Booking Lane on your show? Everything you need for an oil and gas tax episode is here.
Bios, a read-aloud intro, talking points, questions, headshots and links. Copy what you need or download the whole kit in one click.
Lane Kawaoka, PE
Lane explains how some high-income professionals use oil and gas investments as part of their tax planning and to diversify beyond stocks and real estate.
Lane started in real estate, buying single-family rentals in 2009 and then moving into multifamily syndications, where his investor community has taken part in $2.1B of acquisitions. Over time, many of his investors became doctors, executives and business owners who earned too much and could not qualify as real estate professionals, so depreciation did little against their W-2 income. That gap is why Lane started studying oil and gas, where the tax rules work differently depending on how the investment is structured, and it is now a large part of what he teaches.
Chase the economics first. A deduction on a bad investment is still a bad investment.
Pick a length and copy it.
Every block has a Copy button. Kawaoka is pronounced kah-wah-OH-kah. He goes by Lane.
Lane Kawaoka, PE is a licensed engineer, 2x bestselling author and founder of The Wealth Elevator, an investor community that has taken part in $2.1B of real estate acquisitions. He teaches high earners how oil and gas fits into a tax plan and a diversified net worth.
Lane Kawaoka, PE is a licensed engineer turned investor and the founder of The Wealth Elevator. His investor community has taken part in $2.1B of real estate acquisitions across 65+ projects and raised $230M+ from investors. Today he focuses on oil and gas as a tax strategy for high-income professionals who do not qualify as real estate professionals. He is the author of two Amazon bestsellers.
Lane Kawaoka, PE spent 12 years as a licensed Professional Engineer while building a rental portfolio on the side. Through The Wealth Elevator, he went on to take part in $2.1B of real estate acquisitions across 65+ projects and raise $230M+ from investors. Many of the doctors, executives and business owners in his community earn too much to benefit from passive real estate losses against their wages, which pushed Lane to study oil and gas as a tax and diversification tool. He hosts The Wealth Elevator podcast, has written two Amazon bestsellers, and lives in Honolulu.
Lane Kawaoka spent 12 years as a licensed Professional Engineer while quietly building a rental portfolio on the side. He scaled from single-family rentals into syndications and, through The Wealth Elevator, has taken part in $2.1B of real estate acquisitions, 10,000+ units acquired across 65+ projects, and $230M+ raised from investors.
As his investors' incomes grew, their biggest problem shifted from finding returns to keeping more of what they earned. Many are doctors, executives and business owners earning $400K+ who cannot claim real estate professional status, so depreciation does little for their W-2 income. That gap led Lane into oil and gas, where, depending on how the investment is structured, intangible drilling costs can offset active income for some investors. He now teaches investors how to evaluate operators, structures and the economics behind the deduction. He is the author of The Wealth Elevator and Simple Passive Cashflow and lives in Honolulu.
"My guest today is Lane Kawaoka. He's a licensed engineer, a two-time bestselling author, and the founder of The Wealth Elevator, an investor community that has taken part in over two billion dollars of real estate acquisitions. Lately he's been focused on something that rarely comes up with financial advisors: how some high earners use oil and gas in their tax planning. Lane, welcome to the show."
"Lane Kawaoka is an engineer, bestselling author and founder of The Wealth Elevator. Today he's here to talk about oil and gas as a tax strategy for high earners."
What Lane can go deep on.
- Why high earners without real estate professional status run out of tax options, and where oil and gas fits
- Intangible drilling costs in plain English: what they are, and why ownership structure decides whether they can offset active income
- Working interest vs royalty interest: risk, liability and tax treatment
- What an engineer checks when vetting an operator
- Oil and gas as a diversifier, not a bet on oil prices
- The mistake of chasing the deduction and ignoring the economics
- How oil and gas pairs with real estate depreciation over a career
- Why oil and gas rarely comes up with financial advisors
- Who is oil and gas a fit for, and who should skip it?
- What is an intangible drilling cost, and why does the tax code allow the deduction?
- How is this different from the depreciation people get in real estate?
