Why Oil Still Controls Wars, Politics, and Global Power - Mike Mauceli, Fernando Gonzalez

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Rich Dad Radio Show – "Why Oil Still Controls Wars, Politics, and Global Power"
Host: Robert Kiyosaki
Guests: Mike Maselli (Oil Executive), Fernando Gonzalez (Peruvian Naval Academy Grad)
Date: January 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Robert Kiyosaki brings together oilman Mike Maselli and Peruvian military veteran Fernando Gonzalez to dive deep into how oil continues to shape global politics, wars, and power structures. Against a backdrop of recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela and broader geopolitical maneuvers by President Trump, the conversation repeatedly returns to the vital and enduring role of oil and the importance of investing in real, hard assets.

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Main Discussion Points & Key Insights

1. Why Oil Still Drives Geopolitics

• Venezuela's Oil Reserves

  • Mike: Venezuela holds 280-300 billion barrels of oil ("the number one oil reserves in the world" – 04:33).
  • U.S. refineries set up to blend Venezuela’s heavy crude, aligning U.S. interests with controlling or accessing Venezuelan oil.

• Geostrategic Motives for U.S. Intervention

  • Robert speculates that U.S. actions against Venezuela may be about cutting off Chinese access to oil (06:13).
  • Mike agrees, adding that Trump’s objective is keeping Chinese and Russian interests at bay in the Western Hemisphere, highlighting broader U.S. strategy (06:25).

• Historical Parallels and Ripple Effects

  • The Vietnam War is linked to Occidental Petroleum interests (11:58, 18:45), showing a pattern of U.S. military policy following oil.
  • Removing Venezuela’s leadership could create a domino effect, impacting Cuba and Nicaragua (08:55).

• Iran and Oil

  • Iran is cited as "the number three producer" that Trump is pressuring, further illustrating the oil-power nexus (14:43).

2. South American & Venezuelan Perspectives

• Venezuelan Dictatorship & Liberation

  • Fernando highlights the misery under Chavez and Maduro, both who "sucked the money from the country", leaving Venezuelans earning "$4 per month" while leaders siphoned wealth to personal accounts and foreign allies (07:29).
  • Celebratory mood post-intervention: "There was a change of celebration in the whole Latin America... everybody drinking on the streets because Maduro was removing from power" (10:40).

• Regional Security Concerns

  • Hezbollah and other unfriendly actors were embedded in Venezuela, seen as threats to regional and U.S. interests (07:29, 13:36).
  • Excitement in the region about the spread of democracy and business opportunities with dictators gone (13:36, 29:10).

• U.S. Investment in South America

  • U.S. administration recently committed $1 billion to modernize the Peruvian Navy (13:36) – a sign of renewed American interest and presence.

3. Business, Investment, and Oil Realities

• Opportunities in South America

  • Mike describes his work in Argentina's oil sector, selling a major find to Shell right before currency devaluation: "It wasn't that we were smart, we were just lucky and got out" (21:56).

• Why Resources Trump Paper Assets

  • Robert’s investment philosophy: “I like oil because oil is the lifeblood of a civilization... I invest in resources. I like something I can see, touch, and feel" (24:12).
  • Warns listeners against paper assets like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds (31:08).

• The Enduring Role of Oil

  • Over 6,000 products use oil – it’s not just gasoline. Mike: "I don't think they'll find a replacement... natural gas is still the cleanest burning fuel" (26:03).
  • AI’s energy demand: "AI power plants... being built in West Texas where they have easy access to natural gas and oil... Trump said they're not going to put money in the grid. These AI factories will have to supply their own power" (27:28).

• Green Energy Skepticism

  • Europe’s attempt to escape fossil fuels led to high energy prices and inefficient industry: "The greenies took over... they wanted to get away from oil and natural gas and all this, and they couldn't do it" (28:04).
  • Nuclear power's issues: Waste remains toxic for "10,000 years" (28:04).

