Most people who talk about Grant Cardone online fall into one of two camps.
They either worship the guy or dismiss him as a loudmouth who got lucky. Neither take is useful to you.
Here’s what I think after years of watching his trajectory: Grant Cardone is the real deal. He built Cardone Capital into a multi-billion dollar real estate portfolio. He runs 10X Health. He’s sold out arenas for his Growth Conferences. His sales training has genuinely transformed careers.
But and this is important — the question isn’t whether Grant is successful. The question is whether you can replicate what he teaches, starting from where you are right now.
Before We Go Further
I respect Grant’s model. Owning physical real estate that generates monthly cash flow is a proven wealth-builder. No argument there.
But there’s a version of “real estate” that most people overlook — digital real estate.
Instead of buying apartment complexes, I build simple two-page websites that show up in Google for local service businesses. Each site generates $500 to $1,500 per month in recurring revenue. No tenants. No property managers. No six-figure down payments. No debt.
Go here to see exactly how this business model works!
Now, let’s get into the full Grant Cardone breakdown.
Who Is Grant Cardone?
Grant Cardone is a sales trainer, real estate investor, author, and media personality. He grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, lost his father at 10 years old, and by his own account struggled through his twenties with drug addiction before getting clean at 25.
He started his career selling cars at a dealership, where he developed the aggressive sales philosophy that would become his brand. He moved into corporate sales training, built Cardone Training Technologies, and eventually pivoted hard into real estate.
Today, Grant sits at the center of a business empire that includes:
- Cardone Capital — a real estate investment fund managing over $4.5 billion in multifamily assets
- Cardone Training Technologies — corporate sales training programs
- 10X Health System — a health and wellness company
- Grant Cardone TV — streaming content and media
- 10X Growth Conference — one of the largest entrepreneurship events in the world
His net worth has been estimated at $600 million to over $1 billion depending on the source. His social media following exceeds 50 million across platforms. Love him or not, he’s built something substantial.
The 10X Philosophy Explained
Grant’s core message revolves around the “10X Rule” — the idea that you should set targets 10 times higher than what you think you need, then take 10 times the action you believe is required.
The concept comes from his 2011 book The 10X Rule, which has sold millions of copies. The argument is straightforward: most people massively underestimate how much effort success requires, so they set mediocre goals and still fall short.
There’s genuine value in this framework. If you’ve spent time around people who consistently achieve big things, you’ll notice they almost always operate with more intensity than everyone around them. Grant puts language to that observation.
Where it gets tricky is when people interpret 10X as “just hustle harder.” Grant’s philosophy works best when you combine the intensity with the right vehicle. Working 10X harder at the wrong business model still produces zero results.
Grant Cardone’s Products and Programs
Grant offers a range of products at various price points:
| Product | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Books (10X Rule, Be Obsessed or Be Average, Sell or Be Sold) | $15–$25 | Core philosophy and sales mindset |
| Cardone University | $997/year | Online sales training library with 1,500+ courses |
| 10X Growth Conference | $997–$10,000+ | Multi-day live event with speakers and networking |
| Cardone Capital Investments | $5,000 minimum | Fractional ownership in multifamily real estate |
| 10X Business Coaching | $15,000–$100,000+ | Direct mentorship and mastermind access |
The Books
Grant’s books are genuinely worth reading regardless of what business you’re in. Sell or Be Sold remains one of the better practical sales books written in the last 20 years. The 10X Rule is motivational but also contains actionable frameworks for goal-setting. Be Obsessed or Be Average hits differently if you’ve ever struggled with the guilt of wanting more than a “normal” life.
At $15–$25 each, the books are a no-brainer starting point.
Cardone University
This is Grant’s flagship online training platform. It contains over 1,500 video courses covering sales techniques, negotiation, cold calling, follow-up strategies, objection handling, and closing.
For salespeople — particularly those in automotive, real estate, and B2B — Cardone University delivers real value. The training is practical, role-play heavy, and designed for people who actually make sales calls daily.
