Dave Ramsey and 5 Other Money Experts Who Pulled Themselves Out of Debt
Even the gurus are not immune to financial failure. In fact, many who experienced it have gone on to achieve great things. From Dave Ramsey to Robert Kiyosaki, here are six financial experts who once lost it all before building their fortunes back over time.
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1. Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey experienced financial success from a young age. By the time he was 26, he had a net worth of over $1 million and was earning around $250,000 annually.
The only problem? He had a ton of short-term debt. The high interest rates ate into his income significantly, forcing him to liquidate assets, and he soon realized he had lost everything.
But Ramsey didn’t let this experience defeat him. He used it as motivation to learn everything about how money really works. He says he read everything he could get his hands on and embraced a more disciplined approach to money management. The results speak for themselves. The latest estimates of Ramsey’s net worth put his fortune around $200 million.
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2. Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki is the founder of the popular Rich Dad, Poor Dad financial system. Although he has a net worth of around $100 million today, Kiyosaki has experienced many financial issues in his life.
In 1977, he started a business that sold wallets, which eventually went bankrupt when it couldn’t keep up with lower-priced competitors. When that happened, Kiyosaki tried to partner with the competitors who put him out of business. That company ended up going bankrupt, too.
Kiyosaki has his detractors, but many people turn to him today for financial advice. His story is proof that you can always bounce back from tough financial situations.
3. Donald Trump
Donald Trump is someone many people look up to as a financial icon. However, he’s filed for bankruptcy four times in his life. Some of his casinos failed as did his school, Trump University.
Despite that, estimates suggest Trump’s net worth today is around $5 billion or $6 billion. He also became president of the United States after experiencing most of these failures. Trump may be a divisive character. But he’s certainly been successful at putting his failures behind him and moving forward.
4. Bill Bartmann
In the late 1990s, Bill Bartmann was the 25th-richest person in the United States with a net worth of around $3.5 billion. But when a colleague was convicted of a financial crime, Bartmann was indicted on 58 felony counts. His company soon went under and he lost everything.
Bartmann didn’t bounce back to the extent that some of the other names on this list did. But before he died, he had built himself back up to a net worth of around $5 million plus the value of his new company’s stock.
5. James Altucher
James Altucher is a successful hedge fund manager, author and entrepreneur with a net worth of around $50 million. But his story is full of ups and downs. He didn’t just go broke once — he did it twice — each time having to start over after losing millions.
His story is a great reminder that no matter how many times you fail, you can always pick yourself up and find success again. He said: “What separates successful people from those who aren’t is the way you deal with problems.”
6. Carl Richards
Carl Richards is a financial planner whom people turn to when they need advice about money. But when the housing crisis hit in the 2000s, he lost his home and his financial security with it.
Today, Richards uses this experience to better advise his clients. He took the failure and used it as a starting point for a new career as an author and keynote speaker. It’s a great reminder that sometimes our biggest failures become our best opportunities.
Takeaway Lessons
So, what can you learn from these stories? Here are three lessons to keep in mind if you’re trying to bounce back from debt.
Financial Failure Is Temporary
First, remember that even if you lose everything, you always have the potential to bounce back. Bartmann was in his 50s when he went broke, but he still managed to build a multimillion-dollar fortune before he passed away at the age of 68.
Failure Is Marketable
Failure can feel shameful, but it’s something every person experiences throughout their life. These stories show just how much talking about your failures openly can resonate with other people.
For example, Ramsey is one of the most popular financial advisors on the planet even though he talks openly about going broke. Altucher and Richards use their experiences with debt to teach other people how to avoid making similar mistakes.
We all need to sell ourselves at some point in life — whether to a boss, potential partner or the public at large. These stories show that you don’t need to hide your past failures. Instead, talking about them openly may actually be beneficial because it helps others relate to you and learn from your tough experiences.
You Have To Learn From Your Mistakes
These stories show that it’s absolutely possible to build a fortune after going bankrupt. But all of the people on this list used their experiences with debt as growth experiences. If you don’t learn from your failures and adjust your behaviors accordingly, you’ll likely have a hard time finding the same level of success after debt.
Final Take
Ultimately, debt, bankruptcy and other financial challenges are what you make of them. They often feel like a disappointing end to a long journey. But with the right mindset, you can turn your failures into the starting line for the next phase of your success.
To do that, you’ll first need to figure out how to pay off your debt. Once you’ve done that, it becomes much easier to leverage your experiences to find future success.
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