Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the bestselling ’Rich Dad Poor Dad’ book, has accumulated an estimated $1.2 billion debt connected to his aggressive real estate investment.
According to reports, the debt is the estimated amount the 79-year-old author and his business partners borrowed to acquire approximately 1,500 property units as Mr Kiyosaki continues to expand his real estate holdings.
Despite the significant debt, Mr Kiyosaki does not appear apprehensive about the liabilities, maintaining that borrowing money to acquire income-generating assets is a strategy commonly used by wealthy individuals.
“So, I’m a billion two in debt,” the author said on the ‘Get Rich Education’ podcast recently, adding that people “should 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.”
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Mr Kiyosaki’s ex-wife and business partner, Kim Kiyosaki, revealed that the debt did not reflect the amount her ex-husband personally owes.
She stressed that it is connected to the real estate properties owned by them and their business partners, adding that Mr Kiyosaki’s personal share of the liabilities is small.
Vanity Fair estimated Mr Kiyosaki’s share of the debt at around $30 million to $60 million.
“We have a lot of apartment houses with our partners. So technically, yes, we have all this debt,” the ex-wife told Vanity Fair.
Speaking to the magazine, Mr Kiyosaki stated, “If it all comes to hell, you can talk to my attorney. Firewalls—that’s the way the rich play the game.”