn't bring one. More people brought newspapers than people who tried to increase their credit limit after the first day. That didn't stop him from talking about that subject for the next hour. Scott also had no problem using his computer to illustrate the things he wanted to illustrate. He could have used his computer and put the Atlanta Journal Constitution's classified section on the screen. We didn't need newspapers for him to show us how to use them. I am willing to bet they have never used the newspapers at any seminar but tell you to bring them leading you to believe they are actually going to teach you something.

Second: If you are basing your decision to attend a Rich Dad workshop or seminar on information you read on here BEWARE. Rich Dad has employees whose job it is to go on the internet and look for negative comments and refute that info.  Also, Scott Zuckman went on a rant the second day of class about people who go on blogs, being crab's in a bucket and to stay away from them.  He also said if you notice these people are cowards and either don't use their name or just part of their name. So I would think that if the individuals praising Rich Dads tactics actually attended the seminar they would not be on here blogging or at least they would attach their name.

I spent 21 hours attending this seminar for 2 days. That makes up 3 days of public school. If I visited my child's class for 3 days straight and they only learned as much as I did at the seminar. I would do everything in my power to get that teacher fired. 

I have read many of the comments posted above and although we only stayed for 7 hours of the first day I can tell you I was utterly disappointed with the product (or lack thereof). We attended the August 21st, 2009 session in Atlanta, Georgia with Scott Zuckman only to be shaking our heads and looking at each other in a puzzling manner as to what we were being pitched. Having been to  a few of these seminars we knew there would be a sales pitch somewhere along the way. What we did not expect was for the WHOLE 1st day to be a sales pitch. After paying that much money we were willing to listen to the pitch, but expected some type of meat to be able to take away from the weekend. We are by no means sophisticated investors, but we do have 7 rental properties in our portfolio. Our goal was to learn new ways to acquire properties and investment capital , but the only thing we learned was that Mr. Zuckman has an affinity for his Masserati and Hawaii condo. Every time it appeared he would get to something of substance he would follow it up by a "we will get to that later." We were not willing to wait through 3 days of getting to it in hopes of getting to something we could actually use. The kindergarten-like hand raising and group chants were laughable. I'm sure this course is for some people, but anyone with real estate experience will be severely disappointed in the product. I applaud Mr. Zuckman for his real estate wealth building, but I didn't pay to hear about everything he has. I came to hear how to do it. That's what this course boiled down to.....much more of WHY you should invest in real estate rather than HOW you can invest. If you need a course of WHY you should invest than by all means sign up for a great RA RA session, although you can usually get these much cheaper elsewhere. But if you need the HOW......well then I wish you well.

For those who got something from the course or the additional products they sell I think thats great. I just question paying a faceless person thousands of dollars to supposedly help you. I guess I just have a huge beef with paying an unknown person thousands of dollars when I have no idea how they are, what their skills/capabilities are and most importantly if they actually give a %^&* about anything that happens to me. The high pressure sales tactic of dolling out half of your annual income in one weekend is very repulsive to me for a company I have followed and enjoyed their reading materials. I think Robert Kiyosaki is a brilliant individual, but I do question these seminars and their merits. I do hope that Mr. Kiyosaki has not gotten so big that he has lost touch with the products under his name.

For those who have called those who raised concerns about these products  skeptics with fear dominated concerns and broken mindsets I would point out that Kiyosaki preaches not being Lemmings. By buying a product without proper due diligence because someone tells you its great....hmmm....sounds like that giant cliff is coming soon for you. I hope you find your "knowledge" from that faceless "mentor".

By the way everyone in our group contacted the company during the presentation on the first day and told them we wanted a full refund of the $499. The phone rep was very nice and first offered us a different training course. We informed her that we did not feel the course was worth it and we wanted the refund. She asked to speak to the presenter Mr. Zuckman, but he was presenting so she then asked for one of the 3 "helpers". She spoke with helper Jim and we were told we would receive our refund. I have heard if you don't ask for the refund prior to the second session you won't get it. I would highly discourage anyone from attending this event, but if you do be prepared for the never-ending sales pitch.

