Grant Cardone review: a giant marketing machine, and a securities class action headed for trial

Who is Grant Cardone?

Grant Cardone is a sales trainer, author and social media personality, founder and CEO of Cardone Capital and Cardone Training Technologies. Cardone Capital buys large apartment communities and offers interests in its funds to the public through Regulation A+ and Regulation D offerings. In 2024 the firm said it had about $4 billion in assets under management. Cardone promotes his funds heavily through social media, livestreams and events such as his 10X conferences.

Cardone Capital funds

Cardone’s model is unusual: some funds, such as Cardone Equity Fund V, were offered to non-accredited investors through Regulation A+ with minimums as low as $5,000. Reg A+ funds file reports with the SEC, including audited financial statements, which gives investors more public information than most private syndications provide.

Cardone has promoted the funds with projections of monthly distributions and large total returns, including statements that investors could expect returns north of 15% after fees and could double or triple their money. Those statements are at the center of the class action described below.

The class action

In September 2020, investor Luis Pino sued Cardone and Cardone Capital in federal court in California (Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC, Case No. 2:20-cv-08499). The lawsuit alleges that Cardone promoted a 15% annualized return through his social media without disclosing that the SEC had asked for that projection to be removed from offering materials, and that the funds’ risks and fees were not adequately disclosed.

• December 2022: the Ninth Circuit held that Cardone and Cardone Capital could be treated as sellers of the securities based on mass online promotion, reviving the case.
• June 2025: the Ninth Circuit revived the case a second time.
• March 27, 2026: the district court certified a class of everyone who bought into Cardone Equity Fund V or VI through their public offerings, with Susman Godfrey appointed as class counsel.
• June 1, 2026: the Ninth Circuit declined to review the certification.
• July 14, 2026: the deadline for investors to opt out of the class passed.
• March 9, 2027: a jury trial is scheduled.

Cardone sat for two depositions in July 2026, one for Cardone Capital and one personally. He has consistently denied misleading investors, and has argued that investors stand to receive more by staying in the funds than through the lawsuit. He also posted his deposition video publicly, criticizing what he called a racket of class action lawsuits.

These are allegations in a civil case. Cardone and Cardone Capital have not been found liable, and the case has not gone to trial. It is not a criminal case.

Other legal matters

In 2026, Brian H. Robb, a former Chief Marketing Officer of Cardone Capital, filed a $1 billion defamation lawsuit against Cardone and Cardone Capital. The complaint alleges Cardone made defamatory statements about Robb after Robb testified in the investor lawsuit, and that Robb had previously acted as a whistleblower. These are also allegations.

Education and coaching

Cardone sells sales and business training through Cardone Training Technologies and Cardone University, and holds large events such as 10X conferences, where real estate investing and his funds feature prominently. For students, the main issue is the overlap: the same platform that sells education also promotes investments in Cardone’s own funds.

Claims versus records

Key risks

• Litigation: a trial outcome, settlement or legal costs could affect the funds and the firm.
• Marketing versus reality: investors should rely on offering documents and audited filings, not social media projections.
• Interest rates and apartment values: large apartment portfolios bought at peak prices have been under pressure since 2022.
• Non-accredited exposure: low minimums mean many smaller investors carry these risks.
• Key person: the brand depends heavily on Cardone personally.

What investors say

Investor opinion is sharply divided. Supporters praise monthly distributions and easy access for small investors. Critics, and the plaintiffs in the class action, say actual distributions have fallen well short of the returns Cardone promoted. Cardone testified to writing buyout checks to investors who chose to exit ahead of the class action.

Strengths and concerns

Strengths

• A large, real portfolio of apartment communities.
• SEC-filed audited reports for Reg A+ funds.
• Low minimums that give small investors access.
• Regular distributions on some funds.

Concerns

• A certified securities class action headed for a jury trial.
• Promotional return claims the SEC reportedly questioned.
• A defamation suit from a former senior executive.
• Education and fund sales running through the same promotional machine.

Who it suits

Questions to ask before investing

1. What have the fund’s actual distributions and net returns been since launch, according to its audited filings?
2. What fees does Cardone Capital earn at each level?
3. How could the class action, or a judgment, affect the fund I am considering?
4. What are the fund’s debt maturities and interest rate terms?

What would change our verdict

• A trial verdict or settlement resolving the class action;
• marketing that reflects actual, audited returns;
• clear separation between education sales and fund promotion.

What we couldn’t verify

• Final outcomes of the class action and defamation suit.
• Fund-by-fund net returns since inception.
• Pricing of Cardone’s education programs.

Verdict history

October 15, 2026 · Initial review · Caution (4.2)

Sources

• Grant Cardone (Wikipedia)
• What happened in Grant Cardone’s 12-hour deposition? (The Real Deal, August 2026)
• The Cardone Capital class action in 2026 (Crowdfunded Wealth)
• Cardone Capital: what the SEC filings say (Crowdfunded Wealth)
• Grant Cardone lawsuit revived after 15% returns promised
• Grant Cardone lawsuit and Pino v. Cardone Capital
• Cardone Capital review 2026 (Ark7)