GRANT CARDONE

Grant Cardone was born in 1958 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His father died when he was 10.

He struggled in school, got into drug use in his twenties, entered rehab at 25, and rebuilt his life around sales. He built a career as a sales trainer working with car dealerships and eventually Fortune 500 companies.

He self-published multiple books, launched an online sales training platform, and built a loyal following. Around 2012-2014, he shifted emphasis to multifamily real estate, arguing it was the only legitimate path to generational wealth for non-billionaires.

He built Cardone Capital, which raises funds from accredited investors to buy large apartment complexes. By 2024, Cardone Capital managed a portfolio exceeding $4 billion in real estate assets across thousands of apartment units.

Cardone Capital (real estate fund manager — $4B+ AUM). Grant Cardone Training Technologies (sales education).

10X Growth Conference (annual event, 35,000+ attendees). Books: The 10X Rule, Sell or Be Sold, Be Obsessed or Be Average, If You're Not First You're Last.

Cardone concentrates in large multifamily residential real estate — apartment complexes with 100+ units. He argues that single-family homes are a terrible investment because they do not cash flow reliably and they tie up capital.

Apartment complexes, he argues, cash flow from day one if bought correctly and provide scale benefits. He raises capital from his audience through Cardone Capital funds, using his brand as a distribution channel.

It is a clever marriage of media and real estate: the content builds the audience, the audience provides the capital, the capital buys the assets.

Building Cardone Capital into a $4 billion real estate portfolio. He started with his own money, then leveraged his platform to raise capital from his community of followers.

Few people have successfully converted a personal brand into a multi-billion dollar investment operation at that scale. The 10X Growth Conference alone reportedly generates tens of millions annually.

The SEC investigated Cardone Capital in 2023 over allegations that the company misused investor funds — specifically that Grant and his wife Elena used investor money for personal expenses including private jet travel. Cardone settled with the SEC for $6.7 million without admitting wrongdoing.

For someone whose brand is financial integrity and wealthy role modeling, the optics were damaging.

Do not save money — invest it. Cardone's most famous and most controversial advice: saving is for losers, investing is for winners.

He argues that keeping money in a savings account guarantees you lose to inflation. He advocates taking all excess income and deploying it into cash-flowing assets immediately.

He is aggressively anti-middle-class in his framing: he says the middle class is the most dangerous economic position because it gives you enough comfort to stop pushing but not enough security to survive a crisis.

Married to Elena Cardone since 2004. Two daughters: Scarlett and Sabrina.

Elena is a co-host, public figure, and co-builder of the Cardone brand. The family is very public — their relationship and lifestyle are central to the brand.

Louisiana State University — studied accounting. Did not complete traditional finance or real estate credentials.

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