Robert Kiyosaki loves gaming market crashes. While these periods spell calamity for typical investors, the bestselling author views them as the ultimate money game.
Having banked billions gaming previous meltdowns, this Wall Street rebel is doubling down on his provocative forecast – the stock market is careening towards a 2024 crash that will make him fabulously richer.
For over 4 decades, markets from real estate to crypto have been Kiyosaki‘s personal casinos. His swashbuckling style has seen him win big and lose hard. But market routs appear to be his specialist subject – a high stakes money game custom-built for his swaggering brand of investing bravado.
As we evaluate whether his doomsday prediction holds water, understanding Kiyosaki‘s crash gaming philosophy provides context into his methods for readers keen to emulate his high-risk, high-reward tactics.
From Baseball To Billions: Kiyosaki‘s Market Gaming Education
Long before bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad or predictions of economic collapse, Robert Kiyosaki had an early education in gaming odds to achieve
outsized payoffs.
Growing up in Hawaii in the 1950‘s, his first lessons came from betting on local baseball games with friends. Capitalizing on inside information from team members, he realized gaming markets gave the savvy better odds.
After a stint in the Marines and Vietnam, he decided to go all-in – plunging into real estate investing backed by borrowed money and bravado. Early wins gaming property deals set him on the path towards gaming a wider range of market opportunities.
Buying into Apple stock early, shorting overvalued stocks ahead of 1987‘s Black Monday crash, snapping up distressed mining assets – Kiyosaki proved a formidable market gamer frequently running against the herd.
| Year | Key Highlights |
|---|---|
| Early 1970s | Quit unfulfilling sales job to begin gaming real estate full-time using extreme leverage |
| Mid 1980s | Made first millions gaming residential housing and commercial property deals in early years. Began teaching gaminginvesting |
| 1987 | Exited all stock positions just before Black Monday crash after predicting overheating |
| Early 1990s | Capitalized on distressed mining assets as gold prices tanked post-Gulf war |
| 2008 | Made billions gaming MBS and RE meltdowns by shorting banks and snapping up properties when blood was on the streets |
But it was the 2008 global financial crisis that cemented his reputation and fortune. Critics may dismiss his prediction of a 2024 encore – yet his track record gaming collapses demands attention.
Gaming Crashes With Conviction – Why Kiyosaki Is Doubling Down
In Kiyosaki‘s philosophy, mainstream investors are passive gamers – perennially caught wrong-footed when markets correct because they swallow expert narratives without questioning underlying risks.
Blindly chasing past returns and following the herd keeps them fully invested at tops – leaving them like sitting ducks when crashes happen. Their inability to think independently and game markets makes them prime targets for financial carnage.
Conversely, Kiyosaki considers himself an active gamer quick to take profits or short frothy markets. When economic turbulence erupts, he turns aggressive – deploying leverage and derivatives to capitalize on panic selling.
In his view, this heads-I-win-tails-you-lose approach represents the ultimate market gaming strategy. And he believes Fed policies have further inflated this dynamic – repeatedly bailing out those with skin in the game while crushing prudence.
No wonder he is doubling down on his 2024 call – gaming market meltdowns is his specialty. And current conditions appear ripe as complacency breeds risk-taking across stocks, crypto and housing.
While critics argue he could be wrong or early this time, Kiyosaki is betting heavily history will repeat itself. And he has form reading economic tea leaves ahead of seismic market events.
An Early Game Tutorial – How Kiyosaki Gamed Black Monday 1987
When markets surged in the 1980s buoyed by a booming economy, investor euphoria was rampant – not unlike recent years. AMC to Apple, cryptocurrencies to SPACs – speculative pockets drove a multi-year bull run.
But having witnessed irrational valuations, Kiyosaki began gaming for a crash by mid-1987 – shorting overvalued stocks while warning readers of downside risks.
Sure enough, his gaming instincts proved correct as soaring inflation and rate hikes would trigger Black Monday – the largest one-day market crash in history up to that point.
