Before I had everything, I almost lost everything. Here’s the story of how I faced lawsuits, loans, and some of the biggest challenges in my life.

There have been numerous economic crashes before, but nothing to the extent of the upcoming one.

One day in 2020, I got a phone call saying, “Something serious is about to happen. And it’s going to roll out in stages.” I made moves a few weeks before to protect myself.

I learned from the 2008 recession that my mistakes cost me money and time. Moving forward, I had to make a plan so that when the next recession comes around, I don’t fall into the same problems again.

Before the Great Recession

Before 2007, banks would give out loans to anyone, and it didn’t matter. People were getting approved for million-dollar homes.

At the time, I was trying to make practical and conservative investments. I used to put a lot of money down to buy a deal. If a deal were $8M, I would put $2.4M down. I had friends taking out $800K loans to get the same deal, and I thought it was mad.

Nothing about it made sense except that it was too easy. Everyone was doing this.

It reminded me of the days I used to do drugs, and I couldn’t say no. If you want to create true wealth for yourself, there are things you have to say “no” to.

I didn’t lose one piece of property in 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010. I never lost anything.

Every one of my friends that did this nonsense lost everything they had.

“You owe us $50M.”

I owed $50M to a bank, and the bank collapsed. The new bank says, “we need our money.”

They told me the value of the properties was down, and I responded with, “The value of the entire universe went down.”

They were trying to squeeze out every last dollar of the people who had money. People that didn’t have money folded so fast. The banks couldn’t keep up.

The $60M lawsuit

Another thing that happened to me was one of my “friends” sued me for $60M because I took an interest in possibly buying their business.

I found out they were doing a bunch of shenanigans like lying to the bank and false reporting. I pulled out of that deal, and they claimed I ruined their business.

The truth is, their business was going to lose no matter what. But I was close… I almost lost everything.

You can’t sell anything

My other two businesses were cut by two-thirds.

I was living in Los Angeles and about to have my first baby. I had just married my wife, Elena. Then, I had to tell her we couldn’t spend one penny on anything, and I didn’t know how long it would last.

Financially, I was terrified, and I realized how much it takes to be protected when things happen. We almost lost everything and it was one of the most uncertain times in our lives.

How I protected myself

No education prepares someone for this obstacle.

The only thing that I still had was my passive income. My cash flow from my rental properties kept me afloat, and the money never stopped. I talk all about how this vehicle has helped me prosper in any economy in my Free Real Estate Training.

Finally, this is the big takeaway:

It’s easier to make money than to keep it. The more money you have, the more you need to protect it.

Make sure you have a cash-flowing asset that consistently brings you income every month, and learn how to protect that money so you don’t lose everything you have.

Be Great,

Grant Cardone

Disclosure: This content is intended to be used for educational and informational purposes only. Before investing, you should always do your own analysis based on your own financial and personal circumstances before making any investment. Grant Cardone is an industry expert who has been investing for over 30 years and his opinion is based solely on his own personal experience and circumstances. Individual results may vary. You should perform your own due diligence and seek the advice from a professional to verify any information on our website or materials that you are relying upon if you choose to make an investment. Investment involves great risk and there is no guarantee of performance or results.

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