• Precious Metals and Hard Assets

  • Peru is the #2 global producer of gold, also rich in silver (29:10).
  • Robert touts silver as an undervalued investment: "$5 an ounce in 1990... possibly in 2027 it'll be $200 an ounce" (24:12).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On U.S. Foreign Policy and Oil

  • “What better deal for Trump than try to control the most oil reserves in the world, right?” — Mike Maselli (04:33)

• On Venezuela's Plight

  • "The average salary in Venezuela is $4 per month. However, Switzerland government just found 113 tons of gold in Maduro's personal bank account." — Fernando Gonzalez (07:29)
  • "Everybody [was] drinking on the streets because Maduro was removing from power." — Fernando Gonzalez (10:40)

• Philosophy of Resource Investing

  • "I like oil because oil is the lifeblood of a civilization... I invest in resources. I like something I can see, touch, and feel." — Robert Kiyosaki (24:12, 31:08)

• On the Economic Opportunity Post-Dictatorship

  • "There's a lot of opportunity there. It just depends what's going to happen with the government." — Mike Maselli (05:44)
  • "Combining that strength from the whole South America united with, with USA under the President Trump leadership, I think is going to be amazing. And it's happening." — Fernando Gonzalez (29:48)

• On the Shining Path in Peru

  • "[They were] terrorist people that were educated in China... terrorizing people and putting the country in their knees." — Fernando Gonzalez (30:13)

• On Energy and Civilization

  • "Civilization runs on energy. Oil and all these greenies who want to get rid of it, well, maybe in the future, or they want to go nuclear. The only trouble with nuclear is nuclear waste. The half life is 10,000 years. It means what we're burning today in nuclear is going to be here for 10,000 years. It's still toxic." — Robert Kiyosaki (28:04)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

01:08 – Robert Kiyosaki opens episode; introduces guests and “Trump Derangement Syndrome”
04:33 – Venezuela’s oil reserves and U.S. interests (Mike Maselli)
06:13 – Is Trump’s motive to cut China off from Venezuelan oil?
07:29 – The Latin American perspective on Venezuela: dictatorship, foreign influence, public mood (Fernando Gonzalez)
10:40 – Describing the precision of US-led intervention in Venezuela
13:36 – U.S. invests $1B into Peruvian Navy; regional security
14:43 – Iran’s role as a major oil producer
21:56 – Mike describes past oil drilling and investing success in Argentina
24:12 – 26:03 – Robert’s investing philosophy: oil, gold, silver vs. paper assets
26:03 – 28:04 – Will oil be replaced? Natural gas, nuclear, and the rise of AI energy needs
29:10 – Peru’s gold and silver production, post-dictatorship opportunities
30:13 – Shining Path history and terrorism’s economic impact (Fernando Gonzalez)
33:18 – Final words: Why control of oil means control of global power (Mike Maselli and Fernando Gonzalez)
34:41–36:08 – Closing thoughts, REI Energy details, and investing outlook

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Closing Notes & Takeaways

• Oil remains central to both economic well-being and global power.
• Resource investing—especially in oil, gold, silver, and even food—offers resilience when traditional financial assets falter.
• Both geopolitical conflict and economic opportunity in South America are expected to intensify as U.S. policy turns hard again against rival global powers and local dictatorships.
• Hard assets and energy will be key to navigating and profiting from the turbulence ahead.

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Useful for investors, policymakers, and anyone keen to understand how the world’s oldest commodities continue to drive modern financial and political drama.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host / Ad Voice]

This is the Rich Dad Radio show, the good news and bad news about money.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Here's Robert Kiyosaki.

Hello, Robert Kiyosaki, the Rich Dad Radio show, broadcasting from Arizona, Phoenix, where it's either heaven or hell. And right now it's heaven. It's as perfect as it can get. So today we have a kind of interesting show because I have a friend we I flew with them in Vietnam together off of a carrier, and he's now a congressman in Washington, D.C. and he says Congress is going nuts with the Trump Derangement Syndrome. You know, they said, what is that guy up to? And so he's going to annex Greenland and then Canada. He's pissing everybody off. He's going to take Greenland from Denmark or something like this. And he calls it the Gulf of America now. And he said Congress is going nuts. Trump Derangement syndrome. So I thought we'd add to the mess. Here we have two Rich dad advisors. One is Michael Maselli. He's an oil man. So for full disclosure, I invest with Michael for oil because there's so many tax advantages to oil and stuff like this. And it's always used, it's like silver, not like gold. And this is my friend Fernando. He is from Peru. And I've been to Peru to climb to the mountaintop looking for gold auto. And it was very interesting being in Peru, Fernando, you know, because the Shiny Path was there and Shining Path was a communist organization. Now he's mayor of New York City. So anyway, what a country we live in. But I remember standing on the Mountaintop in Peru, the Andes, you know, there's little holes being drilled. What the heck's that? And I'm at 17,000ft. I couldn't even breathe. And it said, years and years and years ago, the indigenous people of Peru were drilling for gold. So you, you know, thousands of years ago, they knew gold was worth something. And. And I was going there to buy a gold mine, and they didn't buy one. But I give. Fernando's going to give the. So I call the Latin point of view on Trump derangement syndrome, because he's from Peru and he's, you know, Trump's bombing Venezuela and whacking all those gunboats and. And Mike Maseli is an oil man, and, you know, he's going to take that oil. So. But I also suspect, and Michael's going to verify this or not, that oil is supposed to go to China from Venezuela. So Trump was a knockoff. That's my opinion. I don't know. No proof of that, but it's Trump derangement time syndrome. I've written two books with a man here. He's a good friend of mine. Why he wanted me to be rich. And the Midas touch. I think he's entertaining. If nothing else, you know, he's more entertaining than when he was on the Apprentice. You know, you're fired. Take over Greenland. I mean, give me a break. And he's bombing Venezuela, and he's now going into. Where is he anyway? That guy is all over the place. So, Michael, as an oil man, how much oil is in Venezuela?

