Ever wonder why conventional wisdom is so conventional? It's because it's the same people repeating it over and over.

The reason why this happens is mostly laziness. Reporters and TV producers call on the same people to render their opinions because they are the ones who return calls and show up when they are needed. I have done it myself so I know the drill well. Yes, Woody Allen's claim that 80% of success is showing up continues to be proven right. These people can be summed up in several categories: wisemen -- they almost always are male -- whose every utterance is treated as if it was etched in stone tablets by the almighty, and insta-pundits -- who are able to give quotes on every topic imaginable. Finally, there are the personal finance gurus whose message is that by helping me make money, I can help you save money.

Below are my choices for the most overexposed business pundits and media personalities. They are in no particular order.

Wisemen: Alan Greenspan -- Don't you miss the days when no one understood what the former Fed Chairman was talking about? Now, his message is pretty clear: buy my book and the subprime mortgage crisis was not my fault. Honorable mentions: former General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Chief Executive Jack Welch, billionaire George Soros, and oilman Boone Pickens.

This post was part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst of 2007. Voting has now closed and readers have chosen Martha Stewart as the most annoying money personality of the year. Let us know in the comments if you are pleased with this result.

In last year's Best & Worst in Money awards, Donald Trump was the easy victor in the Most Annoying Money Expert category, securing 44% of the votes, more than twice as much as Suze Orman, Jim Cramer, or Mark Cuban. Trump won by such a landslide that this year we decided to take him out of the running, giving some new personalities a shot at the prize.

So, let's take a look at the contestants for this year's Donald Trump Honorary Most Annoying Money Personality contest:

Maria Bartiromo, CNBC's famed "Money Honey," isn't looking so sweet and spunky these days. She now seems a touch vampish as the apparent centerpiece in a Citigroup scandal that led to the ouster of exec Todd Thomson. Thomson might have earned the CEO spot recently vacated by Chuck Prince if he hadn't offered Bartiromo a spot on a Citi jet to fly to Asia to speak to customers.

Maria's journalistic ethics were called into question for accepting the junket, but CNBC, which nets plenty of advertising from Citi, glossed over the scandal. Criticism of Maria, however, helped raise the profile of CNBC's new sweetheart, Erin Burnett. In September, AOL's Money Face-Off found them virtually neck-and-neck among voters.

When I saw an ad on the internet for a free Rich Dad education seminar, I thought about going and then writing a piece about how awful it was. I hate to be prejudicial, but having read much of Robert Kiyosaki's work, I would be shocked if his program had anything of value.

Chuck Jaffe over at Marketwatch spared me the trouble, went to the seminar, and put the Rich Dad in his place. The event featured a rant against skepticism and caution, which I would argue are two key attributes for successful investors: particularly in a world filled with snake oil salesmen like Robert Kiyosaki.

Jaffe sums it up: "Kiyosaki's world is full of platitudes, and is not so rich on specific advice. The question is whether that works when you are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to get the specific help needed to make this work entirely on your own."

Jaffe goes on to observe that Kiyosaki's work feeds on hope and dreams, and that combined with emphasis on positivity and the rejection of skepticism reminds me of one thing: Amway motivational organizations. Not surprisingly, Kiyosaki has a long history of involvement with multi-level marketing, and even wrote a book about it: The Business School For People Who Like Helping People. If Jaffe can declare the seminar the Stupid Investment of the Week, I'm declaring that book the stupid book of the Holocene epoch.

Bottom line: Kiyosaki and others like him are essentially selling cliches and positive thinking. But who needs to drive to a seminar to think positively? Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, be happy" will set you back 99 cents on iTunes, and you'll acquire approximately the same amount of wisdom listening to that.

Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) shares soared more than 20% on Friday after the company disclosed that "The Strategic Committee has recently received preliminary and conditional indications of interest from parties proposing to acquire the Company. There can be no assurance that any of these indications of interest will result in a sale of the Company or any other transactions."

Given that the company had already announced that it was for sale and already jumped on that news, the shares may have gotten ahead of themselves today. But the storyline that interests me is this: If the casinos are sold, is it possible that the Trump name will be removed?

With the ratings of The Apprentice continuing to show weakness in the latest season (even after a move to L.A. to spice things up), I would argue that the Trump name may be suffering from overexposure. His huge ego may have finally turned off the public, and his book with Robert Kiyosaki is probably the worst thing I've ever read.

I just wonder whether the Trump name has much value anymore. There's no question that everyone knows it, but what is the average person's impression of Trump?

In an article that is sure to be torn apart more than a few times soon, Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki recent stated that a friend of his would rather play the lottery than invest in mutual funds. To a point, I agree (somewhat) with that: most mutual funds are atrocious tools for growth. The loads, the management ineptness and the fees are all considered by many industry veterans to be one of the worst ways to invest your money. Consider John Bogle (founder of Vanguard), Peter Lynch (of the famed Fidelity Magellan fund) and former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt. All of these respected individuals have spoken on the high costs and poor returns of the average mutual fund. Yet, financial advisers and licensed brokers dole them out to customers like candy to a baby.