- What's the difference between a working interest and a royalty, and why does it matter for taxes?
- How do you tell a good operator from a bad one?
- What happens to the investment if oil prices drop?
- What's the most common mistake you see investors make in oil and gas?
- Why don't more financial advisors talk about this?
More for long-form shows
- Timing: why when you invest in the tax year matters, and what happens in year one vs later years
- Depletion allowances and what income looks like after the drilling phase
- The questions to ask about a sponsor's track record, dry hole rate and fee load
- How energy demand from data centers and AI connects to domestic drilling
- Why a licensed engineer looks at geology reports and decline curves differently than a salesperson
- What happens when you sell or exit: recapture and planning ahead with your CPA
- Oil and gas inside a wider plan that includes real estate, private companies and cash reserves
- You were an engineer for 12 years. How does that change the way you look at a drilling project?
- What should someone ask their CPA before investing in oil and gas?
- How much of a portfolio would you ever put into this kind of investment?
- How does the AI and data center buildout affect energy demand?
- What does a year-one tax picture look like compared to year three or four?
- What are the red flags in an oil and gas pitch?
- If someone already invests in real estate syndications, how does this fit alongside it?
- Best book you've read on money that isn't your own?
- One tax mistake high earners make every year?
- Stocks, real estate or energy if you had to pick one for 10 years?
- What's something you believed about investing at 25 that you no longer believe?
Lane keeps every episode educational. He does not discuss specific funds, offerings, wells or returns on air, and he'll point listeners to their own CPA for tax questions.
Pick an angle.
How Some High Earners Use Oil and Gas in Their Tax Planning
The basics of intangible drilling costs for W-2 earners above $400K
The Tax Strategy Your Financial Advisor Probably Hasn't Mentioned
Why oil and gas rarely comes up and what investors should ask
An Engineer's Guide to Vetting an Oil and Gas Operator
What separates a good operator from a pitch deck
Real Estate Depreciation Stopped Working for Me. Now What?
For investors who don't qualify as real estate professionals
Energy, AI and Your Portfolio
How rising power demand connects to domestic drilling
Chasing the Deduction: Mistakes in Oil and Gas Investing
Why the economics have to work before the tax benefit matters
Free copies of the book for your listeners.
Want to give your community something extra? We'll send a complimentary physical copy of The Wealth Elevator, the bestselling, Pencraft Award-winning book, to anyone on your list who asks. It's a plain-English educational resource on passive investing, tax strategy and long-term wealth building, and the gift comes from you.
As a thank-you to our community, Lane Kawaoka is giving away free physical copies of his bestselling, Pencraft Award-winning book, The Wealth Elevator, an educational guide to passive investing, tax strategy and long-term wealth building. Request your copy here: https://forms.gle/5G8BigBJqXoCbDXw8
Headshots, logo and the full kit.
Links, ready to paste.
Website: https://thewealthelevator.com Oil and gas: https://thewealthelevator.com/home/resources/oil/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D39GNY84 Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wealth-elevator/id1118795347 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWealthElevator LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thewealthelevator/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewealthelevator/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWealthElevator/
Booking and contact.
- Book a recordingteam@thewealthelevator.com
- Subject linePODCAST
- Phone808-215-5531
Lane records remotely from Honolulu and is set up for audio and video interviews. He's glad to share the episode with his audience once it's live.
Logistics, answered up front.
Does Lane record in person?
Remote recordings only. Lane is based in Honolulu, so please note your time zone when you email.
How long does Lane need?
Most interviews run 30 to 60 minutes. Shorter formats are fine.
Will Lane promote the episode?
Yes. Send the live link and the team will share it.
Will Lane pitch an investment on the show?
No. Episodes are educational. Lane doesn't discuss specific offerings on air.
Can Lane cover topics beyond oil and gas?
Yes. He also speaks on pre-IPO and angel investing (see thewealthelevator.com/preipospeaker), real estate syndications and tax strategy for high earners.
Grab the kit, send an email, and you're set.
Questions about topics or scheduling? Email team@thewealthelevator.com with PODCAST in the subject line.