[Michael Maselli]

Well, Robert, thanks for having me on the show today. And I think there's about 280 billion barrels to 300 billion barrels, which is probably the number one oil reserves in the world. I think out of the 14 fields that Venezuela has, about 11 of them still has over 50 to 60% of their remaining reserves. And so there's a lot of oil there to be produced. As far as on that, it is a heavier crude. But the good thing about it is most of our refineries were set up originally to handle heavy crude, because here in the United States, most of our oil is a very light crude. So they take that crude and they blend it with the heavy crude, which extends our reserves. So, you know, you can certainly see why Trump wanted to go after Venezuela, obviously going after the oil. And, you know, what better deal for Trump than try to control the most oil reserves in the world, Right.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

So, Michael, are you in line to take over to start drilling in Venezuela?

[Michael Maselli]

Well, I have drilled in Argentina. And I had a concession in Argentina which we sold to Shell Oil back in the early 2000s. So I love doing business in South America. I have looked at some deals in Venezuela a long time ago. And so, yeah, I mean it's, you know, there's a lot of opportunity there. So it just depends on, you know, what's going to happen with the government and what kind of assurities you're going to get. Right.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

And how much truth do you think it is that Trump wants to cut the oil from China off Venezuela to China. Is that possible or is that just rumor?

[Michael Maselli]

Well, I think that's one of the main reasons why Trump wanted the oil in Venezuela. I mean, you know, he did something very similar with the, you know, with the canal and in Central America. And so he is trying to push, you know, China out of the, out of our continent. And I think he has an ulterior motive about getting Cuba back as well. So, you know, Cuba.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

I think he.

[Michael Maselli]

He'S trying to control both sides of the, of the continent there.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah, it's like I said, we shouldn't be laughing, but there's something entertaining about that guy. Trump Derangement Syndrome. Mr. Fernando, hola. And you're from Peru and I brought you, I'll be seeing you at Mar a Lago in a few weeks at Trump's place there. And so what do you think the South American or the Latin point of view is on Trump whacking Venezuela?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Thank you Robert, for having us. I think that is amazing because the number one thing is that Venezuela is recovering their freedom. They had for 28 years a detector in place. The average salary in Venezuela is $4 per month. However, Switzerland government just found 113 tons of gold in Maduro's personal bank account. We are talking about $5 billion and the people from Venezuela was eating from the garbage with $4 a month and this guy was stealing the gold, the silver, the minerals and send it to China, to Russia. They have also Hezbollah, which is an enemy with USA inside their territory. So we believe it's going to bring a lot of stability in the region. It's going to be amazing. We are celebrating this and we see Mr. President Donald Trump as a true hero recovering the freedom for the Venezuelan people.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

So you guys are happy he's getting rid of dictators? Was Maduro was one and who was a dictator before him?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Before him was Chavez for 20 years, almost 20 years. And between Chavez and Maduro, 28 years sucking the money from the country, talking about socialism, communism and this is going to have also, Robert, the ripple effect because next is Cuba, then Nicaragua. Many great things happening at the same time.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

