Robin Hood
Robin Hood is generally used as a symbol of good in that he takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Things are a little different here, however, as Robin Hood becomes a symbol for how belief in this idea has actually resulted in the rich reaping the benefit of a tax system which became corrupted through the trust in the Robin Hood trope so that the burden is now mostly levied on the middle class.
Chicken Little
Chicken Little is the character who went around crying the sky is falling and as such, he is a perfect symbol for the worry wort who is afraid of taking financial risks. But in this case, Chicken Little’s fear is underlaid with an extra dimension. He is a symbol of not just fear and anxiety, but cynicism. Chicken Little is the book’s symbol of a fear that springs from a well of doubt.
Tickle Me Elmo Doll
The Tickle Me Elmo Doll is an almost ideal symbol for the concept of supply-and-demand in an emotion-driven market. Rather than trying to explain the psychology of how advertising strategies made so many children put a doll they had never seen at the top of their Christmas list, that strategy becomes the symbolic underpinning of an illustration of how the laws of supply and demand can be easily manipulated by exploiting consumer emotion rather than consumer logic.
Texans
Texans—in general and, most likely, based on fiction rather than reality—is the book’s primary symbol for being aggressive with one’s financial stake. The author’s “rich dad” says he likes Texans because they both win big and lose big. The lesson is not to enjoy losing big, but realizing that if you always play to avoid losing big, you will take advantage of the opportunity to win big.
The Donkey
One of the most important messages in the book is this: don’t be a donkey. In this case, the donkey is that specific beast of burden which transports the cart carrying the man standing behind the donkey and holding a carrot on a stick to get it to move. The carrot is of value only to the man because it gets him where he wants to go, but for the donkey, the carrot is mere illusion. Oh sure, he may get to eat it at the end of the journey and there will be another carrot for the next trip, but in spending his life chasing after that carrot, what is he missing? Seeing the places he might want to go. The carrot is money in the form of a paycheck and the donkey is the person who misses out on life because they spend all their money chasing after money instead of pursuing what they really want to do with that money.
