This ALWAYS Happens Before A Total Market Collapse | Robert Kiyosaki

    Oct 6, 2025

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    13 min read

    SUMMARY

    Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, discusses financial literacy, leveraging debt for wealth, preparing for market crashes, criticizing savers and traditional education, and investing in assets like real estate, oil, gold, and crypto on the Iced Coffee Hour podcast.

    STATEMENTS

    • Robert Kiyosaki loves market crashes because they provide opportunities to get rich by buying assets at discounted prices.
    • The United States can print money to pay debts, but excessive printing leads to currency devaluation and economic collapse.
    • Kiyosaki has $1 billion in debt, which excites him rather than worries him, as large-scale debt shifts the burden to lenders.
    • Good debt builds wealth by acquiring income-generating assets, while bad debt finances liabilities that drain cash flow.
    • Financial literacy involves distinguishing assets (cash inflows) from liabilities (cash outflows), a concept often absent in education.
    • Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor Dad sold 45 million copies after initial rejections, emphasizing controversial ideas like houses not being assets.
    • Bankers lend based on financial statements like income, balance sheets, and cash flows, not credit cards for average people.
    • Business success requires a team including bankers, accountants, attorneys, and treating it like a team sport.
    • Savers are losers because inflation erodes the value of fiat currency, making saving in dollars unwise.
    • Kiyosaki avoids Wall Street investments, preferring control over assets like oil wells and real estate for steady cash flow.
    • America loses $2 trillion annually due to spending exceeding tax revenue, leading to national bankruptcy.
    • School systems teach Marxism through taxation and unions, not capitalism or financial education.
    • Kiyosaki saves in gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum to hedge against money printing.
    • Real estate and oil investments allow depreciation and depletion allowances, reducing taxes legally.
    • Crashes like 2008 in Phoenix provided Kiyosaki with prime real estate deals using debt.
    • AI will cause unemployment by replacing knowledge workers like doctors and lawyers, similar to how industrialization affected manual labor.
    • Zimbabwe's hyperinflation in 2002 serves as a warning for the US, where money printing causes economic collapse.
    • Kiyosaki owns 1,500 rental properties, using 100% debt financing to avoid taxes.
    • Mistakes and failures, like practicing crashes in military training, are essential for learning and success.
    • Honesty about mistakes prevents becoming a liar; lying destroys credibility and opportunities.
    • Warren Buffett's advice suits average people, but entrepreneurs should avoid index funds and 401(k)s for higher control.
    • Network marketing teaches rejection handling, crucial for entrepreneurship.
    • Kiyosaki's income comes from property, oil, gold appreciation, and book royalties, always reinvesting.
    • Inflation will wipe out baby boomers' savings and social security, leading to widespread homelessness.
    • Central banks like the Federal Reserve are Marxist, promoting money printing that enriches the rich and impoverishes others.
    • Feedback and choosing wise teachers, like Buckminster Fuller, drive personal growth and correct decisions.
    • Wealth is a game like Monopoly, focusing on acquiring cash-flowing assets rather than jobs or savings.
    • Kiyosaki donates resources like board games to teach financial literacy globally, fulfilling promises.

    IDEAS

    • Excessive national debt and money printing mirror historical collapses like Zimbabwe, signaling an impending US currency crisis.
    • $1 billion in personal debt isn't burdensome if leveraged for income-producing assets, flipping the power dynamic with banks.
    • Houses are liabilities if they cost more in upkeep than they generate in income, challenging the American dream narrative.
    • Financial education is deliberately omitted from schools to keep populations compliant and dependent on government systems.
    • Crashes create quantum leaps in wealth, akin to advancing from green houses to hotels in Monopoly.
    • Savers lose to inflation because fiat money is "toilet paper," while hard assets like silver appreciate over time.
    • Military training emphasizes preparing for failure, unlike traditional schools that punish mistakes and stifle innovation.
    • AI's rise will disrupt white-collar jobs, accelerating wealth inequality unless individuals adapt with asset ownership.
    • Borrowing at high interest can still be worthwhile if it funds scalable assets in tough situations.
    • Uber drivers represent "hardworking poor" mindsets, trapped by laziness toward self-education.
    • Hanging out with smart entrepreneurs leads to richer opportunities, like discovering bonus depreciation in billboards.
    • 99% of people are too lazy to study and change, separating the ultra-rich from the merely rich.
    • Central banks control money supply as a Marxist tool, ensuring the poor remain poor through inflation.
    • Bitcoin and Ethereum offer passive wealth without needing to be "smart," democratizing riches in crashes.
    • Owning an insurance company provides massive leverage, contradicting public anti-debt rhetoric from figures like Buffett.
    • Network marketing builds resilience by forcing rejection, a skill entrepreneurs must master.
    • God's purpose over personal greed guides true innovation, as learned from Buckminster Fuller.
    • Barter economies emerge rapidly after currency collapse, as seen in Zimbabwe's swap meets.
    • Baby boomers face homelessness from inflation eroding fixed incomes and social security.
    • Entrepreneurs rewrite their internal "tape" through books and seminars to escape poverty cycles.
    • Gold saved decades ago can now buy multimillion-dollar homes due to fiat devaluation.
    • Dave Ramsey's debt-free advice ignores how post-1971 dollars are created through borrowing, stunting growth.
    • Trump embodies "tough men" needed in crises, per Jordan Peterson's philosophy.
    • Spiritual writing embeds wisdom, turning reading into active learning for daily mindset shifts.
    • Legacy through free teaching fulfills promises, like returning to Zimbabwe after 20 years.

