Posted on 09/06/2026 7:12:24 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
“Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki — the self-help guru who has made a fortune preaching the secrets of financial success — has amassed a staggering $1.2 billion in debt tied to his sprawling real-estate investments, according to a report.
The 79-year-old scribe has repeatedly touted the eye-popping figure while arguing that borrowing money to buy income-producing assets is a strategy used by the wealthy.
“So, I’m a billion two in debt,” he told the “Get Rich Education” podcast over the summer.
He added that people “[s]hould not do what I do, right?”
“But I studied it since 1974… If you’re going to learn to use debt, you’d better take some education.”
His ex-wife and business partner Kim Kiyosaki recently told Vanity Fair that the $1.2 billion figure has been widely misunderstood — and does not represent money the best-selling author personally owes.
“We have a lot of apartment houses with our partners,” Kim told the magazine, putting the portfolio at some 1,500 units.
“So technically, yes, we have all this debt,” she said, adding that the borrowing is attached to real estate and that Kiyosaki’s personal share is small.
The enormous debt pile is a product of Kiyosaki’s investment strategy.
As his properties rise in value, he borrows additional money against the increased equity and treats the loan proceeds as tax-free income, according to Vanity Fair.
He also puts individual investments into separate limited liability companies, insulating them from one another if one runs into trouble, the magazine reported.
“If it all comes to hell, you can talk to my attorney,” Robert Kiyosaki told the magazine.
“Firewalls — that’s the way the rich play the game.”
Vanity Fair estimated his portion of the debt could be around $30 million to $60 million...
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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If banks are willing to lend you $1.2 billion, you are RICH.
Kiyosaki has argued that debt can be a wealth-building tool when used to acquire income-producing assets.
David A. Perez, an enrolled agent and founder of Tax Maverick AI who said he uses a similar strategy as a multifamily real-estate investor, called Kiyosaki’s approach “a great strategy” and said carrying large amounts of property-backed debt is “actually very normal.”
Perez said borrowing against a property’s equity generally produces a tax-free loan because the property has not been sold, though the additional borrowing can increase mortgage payments, interest costs and reduce cash flow.
However, John Poole, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based consultancy JPTD Partners, sounded a more cautionary note.
“I think there’s good debt and there’s bad debt, and then there’s $1.2 billion of debt, which you better know exactly what in the world you’re doing,” he told The Post.
“Leverage works beautifully on the way up, and if it’s not continuing on that way up, then it’s like a chainsaw financially coming down.”
Poole said borrowing against appreciated assets can make sense in limited circumstances, including as an estate-planning tool, but warned against relying on the strategy indefinitely.
Kiyosaki has argued that debt can be a wealth-building tool when used to acquire income-producing assets.
David A. Perez, an enrolled agent and founder of Tax Maverick AI who said he uses a similar strategy as a multifamily real-estate investor, called Kiyosaki’s approach “a great strategy” and said carrying large amounts of property-backed debt is “actually very normal.”
Perez said borrowing against a property’s equity generally produces a tax-free loan because the property has not been sold, though the additional borrowing can increase mortgage payments, interest costs and reduce cash flow.
However, John Poole, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based consultancy JPTD Partners, sounded a more cautionary note.
“I think there’s good debt and there’s bad debt, and then there’s $1.2 billion of debt, which you better know exactly what in the world you’re doing,” he told The Post.
“Leverage works beautifully on the way up, and if it’s not continuing on that way up, then it’s like a chainsaw financially coming down.”
Poole said borrowing against appreciated assets can make sense in limited circumstances, including as an estate-planning tool, but warned against relying on the strategy indefinitely.
He is a fraud AND encouraged fraud.
He is a fraud AND encouraged fraud.
I think we need to see his balance sheet to understand his financial situation.
If his financial assets exceed the amount of mortgage debt secured by those properties, he may well be in good shape, financially.
You would also have to look at the cash flow. And the rental income he gets from those properties. Again, if he’s getting cash flow and rental income, which is enabling him to pay the mortgage, and all the operating expenses , he may well be doing well financially.
If he still has the assets, then we don’t know if this is a big deal or not.
He could ask for a little help to get to payday from Donald Trump.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=image+trump+next+to+rich+dad+author&FORM=HDRSC3
Donald John Trump himself repeated the old bromide “When you owe the banks a million dollars, they own you, but when you owe them a billion dollars, you own them.”
A couple years ago he was talking about getting into carbon credits. I have tuned him out since.
Sounds like he went from being a “Rich Dad” to being a “Poor Dad” and thus making the ENTIRE POINT of his book.
Caption: I saw the guy over there who’s gonna bet on me staying out of war in 2025 and 2026 on Kalshi and Polymarket.
Make sure you sit next to him at the table.
what you said ... bears repeating ...
that depends on the value of his real estate and the income it generates. Does the article talk about that?
He over leveraged himself and he incorporated each property separately, so when his empire falls, only the properties that fail can be taken from him.
My hub read about it...it is not a big deal, he said. It is called risk.
his book got me retired at 48
“Market is going to crash”
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