Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, has declared that the largest stock and bond market crash in history has already started. He linked this warning to predictions he first made in his 2002 book, suggesting that the collapse is now spreading from Europe and Japan to other global markets. Kiyosaki pointed to several factors contributing to the crisis, including speculative growth in artificial intelligence, ongoing tensions involving Iran, high global debt levels, and the large-scale retirement of Baby Boomers. He specifically warned people over 40 who hold traditional retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs that they face increased risk.
Kiyosaki compared the current situation to the Great Depression and said prepared investors can use a downturn as an opportunity, although the Depression is generally dated from 1929 to 1941 in the United States and the Dow did not regain its 1929 high until 1954. His strategy for preparing involves avoiding cash savings entirely and instead focusing on income-producing real estate, oil wells, and hard assets such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin. He sees these assets as protection against what he calls ‘fake money printing’ that governments may resort to during a financial downturn. Gold has long been treated as a traditional safe-haven asset, while Bitcoin is sometimes promoted as a digital alternative, though its safe-haven role remains debated.
Current market data do not show a collapse on the scale Kiyosaki is predicting. Reuters reported Tuesday that the S&P 500 remained less than 3% below its August 13 record despite rising bond yields and recent stock losses. European stocks were weaker and the STOXX 600 fell to a three-month low as higher oil prices and bond yields weighed on investors.
Kiyosaki has been repeating similar warnings since at least 2022, connecting each new message to his original 2002 forecast, according to Yahoo Finance. His specific targets for 2026, such as Bitcoin reaching $250,000 and gold hitting $27,000, remain far from materializing so far this year. Bitcoin was trading near $75,900 on Sept. 15 while recent gold prices were around $4,300 an ounce.
His repeated predictions of crashes in 2020, 2022 and 2025 have drawn skepticism because the forecast collapses did not occur on the schedules he gave. Despite this track record, Kiyosaki insists his message is about financial education rather than precise timing of market movements. He continues to encourage people to move their savings toward tangible and digital assets that are separate from traditional stock and bond holdings. In January 2025, for example, Kiyosaki predicted that the biggest stock-market crash in history would occur the following month.
In a recent tweet, Kiyosaki said the crash has already begun in Japan and Europe before spreading to other regions, according to a report from coinpedia.org. He referenced his 2002 book Rich Dad’s Prophecy, which he said was written to prepare people for the biggest stock and bond crash in history. Kiyosaki noted that European markets are under pressure and blamed the AI frenzy for worsening financial risks. He also warned that retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs are especially vulnerable to this crash.
His original 2002 forecast focused heavily on the retirement of Baby Boomers and pointed to a major market disruption around the period when that generation began leaving the workforce, while Kiyosaki later issued similar crash warnings in 2020, 2021–22, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Rich Dad’s Prophecy specifically warned that Baby Boomer withdrawals from retirement plans could put pressure on markets and savings.
IMAGE: Gage Skidmore CC2