Using bankruptcy strategically to aquire more real estate

[Marquis W.]

I keep hearing about how the rich file bankruptcy not because they are in trouble but as a

strategic way to build more wealth. For example Donald Trump, Rich Dad's Robert Kiyosaki, 50 cent, Henry Ford even Walt Disney..all filed bankruptcy. So how could we as investors use bankruptcy as a tool to build wealth? I know I would need to first protect my assets that I already have but how? 

[Jerry Limber]

Not to stand on my soap box, but even if a legal strategy exists, it still feels "wrong" to me. In this industry (and in this world), our word is our bond. Borrowing money without the intention of ever paying it back feels disingenuous at best, and dishonest at worst.

I think there is a time and a place for bankruptcy, but it's a tool of last resort, not an investment strategy. This isn't about legality, it's about what kind people we choose to be. It's strategies like these that give investors a bad name.

Jerry