The Trump derangement syndrome. And he's. And I just think it's so Denmark that claims they own Greenland and they're all up in arms with him. And like I said, my friend Jack Bergman, Fernetta, who will be in Mar a Lago with us next two weeks from now, Congressman, he says Congress is going nuts. They hate the guy. You know, he's like, he's, he's become like almost a dictator. But you know, I think he's a stand up comedian personally. That's so funny. So I just thought it was impressive too, you know, like Fernando, as a graduate of the Peruvian Naval Academy and that strike they put into Venezuela was precision. You know, I was watching the actions and it was all the elite of the elite went in. There was like a surgical removal of Maduro, right? He's gone and his wife. And if our military is so freaking strong, do you know what I mean? It's well disciplined, the best of the best. It's like Navy seals going in and taking some guy out. So I thought that was pretty impressive. How do you think the Venezuela people feel? Are they happy that Maduro's gone?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Well, it was initially they were scary because they see all the bombing happening around, but it was not in the city. It was very precise in the military bases. And then when they saw the Apache helicopters going to the city, they understood that it was an extraction just to remove from the power to President Maduro. So Everything started at 2am and it was a change of celebration in the whole Latin America because it was like a happy new year. Everybody drinking on the streets because Maduro was removing from power.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Wow, interesting. And also Robert, so let me ask you this.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

We have to take this in consideration. In 1920s, a key player was Exxon. ExxonMobil invested 767 million of dollars in Venezuela. The money went into pipelines, refineries and infrastructure. And then when Chavez took the power, he kicked off all the American companies and steal all the oil. So this is a kind of payback.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah, and by the way, you know, it's what's war about? It's about oil. Because I went to tours in Vietnam and they don't ever say this but Occidental Petroleum was in there arm and hammers company and Vietnam is loaded with oil. So they want to make sure China didn't get it. So that's kind of one of the causes of Vietnam out there. So it's always about the oil, right, Mike?

[Michael Maselli]

That's correct. And in fact, you know, when Chavez took over, I think he kicked Conoco out and then Conoco sued, you know, the, the Venezuelan government and ended up with. The Venezuelan government still owns Conoco, over $8 billion. And, and that was one of the things they were talking about. So, you know, the Americans, you know, they've spent a lot of money in we here in the United States and in South America, especially in Venezuela. And so I think we can ramp up production there pretty fast from what the president of Chevron was saying. They've been on the ground there. They're the only company that's been able to continue to operate there. But they're, they're saying that they can increase production by about 50% within the next couple of years. So there's a great opportunity in Venezuela and other parts of South America that I think this is just going to have a ripple effect. And Fernando can probably talk more about that than I can. But as far as for the oil business in the US And South America.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

And also, Mike, last week this administration decided to invest in Peruvian Navy 1 billion of dollars in the warships, modernizing the navy base. So it's going to be amazing. It's not only Venezuela, it's also Peru. Different countries where President Trump is recovering the Americas because we don't understand why Russia, Iran, Chinese people were inside Venezuela. This is South America. So President Trump make a strategic decision to get back to South America. Is part of the Americas leading that?

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah. And like we're talking about here is Trump Derangement Syndrome. Two books with a Boy I think is entertainment, but depends on your point of view out there. There's one more thing we haven't mentioned so far is he's crushing Iran right now and Iran is loaded with oil too, right, Mike? That's correct.

[Michael Maselli]

I mean, I think they're the number three producer. So hand it to Trump. He's going to go after the number one producer and the number three producer.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Plus Greenland and Canada.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Yeah.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

So we come back, I don't know if we should be laughing or not, but what a character we have for a president. You know, I mean, he may not go down as the greatest president, but he'll go around the most entertaining. So we'll come back with a final words, maybe summary about what we can do, how you profit from all this and what does it mean to have President Trump out there whacking Venezuela, Iran and wherever else going to take Cuba and then Greenland. What else? Are they going to do? He's just playing a monopoly on a world scale. We'll be right back.