    INSIGHTS

    • Debt becomes empowering when used to control income-generating assets, inverting traditional risk perceptions.
    • Financial illiteracy in education perpetuates dependency, ensuring a compliant workforce for centralized systems.
    • Market crashes are wealth multipliers for those positioned in hard assets, not fiat savers.
    • Mistakes are evolutionary tools for human learning, suppressed by systems fearing disruption.
    • Inflation acts as a hidden tax, transferring wealth from the middle class to asset owners systematically.
    • AI will exacerbate unemployment divides, rewarding adaptable capitalists over rigid professionals.
    • Honesty about failures accelerates growth, while deception erodes long-term credibility and opportunities.
    • Choosing mentors wisely, like Fuller over average influencers, aligns actions with profound purpose.
    • Network marketing fosters entrepreneurial grit by normalizing rejection as feedback for refinement.
    • Central banks engineer inequality through money printing, predictable across civilizations like Rome or Zimbabwe.
    • Personal wealth tapes must be rewritten through continuous study to break poverty mindsets.
    • God's will over self-interest drives sustainable innovation and fulfillment beyond mere riches.
    • Baby boomers' fixed savings will collapse under inflation, highlighting intergenerational wealth transfer needs.
    • Borrowing creates economic expansion post-1971, making debt aversion unpatriotic and limiting.
    • Barter systems reveal currency's fragility during collapses, urging diversification into tangibles.

    QUOTES

    • "I love crashes. When the markets crash, that's when I get rich."
    • "You owe the bank $20 million and you can't pay it back. You got a problem. But you owe the bank a billion dollars and you can't pay it back, it's their problem."
    • "Savers are losers."
    • "Your house is not an asset."
    • "The rich don't work for money."
    • "America loses 2 trillion a year."
    • "This is not money. This is called toilet paper."
    • "When the currency collapses, the economy collapses."
    • "Don't be average. Get your ass out of the stock market and the 401k is set up for losers."
    • "AI is going to cause unemployment."
    • "You can't handle the truth."
    • "One lie can destroy your life."
    • "What does God want done?"
    • "Getting rich is a waste of a good mind."
    • "Inflation is going to wipe out my generation."
    • "The Fed is a criminal organization."
    • "I don't save this. Save silver, Bitcoin, Ethereum."
    • "Business is a team sport."
    • "Mistakes are very good ways to learn."
    • "Money is freedom."

    HABITS

    • Carry gold and silver coins daily to illustrate real money versus fiat.
    • Study financial markets and news continuously, like analyzing Zimbabwe's history.
    • Build a professional team including banker, accountant, and attorney for deals.
    • Reinvest all income into assets like real estate or oil, never holding excess cash.
    • Attend seminars and network with entrepreneurs to discover new opportunities.
    • Practice honesty by owning mistakes immediately, avoiding lies.
    • Read spiritual texts each morning and rewrite passages three times for embedding.
    • Hang out exclusively with rich, deal-making friends to co-create ventures.
    • Learn sales through rejection-heavy fields like network marketing.
    • Prepare for failures by simulating crashes, as in military training.
    • Move money strategically into depreciable assets for tax efficiency.
    • Write books and create games to teach financial literacy globally.
    • Hunt and travel to politically incorrect places for perspective.
    • Seek feedback actively to control temper and grow personally.
    • Donate resources like board games to fulfill teaching promises.

