Robert Kiyosaki, the 79-year-old Rich Dad Poor Dad author, said on the Get Rich Education podcast that he carries $1.2 billion in debt as part of a long-standing strategy of using borrowed money to buy cash-flowing assets, while cautioning listeners not to copy him without education. Kim Kiyosaki, his ex-wife and business partner, told Vanity Fair the total is tied to a jointly held multifamily portfolio of about 1,500 apartment units with partners, is secured by real estate, and is not the same as his personal repayment obligation. Working from his reported roughly $3 million annual income, Vanity Fair estimated his personal share at about $30 million to $60 million. The approach includes refinancing appreciated properties and holding assets in separate limited liability companies to isolate risk. Supporters such as multifamily investor David A. Perez call large asset-backed loans a common industry tactic, while JPTD Partners founder John Poole warned leverage can reverse quickly if markets turn. The mortgages depend on rents, occupancy, rates and property values rather than Kiyosaki’s separate public advocacy of Bitcoin and gold; one of his firms, Rich Global LLC, filed Chapter 7 in 2012 after a judgment loss, according to ABC News.