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[Robert Kiyosaki]

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Welcome back Robert Kinsey Radio Show. Our guest today, Richard Advisors, Michael Maselli. For full disclosure, I invest with Michael, make a lot of money together investing in oil in the United States. And Mike is a hardcore oil man. And Fernando Gonzalez is a graduate of Peruvian Naval Academy. And when he and I are meeting on February 12th in Mar? A Lago, Trump's place, I'm being inducted as a, the head veteran or something. I thought my friends are all kidding me. You're gonna put going to induct me as a lead veteran in America. I'm going, Jesus, me, you know, this is our friend here. I've been to Mar Lago many times. It's worth seeing. And like I said, my other friend, we're being together because of the veterans. And Jack Bergman is now Congressman Jack Bergman. He and I flew together off of Vietnam. As we were talking about the rumor was the reason we're in Vietnam was because arm and Hammer was oxygen on petroleum, said there was oil in Vietnam, they'll make sure China didn't get it. So it's possible, not saying it's true that Trump doesn't want China to get Venezuela's oil. And it's also possible he's whacking Iran right now because Iran's a big oil producer. But one of the funniest things I heard years and years ago because I'm an oil man also, I used to work for Standard Oil driving oil tankers up and down the coast across the Pacific. And they talked about how Golda Meir, who was what, the prime minister of Israel, she says that damn Moses, he led us into the desert, you know, 40 years and 40 nights or whatever. Moses led him into the desert and beat the Jews up and all this stuff. And he takes out the only piece of land in that desert with no oil. So she's, she's, she's pissed at Moses that's taking a claim in oil also up there. That's oil is the lifeblood of the economy. Without oil, there's no civilization, and I think. So we can laugh about all this stuff, but there seems to be a method to Trump's madness here. So Moses led people to the promised land, but they had no oil in it anyway. So, Michael, would you stand in line to go into Venezuela or not?

[Michael Maselli]

Yeah, I mean, like I said, I've done business in South America before. So, you know, Venezuela, of course, there has to be a lot of changes there, but they have some great opportunities throughout Colombia as well, and, you know, different areas. So when we, of course, were in Argentina, we, you know, the country was going through not a similar situation, I mean, through socialism and stuff. But the people were great. They enjoyed us being there. We made a lot of money there. So we were very, very pleased with South America doing business there. And, you know, I'd like to get back again.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

So you were drilling in Argentina?

[Michael Maselli]

Yeah, we had a 2 million acre concession up in the northwestern basin of Argentina. And we drilled the fourth deepest discovery in the. In the country there. Made a. Made a huge discovery, a natural gas well. And Shell had a pipeline in Bolivia. We were right on the Argentine. Bolivian border. And so they needed the gas for their pipeline, so they bought us out. And that was our exit strategy. And of course, shortly after that, the peso collapsed. It wasn't that we were smart, we were just lucky and got out. And like I said, we. We made some really nice money there.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

I was in Argentina also. It's an interesting place.

[Michael Maselli]

Yeah, it really is.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

So, Fernando, it's interesting you say that Venezuelans are happy, but the dictators are gone. So you had Chavez and now Maduro.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Yes, Robert, we have to have in consideration that 8 million of people migrate from Venezuela because of that dictatorship. Eight million is the biggest migration in the modern history.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

I remember that because I was talking to this guy who says the most beautiful women come from Venezuela. And it said there was a really a bonus because they all came to America. I don't know if that's true or not, but there's always a slow. So I think it's an interesting point of view that they're happy that the dictators are God. And that's an interesting point of view.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

You can ask Venezuelan whoever that question if they are happy. I will say 95% of the people are happier. The only ones that are not happier were the people stealing the money from the rest of the people, stealing the gold, stealing the silver, keeping the people in poverty. They are not happy because they are losing Everything. And then now they are going to be in jail with the boyfriend in jail. It's a different game. The game is changing very fast. So we are so excited because of that.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

And I was in Argentina. I was, I was, you know, I'm going to commercial message here. I'll be at the Vancouver Resource Investment conference in Vancouver, January 25 to 26. Boys come right around the corner. And the Vancouver Resource Resource Investment Conference is for people like me. I was a silver miner and we struck silver in Argentina and we thought we had struck it rich and all this stuff. But then a company called Yamana bought us out. So I was out of Argentina. But the point I'm making here, as an investor, you don't find me investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs. I invest in resources. I like oil because oil is the lifeblood of a civilization. That's what you gotta have. So that's why I invest for full disclosure with Mike of REI Energy. And gold and silver are money. And as you may, as silver is, could be the biggest investment of all today because it's catching up to gold in price. And when silver breaks 100, my prediction is I could be wrong, it's going to go to 200 right away. So I remember in 1990 you could buy silver for $5 an ounce and possibly in 27 it'll be 200 an ounce. So I invest in resources because I like something. I can see, touch and feel. I invest in real estate. I can see, touch and feel. And I was investing in cattle. I can see, touch and feel it. You can keep your Warren Buffett paper and bonds and all that stuff. I just don't trust paper. I like hardcore resources. So, Michael, is there any possibility they'll find a replacement for oil?