Good Luck!

This is a scam and a ripp off you will be left out to dry and once they have your money you will have not recourse.....BEWARE

Yes, I too went to the three-day seminar. Yet, knowing much about real estate investing and an expectation both, to further my knowledge, and know that education is expensive, I am completely satisfied that I had engaged in WIA advanced training.

Myself an M. Ed graduate, my son an MBA, my daughter a current Juris Doctorate enrollee, I believe that my financial education is best served by this avenue of education. My wife and I had been real estate investors (multi-family and off-campus student housing) for more than twenty years, yet our financial approach to continued success was always hampered with the "how can we get to the next level of investment" concern.

Having been involved with the WIA for about one year, we have networked our experience and the education provided to reach beyond our initial expectations.

All highly educated members of my family through the "formal post-secondary and beyond" education system whole-heartedly believe that the WIA has provided that promised financial education that was proposed during the three-day introduction. My wife and I now know what financial freedom truely is, thanks to our foresight, and the "Zuckman" introduction.

It is unfortunate that so many think that $500 will solve their financial woes, yet finance their son's and daughter's "formal" education, at hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, to do little more than teach them to be employees.

I now know why the vast majority of Americans live the daily grind and complain, while the few "financially educated" reap the rewards of the American dream. It is sad that $500 means too much to so many when it comes to educating for personal wealth.

My girl friend and I just got back from this event and enjoyed it. My mind was preoccupied with training that I have been doing in options trading and I have to admit I was a little overloaded with data so I let much of what was being said go right over my head. The options training I have received was marketed in much the same way as Scott Zuckman's course, and I had my doubts about it also. Still I work the system and the system works for me.

My girl friend holds a masters in teaching and is now retired from that profession after working at local, state, and federal levels. She is STILL working to pay off student loans.

We are both now successful working REALTORS specializing, for the time being, in REO's, foreclosures, BPO's and loan mods.

It should be plain to see that we have had hopes for income beyond what some people experience and realise that it will cost us.

From the beginning of receiving the info pack before the seminar we found the information helpful, the seminar itself gave us ideas that we plan to use. Many in our group didn't bring a newspaper so Scott didn't go into it, which we were glad.
I think this seminar only cost us $200. It was helpful, but I think it would be highly illogical to expect that we were going to become overly successful for only $200. That being said, I fully expect the ROI to beat out the cost of a masters degree in education which is still being paid for, but not used.

We signed up for more because we saw value. As returns are realised we will pay for more and not worry if we are unable to get discounts.

First, the immediate reaction by a vast majority to a real estate seminar is "ripoff". While there may be many that are not entirely on the level, it is my opinion that Robert Kiyosaki is. One of the main themes is the obligation to give back. And honesty is another main aspect that I perceived. Scott Z certainly projected both very well and were I a single man there is no doubt I would have sprung for at least the mid-level training. But I have a "crab" at home. I will need to be very thorough in my ensuing research in order to overcome that "this is a ripoff" mentality. In other words, find a positive cash flow deal. If it is a small deal, so be it. But I know there will be more.

RK has built an empire based on real estate and I really don't think his main source of wealth is the trainings. So what is his motivation for doing them? To help us get out of the rat race. That is a shining example of giving back.

The critical review to which I am responding seems to dwell primarily on a perceived lack of excruciating detail on how exactly a deal can be done. The training provided to me some good methods of how to produce positive cash flow and I intend to pursue that. Soon. While it is impossible to provide detail on all the aspects of real estate investing, the seminar provided a look (into the future) as to the many ways wealth can be obtained. And that is on which the focus must be. How much can you pack into 3 days???

As for ripoff due to cost of the other trainings, that is exactly why everyone is not doing it. The training is for those who know it can be done and are serious. In my opinion, an investment well worth it. And more. Call me a wild-eyed Pollyanna, but hey, that's the way I see it.

Disclosure - I am not affiliated in any way with WIA, just a normal attendee with a crab in the bucket.