Grant Cardone raised $88.1 million in recent months for a fund that bought $15 million in Bitcoin and paid $73 million for a Central Florida apartment project.
At the same time, the crowdfunding multifamily syndicator has toyed with the notion of running for governor of California, where Cardone owns a beachfront home in Malibu damaged during the devastating Southern California wildfires earlier this year. Cardone primarily resides in a waterfront mansion in Golden Beach that he bought from fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger for $28 million in 2021. He receives a $50,000 homestead exemption on his property taxes.
During a recent text messaging exchange with The Real Deal, Cardone was coy about his political aspirations. But he boasted about Cardone Capital, his Aventura-based firm, luring investors for his real estate and cryptocurrency deals, when some of his peers are finding it difficult to raise equity due to a lagging multifamily market and uncertainty about the U.S. economy.
“Syndicators have all been sidelined,” Cardone said. “Institutions cannot raise or make redemptions. I’m thriving.”
Cardone Capital recently acquired Integra Station, a 300-unit apartment complex completed in 2022 in Space Coast Town Center, a 64-acre mixed-use community in Melbourne, according to a press release. The property is being renamed 10X Space Coast Town Center, in line with the branding for Cardone Capital’s multifamily portfolio, which spans 42 properties in five states with a combined 14,000 units.
Last year, Cardone Capital dropped more than $300 million to acquire three multifamily projects in Fort Lauderdale.
Aside from his multifamily focused real estate firm, Cardone has built a network of money making enterprises built on his braggadocious persona and salesmanship. Cardone recruits mom-and-pop and high net worth investors via his social media accounts which have nearly 18 million followers in total.
“The crowdfunding model works when done right,” Cardone said. “I’m still raising money when no one else can.”
Since January, Cardone has used his social media presence as a bully pulpit to rail against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Some of the video clips posted to Cardone’s Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts suggest he’s contemplating running as a Republican in 2026 when Newsom is termed out.
He recently launched a website, 10XCalifornia.com, to help flip the state from blue to red by registering new Republican voters. On the homepage, Cardone noted that he “voted Democrat most of my life,” but that the party is “no longer representing regular people like me, but rather weird fringe groups.”
Cardone would not comment to TRD on whether he’s serious about jumping into the race for California’s top political post. Obviously, he would be a longshot candidate. Yet, Cardone is gung ho about a Republican possibly winning the governor’s seat for the first time since 2006, when actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected to a second term. The wildfires exposed the “incompetence” of Democratic leadership, Cardone said.
“California can be flipped in 2026,” Cardone told TRD. “Only the most extremist [state residents] believe California is not on the wrong track.”
