SANTO DOMINGO.- What many considered impossible Kevin Martínez's life-defining goal: escaping poverty and retiring young. Today, at 41, this native of Higüey recounts how a loan signed by his aunt when he was just 17 became the starting point of a career that led him to amass a fortune through real estate investment.
Martínez, known for producing the series Mortales on Telemicro, discovered early on that his destiny would not be on television sets or musical stages, but in real estate.
“I bought my first apartment in the capital when I was 17. It cost me 650,000 pesos. I took out a loan of 400,000. My aunt signed for it, of course. I always say that I couldn't sleep for about four months because at that time, and at my age, that was a multimillion-dollar debt,” she began, narrating her story.
After making the purchase, he said that he went to Spain to study film and when he returned to his native country, he sold the property for five million pesos.
“I said: this is the way I’m really going. I mean, that’s how the real estate market works,” he recalls.
That path solidified years later in the United States, where he took advantage of the 2008 crisis. In 2012, he bought apartmentsin Miami for a mere $25,000. And today he owns properties he acquired at auctions for $140,000, which are valued at over $1.2 million.
“People have underestimated the value of properties. And there’s something important: like the S&P 500, in stock market terms, houses will always go up,” he says, describing how the market works.
The investor asserted that his formula has been clear: buy at auctions, repair, and sell. But now, having achieved financial independence, Kevin also dedicates himself to teaching others. His philosophy revolves around sharing what worked for him so they can make a significant change in their lives.
“In fact, I have a school, an institution that has taught more than 3,500 people how to do business with the State, precisely because if it worked for me, why not share it?” he said.
In an interview with the weekly program “La Ventana de El Inmobiliario”, he specified that in 2024, along with a group of partners and students, he acquired a portfolio of 24 properties for 1.6 million dollars, which are now worth twice as much.
The author of the book "The Secrets That Made Me Rich" argues that wealth is not only material, but also emotional and spiritual.
“Poverty is overcome first from within, which is not a material path. You enrich yourself to the extent that you can heal those needs, those voids and those existential gaps that we all have,” he affirms.
For him, retirement means freedom: to travel, enjoy life, and make his own decisions. This is a reality he has been able to enjoy thanks to his current monthly income.
“Once you have an income of $30,000 a month, nobody is richer than you because you can do everything. I mean, what can a person who passively has an income of $30,000 want to do that they can't? Go live in Paris, they can; travel first class, they can; travel on a charter flight, they can; live in Cap Cana, they can,” he explained.
During his speech, Kevin Martinez shared three basic rules that he considers universal, which we summarize briefly.
- Holistic wealth: It means healing inner voids and growing as a person.
- Financial discipline: It involves never spending more than you earn and putting the surplus to work.
- Overcoming the fear of money: This involves understanding that money is a neutral power that depends on how it is used.
“I always say that I am the result of more than 40 years of believing in a dream. I always knew who I was going to be, I always knew I was going to achieve it, and although on many occasions I was about to give up, I feel that there is a force beyond human understanding that is responsible for bringing you back to your path,” he expressed.
To see the full interview, we invite you to visit the new episode of “La Ventana de El Inmobiliario”.
