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“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…...

Thank God, no, we aren't going bust as a nation, despite our gargantuan $40 trillion national debt. The rapid pileup of debt under Republicans and Democrats alike is certainly a disgrace and worrisome. When I came to Washington in the mid-1980s, our debt hit $1 trillion for the first time. It seemed like a tidal wave of red ink. Forty years later, we're at $40 trillion. That's a big and scary number. But our national wealth is roughly $180 trillion. So our debt-to-asset ratio, which has been rising, is still less than 25%, and much lower than at the end...

The federal deficit will be $2.1 trillion when fiscal year 2026 ends on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office projected in its monthly budget review.The deficit - the gap between what the government spends and what it collects from taxes and other revenue - has never surpassed $1.8 trillion, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.Key facts: Federal revenues are up 3% in 2026 compared to last year. Even though corporate income tax revenue has declined, income and payroll tax collections increased.But federal spending is up 5%, according to the CBO. Interest on the national debt increased 14% compared to last year....

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he and other European leaders plan to travel to the United States in September to lobby US President Donald Trump to let Ukraine access some of its Patriot air defense missile stocks ahead of the winter, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing an interview. "I'm looking forward to going to New York in September," Burnham told Bloomberg. "I’ve not fully confirmed the details yet but it’s likely I will go, particularly after today’s discussion," Bloomberg quoted him as saying. Ukraine independence celebrations marked by world leaders in KyivThe leaders of Britain and France pledged...

"Dana Bash speaks with former Vice President Mike Pence about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the renewed threat of a trade war between the U.S. and Canada, and his reaction to his former CIA briefer - a trans woman - stating that he treated her with "great dignity." ...

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, the cost to taxpayers for the U.S. War on Terror is approaching $10 trillion. Initial costs for two conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were more than $8 trillion. An additional $2 trillion will be incurred by U.S. military spending after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israel and conflicts in Yemen and Iran. Iraq and Afghanistan war costs: $8+ trillion*** Afghanistan: $2 trillion The [Biden] administration left $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment behind and turned control of the country back to the Taliban. *** Cost on veterans: $2.5 trillion...

Total federal debt reached approximately $40.047 trillion on August 18, 2026, according to the Treasury Department’s Debt to the Penny database. That included roughly $32.27 trillion held by the public and $7.78 trillion in obligations held within the federal government.The milestone is difficult to comprehend in isolation. But the speed of the increase makes it more alarming.A decade ago, total federal debt stood near $19.4 trillion. America has therefore added more than $20 trillion to its debt burden in approximately ten years. It took the country more than two centuries to accumulate its first $20 trillion—and roughly a decade to...

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, marking a historic milestone in a borrowing buildup that has accumulated over generations, through wars, recessions, tax changes and the expansion of major federal benefit programs under presidents of both parties.The Treasury Department reported that total public debt outstanding reached about $40.047 trillion Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The number is striking, but the more significant measure for economists is debt held by the public — money the federal government owes to investors and other entities outside the federal government. That...

WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has made at least $174,000 annually for nearly eight years as a member of Congress, but like many of her “Squad” colleagues, she has yet to put a substantial dent in her student loan debt, according to House financial disclosures. The Bronx and Queens Democrat has owed between $15,001 and $50,000 in federal student loan debt since her election to the House in 2018. That’s the same amount she owes now, according to her August disclosure, where lawmakers report ranges for debt and income. The “Tax the Rich!” pol reported less than $81,000 in...

For years, Americans have heard warnings about the national debt climbing into the tens of trillions of dollars. The numbers have become so large that they barely register anymore. Thirty trillion. Thirty-five trillion. Nearly forty trillion. But the real danger may no longer be simply how much America owes. It is how much America must now pay to keep borrowing. The U.S. Treasury is selling 30-year government bonds at yields around 5.2%, potentially the highest borrowing cost for that maturity in roughly a quarter century. That may sound like something only Wall Street investors should care about. It isn't. Because...