The $997/year price tag is reasonable for professionals whose income directly correlates with their close rate. If a single technique from the platform helps you close one additional deal per month, it pays for itself immediately.
For entrepreneurs who don’t sell directly (like someone running an e-commerce store or content business), the value proposition is weaker. The training assumes you’re in a direct sales environment.
10X Growth Conference
Grant’s annual Growth Conference has hosted speakers like Tony Robbins, Daymond John, Sarah Blakely, Magic Johnson, and dozens of other high-profile names. Attendance typically ranges from 20,000 to 35,000 people.
The general admission ticket runs around $997. VIP and Diamond packages can exceed $10,000 and include closer seating, networking events, and meet-and-greets.
The consensus among attendees is that the energy and networking are the real value — not necessarily the stage content. If you’re someone who gets motivated by immersive environments and you can afford the ticket plus travel, it can be a worthwhile experience. If you’re hoping for a step-by-step business blueprint from the event alone, you might leave frustrated.
Cardone Capital
This is where Grant’s business gets most interesting — and most scrutinized.
Cardone Capital allows everyday investors to buy fractional shares in large multifamily apartment complexes managed by Grant’s team. Minimum investments start at around $5,000, with most funds targeting $25,000+ for accredited investors.
The pitch is compelling: you can invest alongside Grant in the same types of deals that made him wealthy, earning quarterly distributions from rental income.
In practice, it’s more nuanced. Cardone Capital has faced an SEC inquiry (settled without admitting wrongdoing), some investors have reported lower-than-projected returns, and multifamily real estate in general has faced headwinds since 2023 due to elevated interest rates, rising insurance costs, and softening rents in certain Sun Belt markets.
That said, real estate syndication as a concept is legitimate and well-established. Grant isn’t inventing a new model — he’s packaging an existing one with his personal brand and making it accessible at lower minimums than most syndications require.
The key consideration: real estate syndications are illiquid investments. Your money is typically locked up for 5–10 years. If you need access to your capital, this isn’t the vehicle.
What Grant Gets Right
Sales training that actually works. Grant’s core competency is sales, and his training reflects decades of real-world experience. The techniques aren’t theoretical — they come from someone who has personally closed millions of dollars in deals.
Mindset shift for under-performers. If you’re someone who has been playing small — afraid to make the call, afraid to ask for the sale, afraid to charge what you’re worth — Grant’s content can genuinely rewire your thinking. His bluntness cuts through the overthinking that paralyzes a lot of would-be entrepreneurs.
Real assets behind the brand. Unlike many gurus whose only product is teaching you how to make money, Grant has built actual operating businesses and owns real property. Cardone Capital’s portfolio contains real buildings with real tenants paying real rent. That matters.
Accessibility at multiple price points. You can consume Grant’s free content on YouTube and social media, buy a $20 book, invest in $997 training, or go all the way up to six-figure coaching. There’s an entry point for almost every budget.
Where It Gets Complicated
The lifestyle marketing. Grant’s content is heavy on jets, Rolls-Royces, and luxury real estate. This works as aspirational marketing, but it can also attract people who are more interested in the aesthetic of wealth than the work required to build it. If you follow Grant, focus on what he teaches, not what he shows off.
Cardone Capital performance debates. Some investors have publicly shared disappointing returns, particularly in funds that purchased during the 2021–2022 peak. This isn’t unique to Cardone Capital — most real estate syndicators who bought aggressively during that period are facing similar challenges — but it’s worth noting that projected returns and actual returns don’t always align.
The upsell ecosystem. Like most large-scale business educators, Grant’s free and low-ticket content is designed to funnel you toward higher-priced programs. This isn’t inherently wrong (every business does this), but you should enter the ecosystem with your eyes open about where the revenue model really sits.
The capital requirements for his model. Grant’s core wealth-building strategy — buying large multifamily properties — requires significant capital, credit, and infrastructure. Even investing through Cardone Capital requires money you can afford to lock up for years. For someone starting from zero, this creates a gap between the inspiration and the practical next step.
