Michael Burry
- Known for
- predicting subprime crisis, value investing
- Born in
- San Jose, United States
- Education
- MD, Stanford University Medical Center
Michael Burry, the physician-turned-investor, is best known for his prescient shorting of the subprime mortgage crisis that preceded the 2008 crash. His investment philosophy is strictly rooted in value investing, specifically Benjamin Graham’s concept of a margin of safety.
Signature Positions
Burry's career is defined by taking massive, often contrarian, positions against market consensus:
- Subprime Mortgages: Correctly predicted the 2008 collapse, profiting massively by shorting vulnerable mortgage bonds.
- Dot Com Bubble: Briefly held a short position against Amazon in 2000, correctly anticipating the crash.
- AI Bubble: Most recently, he has taken significant short positions against Nvidia and Palantir, signaling fears of an Artificial Intelligence market bubble.
- Asset Focus: When managing Scion Asset Management, he favored investments in real assets like water, farmland, and gold.
How Views Have Evolved
Burry’s career has seen the closure and reopening of his funds. After his initial success with Scion Capital, he shut it down in 2008. He later reopened it as Scion Asset Management in 2013, focusing on personal investments.
In 2025, he announced the final closure of Scion Asset Management and pivoted to launching a paid newsletter focused on his market fears, indicating a shift in how he engages with the financial community.
Notable Tensions
Burry often highlights the market’s broader structural risks, drawing criticism for his dramatic predictions:
- Regulators: Criticized federal regulators for failing to heed warnings about the Housing Market risks leading up to 2008.
- Market Consensus: Frequently holds opposing views to the majority, evidenced by his current short positions in highly favored AI Stocks.
- COVID-19: Expressed strong criticism of lockdowns during the pandemic, adding a political dimension to his economic outlook.