Alright, let's get one thing straight right off the bat: I'm so sick of rich people giving financial advice to the rest of us. Especially when it's guys like Robert Herjavec, sitting on a pile of cash somewhere between $300 million and $600 million – that's a wide margin, by the way; can't even keep track of your own damn money? -- telling us what to do with our last million. Give me a break.
He says if he was down to his last million, he'd dump it into real estate. "Build a foundation," he says. "Create an income stream," he says. Oh, really? A million bucks is your "foundation"? Most people's "foundation" is ramen noodles and praying the car doesn't break down.
The "No Desperation" Fantasy
Herjavec's reasoning is that real estate removes "desperation" from the equation. Right, because owning a property that needs constant upkeep, might have terrible tenants, and could tank in value at any moment totally eliminates stress. It's not like property taxes, insurance, and the possibility of a burst pipe exist, right? And who exactly has a spare million lying around to just "remove desperation"? Oh, that's right, rich people.
Look, I get it. Real estate can be a good investment. JM Financial says it can appreciate 6% to 9% a year. Great. But that's if you know what you're doing, if you pick the right location, and if the market doesn't crash. It's not a guaranteed golden ticket, especially not in this economy. And for someone scraping by, tying up that much capital in one illiquid asset? That's not removing desperation; that's inviting a heart attack.
And let's not forget this dude is a "Shark Tank" star, with like, 81 investments under his belt, according to CB Insights. So he's used to high-risk, high-reward scenarios. But that ain't the same game when you’re talking about your actual last million. It's like comparing playing poker with Monopoly money to betting your house.
The Breathalyzer Blunder and Other Cautionary Tales
Speaking of bad investments, Herjavec himself told a story about his worst one: a breathalyzer company that got investigated by the FDA. The founder was driving around in a luxury car while the company was going down in flames. The lesson? Even the "experts" screw up. Big time.
So, why are we supposed to believe that real estate is some foolproof plan when even Herjavec admits to making terrible investment decisions? Is it because he's on TV? Because he married Kym Johnson from "Dancing with the Stars"? (Congrats to Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson Herjavec, offcourse). I mean, what makes him such an authority on what the average person should do with their hypothetical last million?
Then again, maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe he's just trying to offer some helpful advice. But it's hard to swallow when it comes from someone so far removed from the realities most of us face. It's like telling someone drowning to "just breathe." Easy for you to say when you're standing on the shore in your designer swimsuit.
It's All Relative, Ain't It?
Ultimately, Herjavec's advice isn't wrong, per se. But it's tone-deaf. It's advice tailored for someone who’s already got a safety net the size of Texas, not for someone who's actually facing financial ruin. And that's the problem. It's not that his strategy is inherently flawed; it's that it's completely out of touch with the struggles of everyday people.
It's easy to talk about building a "foundation" when you're already standing on a skyscraper.
Give Me a Break...
The whole thing is just another example of the rich living in a different reality. Stop pretending you understand what it's like to worry about making rent, Herjavec. Just stop.