The world is getting more uptight about lending money to President Donald Trump’s government — causing interest rates to climb in ways that are worsening affordability pressures, hampering economic growth and creating a new risk for Republicans in November’s midterm elections. The energy price spike triggered by the Iran war has seeped into the price of bonds that help fund the U.S. government. Interest rates on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note are topping 4.44%, up from 3.95% before the war started at the end of February. Average mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels in nine months, while auto...

For most of American history, charging someone 20% interest on a loan was illegal. Every state had usury laws capping rates at 6%, 8%, sometimes 10%. These protections dated back thousands of years — from the Code of Hammurabi to colonial America. Then in 1978, one Supreme Court ruling quietly changed everything. The case was Marquette National Bank v. First of Omaha Service Corporation, and almost nobody noticed when it was decided. But it opened a legal loophole that allowed banks to "export" interest rates from their home state to customers nationwide. What followed was a chain reaction: a desperate...

"The conservatives on here denying the affordability crisis are engaged in what I can only describe as an act of political suicide. They're also lying, which is the worst part. Grocery prices are up. Housing. Energy. Insurance. Health care. Basic living expenses. It's real. It's happening. Denying it just makes you look out of touch, deceitful, and untrustworthy. It's also a completely unnecessary and unforced error. No credible person is claiming that Trump caused these price surges. You don't have to disgrace yourself by denying the reality in front of your face just to prove your loyalty to Trump. The...

While Germany's debt spiral is accelerating ever faster, Argentine President Javier Milei is steering his country in the opposite direction. Germany's statists will soon be left looking foolish once it becomes obvious that the German model has failed. Only contrast reveals one's own mistakes. Javier Milei is the antithesis of Germany's political class, and the comparison could hardly be starker. While Germany continues to expand the state, Argentina is slashing subsidies and radically reducing the size of its public bureaucracy. While Berlin piles up enormous amounts of public debt, Buenos Aires is posting a primary budget surplus. Friedrich Merz believes...

ORLANDO, Florida, July 22 (Reuters) - As Japan's yen sinks to its lowest in 40 years, Tokyo's policy credibility in the eyes of international investors appears to be sinking too. The dollar/yen rate, the world's second most traded currency pair, is now above 163.00 for the first time since 1986. Why is Japan's currency so weak? Partly it is dollar strength. Most major ​currencies have weakened against the greenback in the last few months as a second wave of the global energy shock has reignited inflation fears, pushing up U.S. Treasury yields. While most ‌developed market government debt has come...

The past few weeks have seen the bond market start asking a question the stock market has mostly been happy to ignore: Who can actually afford the AI buildout? On July 9, S&P Global Ratings gave its answer for one of the biggest spenders. It cut Oracle Corp.'s (NYSE: ORCL) long-term credit rating to BBB-, the lowest rung of investment grade and just one notch above junk. The stock has since fallen to around $125, down nearly 30% over the past month and nearly 50% over the past year. What makes the downgrade worth more than a passing glance is...

...Professor Michael Hudson characterizes the relationship between creditors and debtors as a 5,000 year long war which in our time is being won by the creditors. Indeed, an independent oligarchy of creditors has been created and is currently buying up land that the population itself cannot afford to own. As Professor Hudson puts it, when you look at history in terms of the fight between creditors and debtors, it is a debt crisis that enslaved the Roman Empire and led to the fall of Rome. You have had the same tension in miniature in almost every subsequent economy. It is...

The Federal Budget Deficits are large by historical standards. The deficit totals $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and grows to $3.1 trillion in 2036. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit is 5.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 and increases to 6.7 percent in 2036. Deficits averaged 3.8 percent of GDP over the last 50 years (see Chapter 1). Debt held by the public rises from 101 percent of GDP in 2026 to 120 percent in 2036, well above the previous record of 106 percent just after World War II. Outlays are large by...

Initiative allows newborns to be enrolled in new and streamlined processes Baltimore, MD – Today, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced it is launching processes for parents to enroll newborns in Trump Accounts. This automatic system will help ensure that every newborn has the opportunity to benefit from a Trump Account from the start of life. One year ago, on July 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts, which created Trump Accounts, a new type of individual retirement account for eligible minors under the age of 18. "Trump Accounts represent one of the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump. The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss...