Robert Kiyosaki – An author who taught the world the importance of financial literacy, financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets through his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” has surprised everyone by sharing an Instagram post in which he states he is in debt of Rs 1.2 billion. Let us understand his Life journey first and then understand his debt.
Who is Robert Kiyosaki??
Robert Toru Kiyosaki is a Japanese-American businessman and author. He was born on 8th April, 1947. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos. The company’s main revenues come from the franchisees of the Rich Dad seminars that are conducted by independent individuals using Kiyosaki’s brand name. Robert Kiyosaki is the author of more than 26 books out of which is his book named Rich Dad Poor Dad was translated in to 51 languages and sold over 41 million copies worldwide.
Personal Life and Business Journey
- Kiyosaki is a Japanese American who was born in Hilo, Hawaii. He went to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy soon after graduating from Hilo High School. He Married Kim Meyer in the year 1986 but later on separated from her in the year 2017. He has two sisters named Emi Kiyosaki and Beth Kiyosaki and one brother John Kiyosaki.
- He graduated from the academy as a deck officer in 1969 and was honoured with the Air Medal when he served in the Vietnam War as a gunship pilot. In 1975 Kiyosaki left the Marine Cops and worked as a Xerox Machine salesperson.
- Three years later he started his own company that sold Velcro surfer wallets. The company did well for some time but unfortunately went bankrupt. In the beginning of the 1980s Kiyosaki tried his luck in a business that certified Heavy metal rock band T-shirts.
- He sold this business in 1985. Nearly a decade later after struggling to achieve success Kiyosaki decided to retire at the age of 47. However he rose once again in 1997 when he established Cash flow Technologies, Inc. This company incorporates and runs two of his brands namely, Rich Dad and Cash flow.
- Apart from running Rich Dad and Cash flow Technologies Inc. Kiyosaki has also invested in several other business ventures. In 2002 he purchased a silver mine in South America and took a gold mine public in China. In his book ‘Conspiracy of the Rich’ he has mentioned that he intends to take a copper mine public as soon as the copper price and value will increase
- Even as a teenager Robert Kiyosaki worked with gold and silver coins. He has a theory that with a few dollars you can buy precious metal coins and that will actually get you ready for the ‘biggest crashes in world history’. He calls himself a ‘gold bug’ because he has several commodities like silver and gold so he can save himself from any losses against the misprinting of the U.S dollar.
- Kiyosaki is also a real estate investor. He spends a lot of his money on these investments and has many real estate development ventures. He has various property management projects running throughout America. His assets include big apartment complexes, hotels and golf courses as he revealed in The Alex Jones Show in 2010.
- He is also the head and investor of oil drilling operations as well as oil wells and even a startup solar company. However he suffered a loss with his company Rich Global LLC that announced bankruptcy in August 2012.
Why is Robert Kiyosaki in Debt?
- Robert Kiyosaki in his reels said that “If I go bust, the bank goes bust. Not my problem,” .In the reel, Kiyosaki also said he was skeptical about saving cash, referencing the U.S dollar’s detachment from the gold standard under President Richard Nixon in 1971.
- Robert Kiyosaki said that the money had been used to buy assets. Instead of saving cash, Kiyosaki saved gold and converted his earnings into gold and silver. This strategy, according to him, led to the accumulation of such a large debt.
- Robert Kiyosaki has differentiated debt into good debt and bad debt and the former, according to him, helped generate wealth such as loans used to acquire income and in turn, assets such as businesses and real estate.
- He also advocated using debt as leverage in investments, especially in real estate, and saw it as an efficient way to tackle market fluctuations.
What is the True Wisdom Behind Savings According To Robert Kiyosaki??
- Robert Kiyosaki questioned the practice of saving money and expressed doubt about conventional savings techniques. He cited the US dollar’s withdrawal from the gold standard in 1971, when President Richard Nixon was in office.
- As a result of his astounding $1.2 billion in debt, Kiyosaki said that he likes to store gold and convert his earnings into precious metals rather than hoarding cash. He sees his fully paid-off luxury vehicles as liabilities, unlike conventional belief, as he views assets and liabilities from a unique financial perspective.
- Also He advises against saving cash and, instead, prefers storing gold and converting earnings into precious metals due to his skepticism about the stability of the US dollar.
Defining Good Debt and Bad Debt
- Whether a given debt is good or bad depends on several factors. Good debt can be defined as money you borrow for something that has the potential to increase in value or expand your potential income. For example, a mortgage may help you buy a home that can appreciate. Student loans may help you increase your future income. Good debt is often considered an investment.
- Bad debt can be defined as money you borrow for something that you quickly consume, depreciates in value or doesn’t help you make progress toward your financial goals. The best example is high-interest credit card debt, especially if you can’t pay off your balance each month.
Points to Remember
- Carrying too much debt can put you in a precarious financial position. Make sure your debt is always working for you and not the other way around.
- Finding an interest rate that’s a fraction of a percent lower can save you thousands of Rupees over the course of a loan. Research interest rates to see what your options are.
- Some investors have benefited from using low-interest debt to purchase assets such as stocks that could earn a higher return. However, all investments have a risk of declining in value, which means there’s a chance you could lose money.
- A growing business might use debt to finance the purchase of a new building, or an investor may buy a rental property and use the rental income to help repay the debt. It’s important to consider the risk of a downturn that could make it harder to cover the debt payments.
