Dear Reader,
Today, four oil tankers are burning in the Strait of Hormuz.
A supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil struck a naval mine and exploded. Three more vessels caught fire since Friday. Iran's Revolutionary Guard planted the mines. The oil is still burning.
Tomorrow, you vote.
Inside today's issue:
- The fire in the strait: Since Friday, four oil tankers have struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz. One supertanker carried 2 million barrels. Nearly 1 billion barrels have been drained from global inventories since the war began. Shipping costs now run 30% of a barrel's price. Before the war, it was 5%.
- The bill you're already paying: America has spent $47.1 billion on the Iran war as of last week. The national debt is $40.3 trillion. Interest on that debt hit $1.05 trillion this year, more than the entire US military budget of $956 billion. For the first time in history, we pay Wall Street more than we pay our soldiers.
- What your ballot can't fix: Tomorrow, 74% of voters frustrated about gas prices and grocery bills go to the polls. Both parties built the $40 trillion debt. A new Congress won't change the money system. Here's what actually protects you.
- Robert Kiyosaki — Perpetual Income Plan: $10,000 in. $1,000 a year out. The Perpetual Income Plan averages 10% yield across 15 positions.
SHIPS ON FIRE. VOTES DON'T PUT THEM OUT.
Four oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz this past week.
One was a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil. It struck a naval mine, exploded, and caught fire. Iran's Revolutionary Guard planted those mines. They've been doing it for months.
This is not a distant headline. This is the global oil supply.
Roughly 20% of the world's oil passes through that strait. Every tanker that burns is one less delivery. Every mine in the water raises the price at your pump.
The CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company put a number on it: since the US-Israel war on Iran began, nearly 1 billion barrels have been drained from global inventories. Shipping and logistics costs have surged to more than 30% of the cost of a barrel of oil. Before the war, that number was 5%.
Do the math. A $70 barrel of oil now costs $21 just to move. Before this war, it cost $3.50.
That is in your gas bill. That is in every grocery that moved by truck. That is in the heating bill you will open this winter.
The war has cost US taxpayers $47.1 billion as of October 28. Trump is promising the conflict will end "soon." He has been saying that for months. Meanwhile, tankers are still hitting mines.
THE NUMBER NOBODY IS RUNNING BEFORE TOMORROW'S ELECTION
America's national debt is $40.3 trillion.
The deficit in fiscal year 2026 was $2 trillion. That is the largest deficit in US history outside of a war or a recession. We are in both simultaneously.
Here is the number that stopped me cold: Interest payments on the national debt hit $1.05 trillion this year. The US military budget is $956 billion.
We now pay Wall Street more than we pay our soldiers.
This happened once before. Rome. The empire stopped paying its legions and started paying its creditors. The legions went home. The creditors did not stop collecting.
I have been watching this cycle for 50 years. The script does not change. Only the currency does.
Before I tell you what I'm doing about it, there is something you need to see first.
SPONSORED: STANSBERRY RESEARCH
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THE PLAY
Changing Congress tomorrow will not change the debt clock.
It will not stop the mines in Hormuz. It will not lower the interest bill. It will not reverse 50 years of paper money expansion.
Both parties built this. Both parties will keep building it. That is not cynicism. That is arithmetic.
Here is what every empire in history eventually figured out: the currency fails before the government admits it. Paper goes to zero. Hard assets do not.
Oil is burning in the strait. Gold is at record highs. Silver is following. Central banks bought 1,136 tonnes of gold last year alone.
They know something. They are not telling you.
WHAT THEY ARE BUYING: hard assets. Real things. The kind you can hold, the kind that cannot be printed, the kind that do not need a government to maintain their value.
I have been buying gold since it was $300 an ounce. I have been buying silver since before most people knew what a silver round was. I hold energy royalties that pay me while the barrel price moves.
You do not need to pick the perfect moment. You need to be in position before the music stops.
The votes go in tomorrow. The debt clock does not stop counting.
To your freedom,
Robert Kiyosaki
Author, Rich Dad Poor Dad
P.S. $10,000 In. $1,000 a Year Out. The Perpetual Income Plan averages 10% yield across 15 positions. Not one has lost value in five years. Robert Kiyosaki explains. See how it works.