Robert Kiyosaki warns boomers are set up for a historic rug pull and will end up homeless. Are you ready for the crash?

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Robert Kiyosaki has made a career out of predicting financial turmoil, but his latest warning may be his starkest yet.

“We’re being set up,” he said during a recent appearance on the Minority Mindset (1) podcast. The Rich Dad Poor Dad author believes the baby boomer generation is on the verge of a retirement crisis fueled by an unconscionable stock market collapse.

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“This is my prediction, okay? It’s not a good prediction. I hope I’m wrong,” Kiyosaki said. “They’re going to yank the stock market, and they’re going to crash the stock market. My generation is going to be homeless.”

Kiyosaki didn’t provide evidence for the prediction, but he did argue that many boomers have spent decades accumulating wealth in the financial markets — leaving them vulnerable if stocks experience a severe and prolonged downturn.

“I can see it coming. It’s happened before in history,” he added.

While Kiyosaki has issued many such warnings over the years, many haven’t come to pass yet. Nevertheless, he does have a point: Large losses can be much harder for older investors to recover from than they are for younger investors.

Market crashes can be especially painful in retirement

A bear market (2) can permanently impact retirement finances. However, workers who are decades away from retirement can often continue investing through market downturns, buying shares at lower prices while waiting for markets to recover.

Retirees don’t have that kind of time.

That’s because those who rely on investment accounts to cover living expenses, like many retirees, may be forced to sell assets after they’ve declined in value.

Financial planners often refer to the danger of poor market performance early in retirement as sequence of returns risk (3) (or just sequence risk), because early withdrawals during a downturn can reduce a portfolio’s ability to recover over time, if it recovers at all.

Kiyosaki argues gold belongs in a diversified portfolio

Kiyosaki has consistently encouraged investors to own physical gold and silver, arguing that precious metals can help preserve purchasing power during periods of inflation, economic uncertainty and financial market stress.

In fact, he named Priority Gold as his exclusive precious metals partner (4), largely due to their status as an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of gold and silver.

It’s easy to see why. If you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases can also receive up to $10,000 in free silver.

To learn more about how Priority Gold can help you reduce inflation’s impact on your nest egg, download their free 2026 gold investor bundle.

Keep in mind, gold and silver prices can rise and fall like any other asset, but adding them tends to bring more stability than 100% traditional stock and bond portfolios.

Also, gold isn’t the only way to diversify.

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here’s where their money is actually going

Real estate is another route

Real estate has historically followed different market cycles than publicly traded equities, leading some investors to include property investments as part of a diversified portfolio.

Today, platforms allow individuals to invest in professionally managed real estate projects without purchasing or managing an entire property themselves, lowering the barrier to entry for many investors. It’s also a way to introduce some potential income to the equation, further offsetting damage from a volatile market.

If the idea of adding real estate to your portfolio interests you, mogul is a great place to get your start. This investment platform offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — late-night tenant calls not included.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you, and each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios.

Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10% to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

Simply put, you can invest in institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Plus, getting started is quick and easy. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in a few clicks.

Real estate investing for those with a bigger portfolio

If you’re working with a much bigger portfolio, or you just want to diversify your real estate holdings, you could consider leveraging multifamily real estate investing. In a report (5) prepared by JPMorgan Chase, Al Brooks — the firm’s vice chair of Commercial Banking — said, “I think multifamily housing is absolutely where you want to be as an investor.”

Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

Turn your portfolio into a gallery of assets

Whether Robert Kiyosaki’s prediction comes true or not, one principle has stood the test of time: Putting all your eggs in one basket can leave investors exposed when markets turn. Kiyosaki has long argued that portfolios should extend beyond traditional stocks, but some investors are taking diversification even further.

Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have built fortunes in the stock market, yet they also allocate a portion of their wealth to assets that don’t necessarily move in lockstep with public equities. One example is post-war and contemporary art, which outpaced the S&P 500 by 15% from 1995 to 2025 — while showing near-zero correlation to traditional equities.

Until recently, investing in blue-chip artwork was largely reserved for the ultrawealthy. Now, with Masterworks, investors can buy fractional shares in multimillion-dollar works by artists like Banksy, Picasso and Basquiat. While art is illiquid and generally best suited to long-term investors, it can offer another layer of portfolio diversification to cushion the blow from a crash.

Masterworks has sold 31 artworks so far, delivering net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6% and 17.8%.*

And by the way, Moneywise readers can get priority access and skip the waitlist here.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd.

Future-proof your retirement plan

Whether Kiyosaki’s warning proves accurate or not, market timing is notoriously difficult, even for experienced investors. For ordinary investors, rather than trying to predict the next downturn, you might be better off trying to build a portfolio that can withstand various economic conditions by focusing on diversification, sound risk management and a sustainable withdrawal strategy.

If you’re uncertain where to start, a fiduciary financial advisor can help ensure your retirement plan remains aligned with your goals, risk tolerance and timeline — long before volatility tests your strategy. They can also assist with tax planning and help you optimize for the markets of tomorrow, not just current conditions.

If you are looking for professional guidance, Advisor.com simplifies the process of connecting with licensed financial experts.

Advisor.com does the heavy lifting for you, vetting advisors based on track record, client ratios and regulatory background. All you have to do is enter a few details about your finances and goals, and Advisor.com’s AI-powered matching tool will connect you with a qualified expert best suited for your needs based on your unique financial goals and preferences.

Plus, you can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your retirement goals and long-term financial plan.

Ultimately, whether or not Robert Kiyosaki’s prediction comes true, market downturns are probably inevitable at some point.

However, Vanguard research (6) suggests working with a financial advisor can add about 3% in net returns over time, providing investors with more of a cushion against downturns while also helping them manage risk, stay diversified and avoid emotional decisions during periods of market volatility. This is another reason why working with Advisor.com might be a good idea if you want to truly get ahead.

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Article Sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.

YouTube (1); Financial Planning Association (2); Northwestern Mutual (3); Priority Gold (4); JPMorgan Chase (5); Vanguard Canada (6)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.