[Michael Maselli]

Well, I don't think they'll find a replacement for oil because over 6,000 products are made out of oil. It's just, you know, when most people think about oil, they think about gasoline or something like that. But as far as lubricants, you know, jet fuel, different types of fuels, you know, so I don't think there'll ever be a full replacement of it. I think that nuclear obviously going down the road will take up a lot of the electricity as far as on that. But as far as petroleum products, and of course natural gas is still the cleanest burning fuel that we have out there. And we've got a tremendous amount of natural gas here in the US and that a lot of times they don't even have the pipelines to move it. So we've got to add that infrastructure in order to bring in more pipelines. But we're really blessed here in this country with as much oil as we do have.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah. Again, I'll be at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference talking about investing in metals and all this. But there's one thing important about oil and natural gas, AI artificial intelligence sucks a lot of energy. So I was talking to Michael about wherever they put up an AI power plant or facility, they've got to have a lot of natural gas or oil or coal or something. Is that correct, Michael?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Yeah.

[Michael Maselli]

That's why you see a lot of these new power. I mean, these AI power plants, I mean, not power plants, but the AI plants being built in West Texas where they have easy access to a lot of natural gas and oil in order to generate that power. And I think Trump's come out and said that they're not going to put more money into the grid. So these AI factories are going to have to supply their own power. So that's why you see a lot of them looking for places where natural gas is abundant in order to generate that electricity.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

The other thing that happened is that Germany, a couple of European countries, the greenies took over and they wanted to get away from oil and natural gas and all this, and they couldn't do it. And it sent the cost of production up. So because their cost of energy is so high and so inefficient that they can't produce Volkswagens and Mercedes and all this stuff. So I'll say it again, civilization runs on energy. Oil and all these greenies who want to get rid of it, well, maybe in the future, or they want to go nuclear. The only trouble with nuclear is nuclear waste. The half life is 10,000 years. It means what we're burning today in nuclear is going to be here for 10,000 years. It's still toxic. So all these guys are saying that nuclear is the clean energy. They know what they're talking about. Okay, so, Fernando, Fernando, so when you look at the country of Peru, you guys have lots of silver, too?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Gold and silver. Yes, Robert. Yes. We are a mining country. There's a lot of opportunities. Also, when you were talking, Robert, about Venezuela and what is happening, there is a lot of opportunities coming, not only for the oil industry, because they don't have expressways, they don't have a lot of things that they need to rebuild the city. So it's going to be a lot of opportunities. In South America, Peru is the number two producer of gold, actually, A lot of silver too.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Oil.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

But combining that strength from the whole South America united with, with USA under the President Trump leadership, I think is going to be amazing. And it's happening.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah. So would you take a moment, Fernando, to explain to the world because most Americans never heard of him. Who was Shining Path?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Well, they were terrorist people that were educated in China and they, China, Russia and Cuba. They have a goal to take the power through the arms with the military power that they have in their place, terrorizing people and putting the country in their knees. We didn't have any international business, any franchise because of the terrorist people. The average salary in Peru was about 50, $75. The economy was completely down until President Fujimori took the power and started to fight back the terrorist people. But it was really a disaster in the history of Peru because it was.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

For Senate was terrorist organization.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

12 years and one.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah, it was terrifying, Mike. I was out there looking for gold in Peru and they put satchel charges onto these power lines. Oh, wow. I was in Lima and the place was terrified because Shining Path was roaming the streets. So I've been all over the world. I went to Mongolia, a place called the Checkerboard, looking for gold out there. And it's interesting that resources, hard assets, gold, silver, oil. I still invest in that. And people say, well, bonds are safe. There's no such thing as safe. Japan and China right now are dumping the US Bond because our national debt is through the roof. So all these people say, oh yeah, financial planners are saying, well, bonds are safe. They're lying to you. They're lying to you. That's what bugs me. So I'd rather invest in hard asses like cattle and oil and food. And I have one friend who started with 10 chickens and now he sells, I think he sells 1.8 million eggs a day. That's egg flow, you know, I mean, I said I should invest in chickens also. The reason I bring all this up is because the s and P500 is what most Americans have their 401ks in. And silver went up 140%. S&P didn't go up. So for those of you who are looking at making Money, I've since 1965, I've been a hard assets guy. 1965, I held up a little silver dollar like this here and it was, it was no longer made of silver. It was made out of copper. And so ever since then, I became hard assets. I made fortunes in coal, silver, oil, chicken. Not no chickens yet, but cattle. So there's a Lot of ways you can make money and all that. So it's a really interesting time. Final word, Michael, on oil, because like I said, AI is going to need energy like crazy. So I was talking to you about that.

