'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' Robert Kiyosaki Says He's $1 Billion—Maybe $2 Billion—In Debt And He's Not Worried At All Because It's The Bank's 'Problem'

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Most people panic when their credit-card bill tops four figures. Robert Kiyosaki shrugs off the word "billion." "The Rich Dad, Poor Dad" author—whose personal finance lessons have shaped generations of investors—says debt isn't something to fear. It's a tool, if you know how to play the game.

During a appearance on "The Iced Coffee Hour" podcast earlier this month with Graham Stephan, a real-estate investor known for his YouTube channel, and Jack Selby, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Kiyosaki dropped one of the most eyebrow-raising lines of his career. When Stephan asked how much debt he carries, Kiyosaki didn't hesitate.

"One billion? Two?" he replied.

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Stephan followed up, asking if that amount of debt ever makes him nervous or worried about defaulting. That's when Kiyosaki delivered the line that instantly turned heads: "If 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."

What he meant is that scale changes power. A small borrower depends on the bank—but a massive borrower becomes too big to fail. When a person or company owes that much, the bank suddenly has skin in the game. It's not just the borrower who's exposed; it's the lender's balance sheet, too. That's why Kiyosaki calls it a strategy, not a mistake.

To him, that's not reckless—it's deliberate. His wealth, he explained, comes from real estate, the same asset class he's championed for decades. He sees money as a language—one most Americans never learn to speak.

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"The reason I wrote ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad' is they don't teach us anything about money," he said. Growing up in Hawaii, Kiyosaki learned his earliest lessons by watching his "Rich Dad" talk with bankers. "One of the first persons on your team is your banker," he said, stressing that business is a team sport. "My accountant, my attorney, my banker—they're on my team."

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That same philosophy made his 1997 book a worldwide hit and a lightning rod. He told the hosts he "caught hell" for lines like "your house is not an asset," "savers are losers," and "the rich don't work for money." But those ideas built his brand—and sold tens of millions of copies.

To Kiyosaki, debt isn't the villain. It's the difference between the rich and everyone else. "Debt that makes you rich and debt that makes you poor," he said when asked to define good versus bad debt. He compared it to playing Monopoly—four green houses, trade up to a red hotel, repeat. "Most people never get past the first house," he said. "I own hotels in town. I just play Monopoly. It's not that hard to do."

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So while the average borrower worries about rising rates, Kiyosaki's billion-dollar approach flips the fear on its head. In his world, the bigger the debt, the bigger the leverage. After all, if you owe a billion and can't pay it back—well, it's the bank's problem.

Kiyosaki's methods aren't for everyone—but his point was broader than just leverage. As he told Stephan and Selby, "there are so many options to get rich, but you got to find the one that works for you."

That might mean investing in real estate, building a stock portfolio, starting a business, or even funding someone else's big idea. Whether through compound interest or calculated risk, Kiyosaki's message hasn't changed since "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." Learn the game—and make it work for you.

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This article 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' Robert Kiyosaki Says He's $1 Billion—Maybe $2 Billion—In Debt And He's Not Worried At All Because It's The Bank's 'Problem' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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