Dalio Warns of US Debt Crisis ‘Heart Attack’ Within Three Years
Bridgewater’s founder on gold, Bitcoin and why the new administration must get to work on deficit reduction
Ray Dalio, billionaire and founder of Bridgewater Associates LP.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergRay Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, has a warning for the Trump administration: commit right now to reducing the deficit or risk a major debt crisis within three years.
“If you don’t do it, you’re going to be in trouble,” Dalio said in an interview on the Odd Lots podcast. “I can’t tell you exactly when it’ll come, it’s like the heart attack,” he added. “You’re getting closer. My guess would be three years, give or take a year, something like that.”
Dalio’s warning comes as Trump’s team is grappling with the twin goals of maintaining large tax breaks while also reducing an annual deficit that most recently reached $1.8 trillion. It also comes as Dalio promotes his latest book How Countries Go Broke, in which he explains how debt cycles work and advocates for an immediate commitment to cut the US deficit to 3% of GDP.