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Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, said the United States is in a kind of “civil war” because of growing government. loanLarge funding gaps and internal chaos.
Dalio, founder of investment management firm Bridgewater Associates, have long been warned Increasing political and economic disruption in the United States could lead to a so-called “civil war” among Americans, not over guns, but over the inability to reach consensus.
“We have some kind of civil war developing in the United States and elsewhere where there are irreconcilable differences of opinion,” Dalio said. told bloomberg‘S Francine Lacqua in an interview that aired Friday.
Dalio, 76, cited rising government debt and growing wealth disparities as examples of economic factors that could lead to major conflicts. He compared the current situation to that of 1937 or 1938, when America faced an economic recession during the Great Depression due to increasing global conflict.
The US is currently facing an ongoing debt issue, with some fearing it could turn into a full-blown crisis. Public debt exceeds $30 trillion 99 percent of America’s GDP last year.
Dalio compared the rising national debt to “plaque in the arteries” that could “squeeze spending.”
He has previously blamed politicians from both parties for rising debt.
The US also faces massive wealth inequality, with the top 10 percent of earners owning more than two-thirds of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 50 percent own less than 4 percent.
“When there’s a big difference of wealth and a difference of values, there’s going to be big conflict,” Dalio said.
In addition to economic suffering, Dalio also cited other factors such as geopolitics, technological advancements, and natural disasters that contribute to the chaos.
Although he dismissed concerns of a Second World War, he pointed out that each region has its own “war”.
“These conflicts will become a test of strength for each side,” he said. He said that it is important to remain alert to solve problems.
“If we don’t worry about these things, we’re at greater risk,” Dalio said.
Dalio has previously expressed similar concerns about increasing instability in the US. In May 2024, he expressed concern over deepening political polarization, which makes it impossible for people to come together to solve problems.
In April, he also raised concerns about a possible economic recession or depression due to market volatility. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on most of America’s trading partners.
“If you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take rising electricity challenging existing electricity, if you take those factors and look at those factors — the order, those changes to the system are very disruptive,” Dalio said at the time.