4 things to do in a recession, as per finance guru and 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' author Robert Kiyosaki

Recession is a word that sends a chill down many people’s spines, but for veteran finance educator and 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' author Robert Kiyosaki, it’s less about fear and more about preparation and mindset. While 2025 brought worries over a slowing global economy, experts pointed out that the ongoing AI boom created a certain stability that pushed full‑scale panic off the table—for now. But Kiyosaki’s bigger message isn’t about whether a downturn is “here” or “not yet”; it’s about what you’re ready to do when it does arrive. Drawing from his recurring commentary over the years, here are four clearly grounded, practical steps he suggests people can take to protect themselves and even thrive when the next recession hits.

Kiyosaki has long argued that the first line of defense in any downturn is your own understanding of money. In a 2025 post on X, he insisted the world was already in a kind of recession, even if mainstream analysts were downplaying it. His advice? Invest time in your financial education rather than just your money. He urges people to watch, read, and listen to a wide range of sources—both smart teachers and self‑proclaimed “gurus”—and then learn to tell the difference between real guidance and outright financial “quackery.”

According to Kiyosaki, the internet makes it easy to get free education, but it also floods us with misinformation. Watching YouTube videos, following influencers, or scrolling financial TikToks means you’re exposed to both wisdom and gimmicks. The goal, he says, is to sharpen your judgment so you don’t trust anyone blindly. When you can separate sound advice from hype, you’re far less likely to make panic‑driven decisions when markets shake.

During a 2020 podcast conversation with Lewis Howes, early in the COVID‑19 crisis, Kiyosaki broke people into three categories: fragile, robust, and “antifragile.” The fragile are like glass—when the economy hits them, they break. The robust are like rocks; they endure the blows but don’t really grow from them. The antifragile, however, are the ones who get stronger as adversity hits, using downturns as a chance to learn, adapt, and rebuild.

Kiyosaki encourages people to become financial “wartime leaders” rather than “peacetime warriors”—those who only shine when things are easy. He believes that entrepreneurs, in particular, are better positioned to ride recessions because they can create their own opportunities instead of waiting for corporate promotions. When layoffs hit, demand cools, or a business fails, the entrepreneurial mindset treats it as feedback, not failure. For Kiyosaki, building skills that let you create value, even when the economy is weak, is one of the most powerful moves you can make.

For years, Kiyosaki has been skeptical of relying too heavily on ordinary cash savings, especially when central banks print money and inflation creeps up. In 2025, he reiterated this view, calling excess “fiat money”—government‑backed paper or digital currency—“fake money.” His solution is simple in theory but hard to stomach for cautious savers: move some of your savings into what he calls “real” assets.

He specifically names gold, silver, and Bitcoin as ways to protect yourself, arguing that these assets historically hold or increase value when confidence in traditional currencies dips. He also stresses that he prefers owning the actual assets instead of indirect products like ETFs, which he sees as layered and less transparent. To Kiyosaki, this isn’t a get‑rich‑quick strategy but a hedge—like an insurance policy against the erosion of purchasing power in tough economic times.

Kiyosaki doesn’t just warn people about recessions; he also reminds them that busts often create the best conditions for building wealth. In a 2022 interview, he claimed that some of the biggest gains of his life came right after the 2008–2009 “Great Recession.” When markets crash, panic forces many investors to sell everything, pushing prices down and creating bargains—on homes, land, businesses, and even ideas.

In his view, a recession clears out inefficiency and bad habits, making room for smarter, more resilient ventures. He suggests that the post‑crash period is an ideal time to either start a business or double down on an existing one. When everyone else is sitting still, waiting for stability, those willing to move—who’ve educated themselves, built real skills, and held some assets outside fragile cash—can quietly pick up opportunities that wouldn’t be available in a booming economy. For Kiyosaki, the true test of being “ready” for a recession is whether you can turn fear into a launchpad.