    FACTS

    • Rich Dad Poor Dad has sold 45 million copies since 1997.
    • US national debt exceeds $37 trillion, with annual losses of $2 trillion.
    • 200 million Americans rely on government welfare or social security.
    • Zimbabwe's 100 trillion dollar note resulted from hyperinflation in 2008.
    • Silver is currently priced at $40-50 per ounce; gold at $3,500.
    • Kiyosaki took two gold mines public on Toronto and New York exchanges.
    • Oil wells produce cash flow for 20-40 years with depletion allowances.
    • Federal Reserve was established in 1913, criticized as Marxist by Kiyosaki.
    • Frankfurt School influenced US teacher training at Columbia in 1930.
    • Baby boomers, first generation post-WWII, face inflation-eroded social security.
    • 99% of US population lacks time or drive for financial self-education.
    • National Education Association is the largest US labor union.
    • Bitcoin rewards on Gemini card appreciated 277% on average over one year for holders.
    • Kiyosaki owns 1,500 rental properties financed with 100% debt.
    • US spends more on debt interest than on military weapons.
    • Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was once one of the world's richest countries.

    REFERENCES

    • Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (book).
    • Cashflow board game by Robert Kiyosaki (game).
    • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (book).
    • The Capitalist Manifesto by Robert Kiyosaki (book).
    • Why the Rich Are Getting Richer (implied series by Kiyosaki).
    • Tax-Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright (book).
    • The Big Short (possibly misspoken as The Big Print by Lawrence Leard, but refers to education book).
    • A Few Good Men (movie with Jack Nicholson).
    • Monopoly board game (inspiration for investing strategy).
    • Warren Buffett (investor, Berkshire Hathaway).
    • Dave Ramsey (financial advisor).
    • Buckminster Fuller (inventor, geodesic dome).
    • Donald Trump (president, co-author on books).
    • Jordan Peterson (psychologist).
    • Kevin O'Leary (Shark Tank investor).
    • Charlie Kirk (activist).
    • Maria Montessori (educator).
    • Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" (inspiration).
    • Richard Branson (entrepreneur).
    • Sawill Bloom (podcast guest on optimal wealth).
    • Kenny Mahjouri (real estate partner).
    • Mike Maloney (gold expert friend).
    • Tom Wheelwright (accountant).
    • Garrett Sutton (corporate advisor).
    • Gemini Credit Card (sponsor).
    • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (sponsor).
    • OpusClip (sponsor).
    • Helium Mobile (sponsor).
    • Gusto (sponsor).
    • Zimbabwe (country, historical reference).

    HOW TO APPLY

    • Assess your financial statements: Create an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow to attract bankers.
    • Build a team: Recruit a banker, accountant, and attorney as essential partners in your business sport.
    • Distinguish assets from liabilities: Only acquire items that put money in your pocket, avoiding cash drains.
    • Leverage good debt: Borrow for income-producing assets like real estate or oil, not consumer goods.
    • Study failures: Practice simulations of worst-case scenarios, like military crash drills, to build resilience.
    • Save in hard assets: Convert fiat dollars to gold, silver, Bitcoin, or Ethereum to hedge inflation.
    • Network with winners: Attend seminars and hang out with entrepreneurs to uncover deals like bonus depreciation.
    • Rewrite your mindset tape: Read books and listen to podcasts daily to shift from "hardworking poor" to capitalist.
    • Own mistakes honestly: Admit errors immediately to learn and maintain credibility with teams.
    • Prepare for crashes: Position in non-fiat assets so downturns increase your purchasing power.
    • Learn sales and rejection: Join network marketing to handle no's and build entrepreneurial grit.
    • Seek wise mentors: Choose teachers like Fuller over average influencers for purpose-driven growth.
    • Fulfill promises: Identify and act on commitments, like teaching financial literacy through games or donations.

    ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

    Leverage debt for assets, embrace crashes as opportunities, and pursue financial literacy to achieve lasting wealth freedom.