While shellshocked investors lost fortunes, Kiyosaki cleaned up. His early shorts paid off big as markets plunged. He then rotated into depressed mining stocks like Barrick Gold at multi-year lows – selling out years later after quadrupling his money.
His conviction gaming the 1987 correction cemented his reputation as an elite market gamer adept at profiting from panic. It was a tutorial that set the stage for bigger paydays.
Leveling Up – Making Billions Gaming The 2008 Financial Crisis
The 2008 implosion of housing and stocks represented Kiyosaki‘s magnum opus as a gaming investor – the ultimate real world realization of trading principles he had preached for decades.
He began gaming weakness in overheated property markets in 2006 itself – acquiring specialized knowledge from local experts countrywide. When the music stopped, he shorted large REITs and major banks – pocketing massive gains as shares cratered.
Concurrently, he tapped cheap leverage to acquire distressed apartments, hotels and land at cents to a dollar – amassing billions worth of assets by gaming forced selling. As the Fed turned on liquidity taps in 2009 onwards, these bargains quadrupled in value – amplifying his profits.
While mom-and-pop investors lost life savings during 2008‘s devastation, Kiyosaki scored his biggest gaming jackpot – billions in total gains through a mix of conviction shorts and selectively backed longs across property, mining and oil.
His virtuoso gaming performance solidified his reputation as a market clairvoyant able to profit immensely from bubbles and crashes – cementing beliefs in his own predictive abilities.
Gaming Market Crashes – Kiyosaki‘s Playbook For The Next Crisis
So how does Kiyosaki actually game crashes from a tactical perspective? What is his playbook to profit from market wipeouts?
Here are the 10 core elements to his strategy :
1. Run counter to crowd: Think independently, question narratives, fade hysteria
2. Turn aggressive early: Begin shorting once first red flags emerge
3. Get greedy in panic: Buy when blood‘s on the streets with cheap leverage
4. Know your crash history: Study prior bubbles, technical markers of excesses
5. Specialize in distress: Focus expertise on assets collapsing in value
6. Tap unique informants: Leverage data from proprietary networks
7. Own inflation hedges: Hard assets like mining stocks, oil reserves
8. Game policy response: Anticipate Fed reactions, fiscal steps
9. Time value realization: Sell into market strength years later
10. Stay resilient: Withstand emotion, volatility amid prolonged downturns
For ordinary investors, elements like leverage and shorts may prove complex or risky to deploy effectively during crashes. However, gaming principles around preparation, asset allocation, security selection and opportunism can greatly aid portfolio resilience when markets turn.
Even legends like Warren Buffet echo elements of this – gaming panic and euphoria among masses to maximize long-term compounding. The difference lies in degrees of aggression, concentrations and access to debt.
Of course, critics argue his formula contains more risk than skill. And market timers usually underperform long-term passive gamers. So whether readers choose to emulate his swashbuckling methods boils down to individual conviction and risk appetite.
Final Thoughts
Love him or hate him, Kiyosaki will likely enrich himself tremendously if his catastrophic prediction materializes. His four decade career gaming everything from stocks to crypto certainly bodes well if global markets plunge into turmoil once more.
Yet markets have a nasty habit of surprising even wiliest gamers. While broader risks appear concerning, others like Cathy Wood dismiss recessionary narratives – gaming a favorable backdrop for their own disrupted picks.
Either way, readers can gain investing wisdom by distilling lessons from iconic gaming personalities while customizing approaches to individual goals and temperament.
Because regardless whether doomsday strikes in 2024 or beyond, the greatest gamers build skills to endure anything markets throw at them – without losing sleep or conviction in the process. Kiyosaki himself is the ultimate exemplar of this mindset.
Now it‘s your turn to decide if you have appetite to ante up when stakes seem highest. Sharpen your gaming skills today to profit from the next crisis tomorrow, whenever that may be.