Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki admits he's $1.2 billion in debt: “If I go bankrupt, so do the banks.”

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, recently shared his unique take on debt and investing, taking a holistic view on assets and liabilities. The best-selling author took to social media platform Instagram to say that he uses debt to pay off his assets.

Elaborating further, Kiyosaki said that his luxury cars, including a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce, are paid off and therefore classified as liabilities rather than assets.

In the video, Kiyosaki questioned the practice of hoarding cash, noting that the U.S. dollar went off the gold standard during President Richard Nixon's term in 1971.

Rather than hoarding cash, Kiyosaki is choosing to store gold and convert the proceeds into silver and gold.

Kiyosaki has publicly admitted that this strategy has left him $1.2 billion in debt. “If I go bankrupt, the banks go bankrupt. It's not about me,” he said.

Kiyosaki further elaborated on the reasons for his debt, saying that the money was used to purchase assets. Instead of saving cash, Kiyosaki saved money and converted his earnings into gold and silver. This strategy, he says, led to him accumulating such a huge amount of debt.

Kiyosaki's “Good Debt, Bad Debt”

Good debt is debt that helps you build wealth, such as loans used to acquire income-producing assets like real estate, businesses, and investments.

Kiyosaki was an advocate of using debt to leverage investments, particularly real estate, seeing it as an efficient way to weather market fluctuations.

Kiyosaki talks about gold, silver, real estate and Wagyu beef

“I don't own copper. I own a lot of silver. I found a silver mine in Argentina and Yamana Gold (Canadian mining company) bought it. I own a ton of gold and silver,” Kiyosaki said in an interview with StockPulse at the 2022 Vancouver Resources Investment Conference.

Kiyosaki has always been a proponent of “real assets” such as Bitcoin, silver, gold, and Wagyu beef. Bitcoin in particular is his favorite, as it is perceived as a hedge against the depreciation of the US dollar.

Kiyosaki calls cash “garbage” because he “doesn't trust the dollar.”

Silver is also a key part of his investment strategy, as he sees it as a long-term investment, especially due to its increasing scarcity and relatively low price compared to gold.

Real estate is the linchpin of his investments, valued for its dual benefits of rental income and increasing property values.

His most unconventional investment is in Wagyu beef. The bestselling author's investment just reflects his belief in going beyond traditional investments.

Robert Kiyosaki's “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” was published in 1997 and has sold more than 40 million copies. In the book, Kiyosaki challenged the idea that making a lot of money is the only way to build wealth, and instead argued for the benefits of calculated risk-taking and entrepreneurship.