    RECOMMENDATIONS

    • Avoid saving in dollars; buy gold, silver, Bitcoin, or Ethereum instead.
    • Invest in cash-flowing assets like real estate and oil wells over stocks.
    • Build financial statements to secure loans from bankers.
    • Reject average paths like 401(k)s; control your investments directly.
    • Study Zimbabwe's collapse to anticipate US money-printing risks.
    • Practice owning mistakes honestly to accelerate learning.
    • Network with successful entrepreneurs for collaborative deals.
    • Use depreciation strategies in real estate and billboards to minimize taxes.
    • Learn sales through network marketing to handle rejection.
    • Read Rich Dad Poor Dad and play Cashflow game for literacy.
    • Prepare for AI-driven unemployment by acquiring vital assets.
    • Hang out only with rich friends who study and do deals.
    • Write spiritual passages daily to embed positive mindsets.
    • Diversify into insurance-like leverages for steady cash flow.
    • Question school teachings; seek capitalist education sources.
    • Buy during crashes when assets go on sale.
    • Avoid Dave Ramsey's debt-free advice; borrow patriotically.
    • Fulfill personal promises through free teaching initiatives.
    • Choose mentors wisely for purpose beyond riches.
    • Simulate failures regularly to build crisis resilience.

    MEMO

    Robert Kiyosaki, the financier behind the blockbuster Rich Dad Poor Dad, joins the Iced Coffee Hour to dismantle conventional wisdom on wealth. With $1 billion in debt fueling his empire of 1,500 rental properties and oil wells, he argues that good debt is a thrill, not a terror—banks bear the risk when scales tip massive. Crashes, far from calamities, are his playground: "I love crashes. When the markets crash, that's when I get rich," he declares, recalling snapping up Phoenix real estate in 2008 when prices plummeted. This mindset stems from his Marine Corps days, where crash simulations forged resilience, a lesson civilians rarely learn.

    Financial literacy, Kiyosaki insists, is the missing curriculum in Marxist-influenced schools that glorify saving and taxes. "Savers are losers," he quips, waving a $10 bill against a 1964 silver half-dollar—fiat erodes, hard money endures. America's $37 trillion debt and $2 trillion annual deficits echo Zimbabwe's hyperinflation, where he witnessed truckloads of armed "war vets" amid collapse in 2002. Returning last week to donate Cashflow games, he fulfills a promise to teach amid ruins, warning the US follows suit: print money, watch economies barter in garages.

    Critiquing icons like Warren Buffett and Dave Ramsey, Kiyosaki calls their anti-leverage stances shortsighted for entrepreneurs. Buffett suits averages with index funds, but Kiyosaki thrives on control—drilling oil for tax-free decades-long flows or gold mines taken public. AI looms as the next disruptor, axing jobs from lawyers to doctors, yet he sees opportunity in assets immune to automation. Inflation, he predicts, will homeless the boomers, wiping social security while enriching asset holders like him, who paid $4.5 million homes with gold bought for $450,000.

    Honesty anchors his philosophy: court-martialed twice for helicopter escapades with women in Vietnam-era Hawaii, he learned from a prosecutor's mercy that lying worsens mistakes. "You can't handle the truth," echoes A Few Good Men, but owning errors built his billions. Network with winners, he advises—his billionaire friend from Xerox seminars taught reframing workweeks for freedom. Feedback, even harsh like Buckminster Fuller's rebuke on greed, realigns purpose: "What does God want done?"

    Kiyosaki's game is Monopoly writ large: green houses to red hotels via debt and teams of bankers, accountants like Tom Wheelwright. He shuns Wall Street's passivity, favoring billboards with bonus depreciation or Ethereum's brilliance. Politics? Taxes fund the mess—200 million on welfare, Fed as criminal central planner. Trump's toughness, per Jordan Peterson, counters weak leadership; Kiyosaki's friendships with him and sons reveal unpretentious strength amid hunts.

    For the young, starting from zero means sales training via network marketing to conquer rejection, then assets over jobs. Money buys freedom, not happiness—unless you love the chase. His ex-wife will steward a foundation post-mortem, but legacy lives in global board games demystifying cash flow. As vibrations guide his path, Kiyosaki embodies the capitalist manifesto: study, err boldly, acquire relentlessly.

    Zimbabwe's tragedy—richest to rubble via printing—mirrors US folly, but preparation trumps panic. Kiyosaki's habits: morning spiritual writings thrice over, hanging with deal-makers like Kenny Mahjouri. No children, no regrets—wealth's joy is teaching gratis, as in Africa. Critics call him controversial; he calls it truth schools ignore.

    Ultimately, Kiyosaki urges ditching average: "Don't be average." In a world of lazy Ubers and printed trillions, his blueprint—assets, honesty, purpose—charts escape from poverty's tape. As inflation bites and AI shifts, the game favors the prepared player.