Robert Kiyosaki has built a career teaching people to think differently about money, but his headline-making debt claim may still surprise some longtime readers. The 79-year-old Rich Dad Poor Dad author says he is connected to about £890 million ($1.2 billion) in debt and argues that borrowing has helped him build wealth. However, the headline figure does not appear to represent debt that Kiyosaki personally owes on his own.
Kiyosaki has discussed the figure publicly for years, and in June 2026 he again said he was '$1.2 billion in debt on purpose'. Rather than trying to eliminate all borrowing, he said he looks for opportunities to take on more debt when he believes it can help him acquire income-producing assets. His broader argument is that some forms of debt can be used as an investment tool rather than treated as something that should always be avoided.
Why Kiyosaki Wants More Debt
Kiyosaki says his strategy depends on using borrowed money to buy assets that can generate income. Property is a major part of that approach because rent from apartments and other buildings can help cover loan payments while the investor continues to own the underlying asset.
In his view, this type of borrowing is different from using credit cards or loans to buy things that do not produce income. He frequently describes this distinction as the difference between what he calls 'good debt' and 'bad debt'.
On an episode of The Rich Dad Radio Show in June, Kiyosaki said he was '$1.2 billion in debt on purpose' and wanted to take on more. He presented the figure as an example of using leverage to build wealth rather than as evidence that his finances were in trouble.
Kiyosaki has also argued that property owners can borrow against the value of real estate instead of selling it. That can give an investor access to cash while allowing them to retain an asset that may continue generating rent or increase in value. However, this strategy also carries risk and depends on the borrower being able to cover interest, repayments and other costs.
Debt Tied To Shared Investments
There is an important qualification behind Kiyosaki's headline-making £890 million ($1.2 billion) figure. Kim Kiyosaki, his former wife and longtime business partner, has said the amount reflects debt connected with property investments involving multiple partners and business structures. She has said the wider group owns about 1,500 apartment units tied to those investments.
That means the £890 million ($1.2 billion) figure should not be read as Robert Kiyosaki personally owing that amount to a single lender. According to Kim Kiyosaki, the debt is tied to real-estate investments shared across different participants and entities.
Vanity Fair estimated that Kiyosaki's personal share could be roughly £22.3 million to £44.5 million ($30 million to $60 million), based partly on his claim that he earns about $3 million a year. The estimate has not been independently verified through publicly available loan records.
Kim Kiyosaki has also said Robert likes using large numbers because they attract attention before he explains his wider lesson about debt. Her comments suggest the £890 million ($1.2 billion) figure reflects borrowing tied to the group's property investments, but the structure is more complicated than the headline number alone suggests.
'Good Debt' Is His Strategy
The idea sits at the heart of Kiyosaki's long-running message about 'good debt' and 'bad debt'. He describes good debt as money borrowed to buy an asset that can generate income, while bad debt is borrowing used for expenses or purchases that continue taking money out of a person's pocket.
Real estate is one of his favourite examples because rental income can help cover mortgage payments and other borrowing costs.
Kiyosaki was already making the £890 million ($1.2 billion) claim years before it returned to headlines in 2026. In a 2023 interview, he corrected a suggestion that he was £445 million ($600 million) in debt and said the figure was actually £890 million ($1.2 billion). He then linked the borrowing to the way he acquires rental properties and other investments.
From Rich Dad Poor Dad to a Money Empire
Kiyosaki became widely known after Rich Dad Poor Dad was released in 1997 and grew into one of the world's best-known personal finance books. The book promotes the idea that people should focus on building assets that generate income rather than relying only on wages.
Its success helped turn Kiyosaki into a major figure in financial education. He has since written numerous books, hosted financial programmes and continued speaking about property, gold, silver, cryptocurrency and other investments.
His views are often deliberately provocative, and his warnings about markets, currencies and the economy regularly attract attention online. The £890 million ($1.2 billion) debt claim fits that approach because it uses a number most people associate with financial danger to illustrate his argument about leverage.