But, the devil is in the details here -- not all mutual funds can be grouped into a big basket. No-load index funds are great investment vehicles for most novice investors in the U.S. Rather adventuresome investors may get into individual and speculative stock picking, but for most, the index fund (and a varied bucket at that) is a great way to park that money. Kiyosaki does not even make this distinction. Strike #1. According to a conversation with a friend of Kiyosaki's, 401(k) contributions, IRAs and profit sharing/pension plans are not wise investments at all. Whoa -- them's fightin' words!

It's true that investment vehicles in areas where investors have little control (like the market) can lead to somewhat of a gamble, is playing the lottery any better? Based on the track record of the market (and index funds in particular), do lotteries have a better return? It's true that past performance is no guarantee of future results, but with a few grand, what do you trust? An index fund or REIT or maybe a few hundred lotto tickets?

While there is a semblance of thought in the article by Kiyosaki, the premise is lacking in supporting detail and not enough investment vehicles are referenced to make a convincing thought here. I'm still a non-believer in most mutual funds (a waste of time and effort unless you know the manager), but index funds are still the way to go for many investors -- and I'd still put my money into one of them rather than play the lottery. Answer this: would you rather have little control over your investments for the (unknown) chance of a higher payoff or complete control over your investments with a tiny and slim chance for a payoff?

Written by CNBC business anchor Liz Claman, The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received consists of short essays written by investors like John Bogle, Jim Cramer, Steve Forbes, Bill Gross, and BloggingStocks's own Peter Cohan. It also has some puzzling choices such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, and Suze Orman.

This is one of those books that sounds so good that even if I tell you it's horrible you will probably buy it anyway. And it isn't horrible. It's just repetitive. It seems like half the experts provide either "Diversify!" or "Go against the crowd!" or "Don't trade frequently!" as the best advice they ever received. It's sage advice to be sure, but gets boring after the fifteenth time.

While Robert Kiyosaki (of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame) has railed against mutual funds for years (while simultaneously suggesting multilevel marketing schemes), it appears that he may have been right: rich people really don't seem to like mutual funds. According to a study discussed in the Wall Street Journal (registration required) few wealthy investors are satisfied with the performance of their mutual funds. With good reason: over the long-term, passively managed index funds outperform most mutual funds.

One of the few fund companies that earned high marks from high net-worth investors is Vanguard Group, which was among the first companies to offer mutual funds. Vanguard still offers some of the lowest cost index funds around and, if you only choose one fund company for your retirement planning, Vanguard may be the way to go. Congratulations Vanguard, and keep up the good work.

On a side note, Vanguard founder John Bogle has written some amazing books about business and investing: Common Sense on Mutual Funds and The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism belong on the bookshelf of every serious investor. If Common Sense seems too intimidating, pick up his new Little Book of Common-Sense Investing instead. While it really is a little book, it has everything you need to know to beat the vast majority of professional money managers.

Harry Hurt III of the New York Times ripped into Suze Orman's new book Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. He begins with this attack:

Among the substances that need hazmat warning labels are the liquid that bronzes Suze Orman's hair, the paste that whitens her teeth for her publicity photographs, and her latest financial advice manual, "Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny."

While Mr. Hurt is certainly entitled to his opinion, he is, as he freely admits, not the target audience. On Amazon.com, the 48 reviewers so far have given the book an average 4.5 stars (granted they also gave Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki's book an average of 3 stars when 1 star would have been generous).

The point is: if the book doesn't appeal to men, who cares? It's like Elton John dismissing Playboy as boring.

There I was, a plainly-dressed, limp-haired and under-lipsticked financial writer, descending the escalators of the glitzy, gilded Trump Towers on Fifth Avenue to reach the book party for Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump's newly released, Why We Want You to Be Rich.

And there he went, Donald Trump, larger-than-life media and real estate mogul, ascending the very same escalator. Light bulbs flashed and video cameras rolled. I fought the urge to duck lest I inadvertently end up in the background of an Entertainment Tonight spot. It was 6:30 p.m. last Thursday and the party started at 6 p.m., but I guess The Donald had already made his appearance.

Robert Kiyosaki stayed on and carried the torch for the book, conducting interviews, posing for photos, looking stylish, tanned and friendly, but also not entirely real. In fact, the quantity of make-up on many people at this event -- not just him -- made me wonder if I'd gotten stuck in a wax museum.

I enjoyed some the beef tenderloin, listened to the strolling clarinetist and snapped my photos from my Treo before, scuttling out of the event with book in hand.

On my way home, much to my surprise, I found myself enjoying the book immensely. I was actually laughing out loud at points, perhaps not necessarily in the way the authors intended, but having a grand old time just the same.

Readers who love Trump's confidence and Kiyosaki's earnestness, will no doubt get a huge kick out of seeing what happens when these two mammoth personalities come together.