[Michael Maselli]

Yeah, I mean, we're excited in our business. I mean, we've got a lot of opportunity here in the US and, you know, it's going to be a really good time. And I think Trump is, you know, he has a, he has a, you know, a reason behind what he's doing and that is trying to control, you know, the major energy sources in the world. So I hope he does it.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Well. Iran is going to shift over. Yeah, Iran has a lot of oil. It's like, I'll repeat that old joke. Golden Myers is Moses took the only part of the desert that had no oil, so it's Israel. Fernando, final words on Trump. And what do you think of what's happening in the world?

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Thank you, Robert, for having us. I believe it's an amazing time for Venezuela to recover their freedom. Also for having South America as a stronger continent with freedom. And it's amazing what also 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Magurina Machado is working with President Trump to lead the country. I feel very optimistic about the transformation from South America and the opportunities coming in the near future.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah. So our point is that the rich dad radio shows that the good news and bad news about money, the good news is if you're into hard assets or assets like oil that are burning up and silver that's burning up, you'll always be okay. But if you just drink the Kool Aid and say, well, mutual funds and bonds and all that, you might not be okay. But the world runs on energy and gold and silver and chicken eggs, and you can make a fortune if you're in the hard assets. So, anyway, well, thank you all. Thank you guys. And when I come back, we're finishing up this whole thing. But, you know, viva Peru, Viva Venezuela.

[Fernando Gonzalez]

Liberty.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah. And thank you. Tell us about REI Energy. And for full disclosure.

[Michael Maselli]

Yeah. So you can find us at www.reinergy.com. you know, we have a number of drilling opportunities that we do every year. We probably participate in. You know, we participate in well over a thousand wells in the Bakken to date. We participated in almost 200 wells in northeastern Oklahoma in the last couple of years. So we, we try to diversify our interest between natural gas and oil. Leaning more towards natural gas right now because as you said, Robert, all the AI facilities that are being built out there, so we're excited about the future.

[Robert Kiyosaki]

Yeah, there's always a way to make money and all that. So anyway, it's a great time to be alive and I thank you gentlemen and Fernando, I'll see you at Mar a Lago on February 12 at Trump's palace and looking forward to it. We'll be right back.

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[Robert Kiyosaki]

Welcome back. Robert Kiyosaki. I want to thank Michael Maseli and Fernando Gonzalez again. This is January 2026. It's important because things are changing very fast. The investment that Mike is talking about, look at the Rich dad board game here. They're fast track investments. If you're in the rat race, you can't invest with Mike, but if you're accredited, you can invest out here. So his investments are not for everybody, for full disclosure. That's why I invest with them. I get huge tax breaks. I get my checks every month. I like it. And then I'll be in the VRIC Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, January 26th, 25th to 26th in Vancouver. I'll be speaking on oil, and I mean gold and silver. I drilled a gold mine in China and they nationalized it. So I don't kind of blame Trump for taking over China or knocking out their oil. And the Chinese have some huge atrocities to their names, like they have organ harvesting where if you need a heart, they kill the Uyghur or a political adversary, they just kill them. Take the heart. So the Chinese are fairly, fairly interesting people and let's hope we don't go to war with them. I'll also be in Charlotte, North Carolina, February 3rd. But the Aspire tour, Charlotte, North Carolina, February 3. Aspire, Aspire. And I'll be there in person. Not the AI of me, but the real me. And I think this is a very good time in the world because we're in serious financial trouble. The debt is through the roof. We're the biggest debtor nation in world history. But you don't have to be one of them if you understand what hard resources are. Like my friend who sells 1.8 million eggs a day, he's a rich man. So thank you all for watching the Rich dad radio show. Thank you to Mike, thank you to Fernando, and let's go out, get richer in a world that's going to pieces with debt. Thank you.

[Wayfair Style Tip Announcer]

This podcast is a presentation of Rich Dad Media Network.

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[Robert Kiyosaki]

Beautiful.

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