• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
FinanceMarkets

‘Black Swan’ investor warns the ‘greatest bubble in human history’ is about to pop and stocks could lose more than half their value

Jason Ma
By
Jason Ma
Jason Ma
Weekend Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Jason Ma
By
Jason Ma
Jason Ma
Weekend Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 20, 2024, 5:36 PM ET
Mark Spitznagel speaks at podium
Mark Spitznagel, chief investment officer of Universa Investments, speaking in 2017.Misha Friedman—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Mark Spitznagel, cofounder and chief investment officer of the hedge fund Universa Investments, has frequently sounded the alarm about bubbles popping and other extreme market events.

Recommended Video

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the long-time associate of The Black Swan author Nassim Nicholas Taleb said a severe crash is on the way and stocks could lose more than half their value, while acknowledging that his latest warning should come as no surprise.

“I think we’re on the way to something really, really bad—but of course I’d say that,” Spitznagel said.

His hedge fund specializes in tail-risk hedging, a strategy that seeks to prevent losses from unforeseeable and unlikely economic catastrophes, also known as “black swans.”

He had famously made astronomical gains on such events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently has warned about U.S. debt and the “greatest credit bubble in human history.“

Even as stocks have come well off recent highs, with the S&P 500 suffering its worst week since April, Spitznagel expects the market rally to continue for months and get wilder because the “Goldilocks phase” of slowing inflation and rate cuts from the Federal Reserve will stoke bets that markets will continue running higher.

But he also warned Fed rate cuts are often the opening signal for severe market reversals, telling the Journal that “You don’t feel like a fool for making a bearish argument.”

Spitznagel sees parallels between today and the dot-com bust but thinks the selloff that’s coming will be even worse than that. That’s because market extremes now represent the “greatest bubble in human history,” he added.

With U.S. debt already at historic levels, the federal government will have less capacity to respond, and the economy could enter a recession by the end of this year, he predicted.

Spitznagel’s latest comments echo what he told Fortune’s Will Daniel in April, when he said investors’ positive sentiment alone can’t carry markets higher indefinitely and that higher rates are weighing on the economy.

“The Fed did a lot. And now it’s sort of jawboning its way out of it. But it can’t take back what it did,” he said. “Markets follow fundamentals at the end of the day, but you can have these little Goldilocks zones where it can get sort of untethered.”

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and other central banks have hinted in recent days that inflation is finally coming under control and that rate cuts may be coming soon, with markets widely seeing the first one in September.

But Spitznagel said in April that fallout from the “the fastest, greatest tightening ever, by some regards, into the greatest credit bubble of human history” can’t be avoided, adding “That’s when things are going to be really bad—and at that point, it’s probably also too late to get out.”

About the Author
Jason Ma
By Jason MaWeekend Editor

Jason Ma is the weekend editor at Fortune, where he covers markets, the economy, finance, and housing.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Shipping companies will decide when the Strait of Hormuz is truly open—not the U.S. or Iran—and the latest deal is already sowing confusion
EnergyIran
Shipping companies will decide when the Strait of Hormuz is truly open—not the U.S. or Iran—and the latest deal is already sowing confusion
By Jason MaJune 20, 2026
2 hours ago
Trump threatens to charge U.S. tolls in Strait of Hormuz for ‘services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East’
EnergyDonald Trump
Trump threatens to charge U.S. tolls in Strait of Hormuz for ‘services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East’
By Kareem Chehayeb, Bassem Mroue, Munir Ahmed and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
2 hours ago
Who needs rate cuts? Even the Fed’s new chair admits companies are easily raising capital on financial markets amid epic stock and debt binge
BankingStock
Who needs rate cuts? Even the Fed’s new chair admits companies are easily raising capital on financial markets amid epic stock and debt binge
By Jason MaJune 20, 2026
3 hours ago
t
PoliticsWhite House
Americans on Trump and Iran: 65% disapprove, just like his job (dis)approval
By Linley Sanders, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
5 hours ago
t
Personal Financestudent loans and debt
Trump’s student loan rate cut excludes most of the 9 million borrowers in default
By Alia Wong, Collin Binkley and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
5 hours ago
‘I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out’: a record 51% of Americans aren’t ‘cost secure’ on health
HealthHealth Care Service
‘I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out’: a record 51% of Americans aren’t ‘cost secure’ on health
By Ali Swenson, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
1 day ago
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
Success
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 18, 2026
3 days ago
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
Success
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Great Recession’s missing children are finally bringing college’s financial crisis into sight. Welcome to the ‘enrollment volatility’ era
Economy
The Great Recession’s missing children are finally bringing college’s financial crisis into sight. Welcome to the ‘enrollment volatility’ era
By Tristan BoveJune 20, 2026
14 hours ago
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says electricians and plumbers will be needed by the hundreds of thousands in the new working world
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says electricians and plumbers will be needed by the hundreds of thousands in the new working world
By Preston ForeJune 20, 2026
10 hours ago
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
Success
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
By Nick LichtenbergJune 17, 2026
4 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.