Can You Actually Follow Grant’s Playbook?
This is the honest question most reviews skip.
Grant Cardone built his real estate empire over decades. He started in sales, earned high income, saved aggressively, and eventually had enough capital to begin acquiring property. Then he scaled through syndication, bringing in outside investor capital.
If you’re currently earning a solid income and want to learn how to invest it wisely in real estate, Grant’s content and Cardone Capital can serve you well. His training on sales and business growth can help you increase your income first, which then funds your real estate ambitions.
But if you’re starting from scratch — limited capital, no existing business income, no sales career — Grant’s playbook requires steps he often glosses over in his content. You need income before you can invest. You need sales skills applied to a vehicle that actually produces cash flow.
That’s where the concept of digital real estate becomes relevant. The same principles Grant teaches — own assets, generate recurring revenue, think long-term — can be applied digitally with dramatically lower startup costs. No $5,000 minimum investment. No waiting years for returns. No property management headaches.
Grant Cardone vs Other Business Educators
| Educator | Primary Model | Minimum Investment | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Cardone | Real estate + sales training | $997–$100,000+ | Sales professionals, high earners ready to invest |
| Robert Kiyosaki | Financial education | $20 (books) | Mindset shifts around money |
| Brandon Turner | Real estate education | $0–$2,000 | DIY real estate investors |
| Alex Hormozi | Business scaling | Free–$100M+ (equity deals) | Established business owners doing $3M+ |
| Digital Real Estate | Lead generation sites | Under $500 | Beginners wanting recurring income fast |
Who Should Follow Grant Cardone
Grant Cardone’s content is most valuable if you already have momentum. If you’re in sales, his training can directly increase your commissions. If you have capital to invest, his real estate vehicles provide access to deals you couldn’t access alone. If you need a mindset overhaul to stop playing small, his books and free content deliver that in spades.
He’s less suited as a starting point for complete beginners with no income, no capital, and no established skills. Not because his advice is wrong — it’s that his advice assumes a foundation most beginners haven’t built yet.
The Bottom Line on Grant Cardone
Grant Cardone is one of the few business personalities whose success is backed by verifiable assets, decades of track record, and a genuine body of work. He’s not selling a dream from a rented mansion. The buildings are real. The sales results are real. The empire is real.
The question is fit.
If you’re in a position to invest — either your money into his real estate funds or your time into his sales training — Grant can accelerate your results. His books alone are worth reading for anyone in business.
If you’re earlier in your journey and need to build income from the ground up before you can play Grant’s game, a lower-barrier model makes more sense as your starting point.
That’s exactly why I point beginners toward digital real estate. Same philosophy — own assets that produce recurring monthly income — but without needing $5,000 minimums or a six-figure salary to get started.
See how digital real estate works and why it’s my top recommendation for 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grant Cardone legit? Yes. Grant Cardone has built a verifiable real estate portfolio worth billions, runs multiple operating businesses, and has decades of track record in sales training. He’s not a fly-by-night guru.
Is Cardone Capital a good investment? Cardone Capital is a legitimate real estate syndication. Returns vary by fund and market conditions. Some investors have reported strong results while others have experienced below-projected returns, particularly in funds launched during the 2021–2022 market peak. As with any investment, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
Is Cardone University worth $997? For active salespeople whose income depends on closing deals, Cardone University can provide significant ROI. For non-sales entrepreneurs, the value is more limited.
What is Grant Cardone’s net worth? Estimates range from $600 million to over $1 billion. The exact figure depends on how his real estate holdings and business interests are valued. Given market fluctuations in commercial real estate since 2023, the number likely shifts year to year.
Is the 10X Growth Conference worth attending? For networking and motivation, attendees generally rate it highly. For tactical business education, the value is more mixed. Consider whether the ticket price plus travel expenses fits your current budget before committing.

Mark is the founder of MarksInsights and has spent 15+ years testing online business programs and tools. He focuses on honest, experience-based reviews that help people avoid scams and find real, sustainable ways to make money online.