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

Trendingnow

1

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

2

The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 

3

Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026

1

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

2

The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 

3

Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026
PoliticsRay Dalio

Ray Dalio warns of ‘great disorder’ period for world economy, marked by ‘clash of great powers’—just like the 1930s

By
Jake Angelo
Jake Angelo
News Fellow
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jake Angelo
Jake Angelo
News Fellow
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 17, 2026, 1:16 PM ET
ray dalio
Ray Dalio attends the Fortune Global Forum Riyadh 2025 Amal Alhasan—Getty Images for Fortune Media

Picture this: It’s 1933. The League of Nations is struggling for legitimacy as Germany and Japan withdraw, driven by swelling imperial ambitions. The international order is fracturing, giving way to what Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio calls “the law of the jungle,” where raw power, not diplomacy, determines global outcomes. Dalio predicts we’re headed in that direction.

Recommended Video

The billionaire investor made an X (formerly Twitter) post Saturday titled “It’s Official: The World Order Has Broken Down,” pronouncing the modern global order dead. The billionaire investor cited a recent report from the Munich Security Conference, a global forum for discussing international security challenges. The report, titled “Under Destruction,” claims the world has entered an era of “wrecking-ball politics” where “sweeping destruction—rather than careful reforms and policy corrections—is the order of the day.”

“There is great disorder arising from being in a period in which there are no rules, might is right, and there is a clash of great powers,” Dalio wrote in his X post, referencing his 2021 book Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order. In his book, he evaluates 500 years of human history to explain why some empires succeed and others fail, describing a six-stage, 80-year cycle that tracks the evolution of monetary policy and international order.

Dalio, the founder of the largest hedge fund in history, has for years used his Big Cycle framework to caution that the U.S. is deep into what he calls Stage 5—the “pre-breakdown phase” characterized by bad financial conditions and internal conflict. His latest post is the first time the billionaire investor has claimed the U.S. has finally entered Stage 6, the violent finale of order collapse, characterized by revolution and WWII-like conditions.

The ‘final and most painful stage’ of history

In chapter six of his book, which Dalio shared in his most recent X post, he outlines that the fading global order could give way to “lose-lose relationships” when rival powers fall into the prisoner’s dilemma resulting in wars where the cost in lives and money far outweigh any potential benefits. He maintains international institutions are too weak to contend with the interests of wealthy nations like the U.S. and China, leading him, along with world leaders, to conclude the rules-based order is officially dead.

According to his book, Dalio says the transition to Stage 6 could entail a series of trade wars, technology wars, geopolitical wars, and capital wars, all of which have the possibility of culminating in a military conflict once those conflicts materialize as an existential threat for countries. The investor says the conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan is currently the one most well-positioned to explode into a violent offense.

While optimists like Google DeepMind CEO Sir Demis Hassabis, imagine humanity on the verge of a new renaissance thanks to AI advancements and “radical abundance,” Dalio predicts we could be returning to that solemn pre-WWII scenario. Hassabis, to be sure, believes it will come about in roughly a decade’s time, begging the question of whether darkness of the kind that Dalio foresees will precede the light.

Dalio cites converging opinions from global leaders of opposing political views to hammer this point through, claiming there is “now nearly universal agreement that the post-1945 world order has broken down.” He cites French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Europe must prepare for war and Rubio’s assertion that the “old world” is gone.

The billionaire investor has edged toward this conclusion for years. Yet, he’s grown even more bullish on the transition to Stage 6 since the beginning of the year. At Davos last month, the billionaire investor said President Donald Trump’s Greenland threats were an obvious indicator that the rule-based system was “gone.” And he recently posted another lengthy essay on X, arguing the president’s violent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, paired with skyrocketing national debt, signaled a transition to Stage 6.

For the billionaire manager, the breakdown of the international rules-based order goes hand in hand with the erosion of international monetary policy. During a conversation with Fortune at Davos, Dalio warned that the U.S.’s surging $38 trillion national debt is a hallmark of late-stage cycle imbalances, much like previous events in history before a downturn. 

In the conversation, he laid out a troubling binary choice for policymakers: “Do you print money or do you let a debt crisis happen?”

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter will deliver clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
By Jake AngeloNews Fellow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Politics

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 Politics

‘This administration cooked up a sham deal’: New York sues Trump administration for refunding foreign company $1 billion to end offshore wind project
EnvironmentNew York
‘This administration cooked up a sham deal’: New York sues Trump administration for refunding foreign company $1 billion to end offshore wind project
By The Associated Press and Jennifer McDermottJune 2, 2026
3 hours ago
Trump replaces Gabbard with housing chief Bill Pulte, grandson of the founder of one of the country’s largest homebuilders
Real EstateDonald Trump
Trump replaces Gabbard with housing chief Bill Pulte, grandson of the founder of one of the country’s largest homebuilders
By The Associated Press and Josh BoakJune 2, 2026
4 hours ago
kb
PoliticsElections
LA lost more people than any American county last year and has to choose between the woman who let it burn and Spencer Pratt
By MIchael R. Blood and The Associated PressJune 2, 2026
6 hours ago
kean
PoliticsElections
4 Democrats compete to run against New Jersey Republican who’s been missing for months with ‘personal medical issue’
By Mike Catalini and The Associated PressJune 2, 2026
6 hours ago
pope
CryptoPope
The Pope quoted Gandalf, called AI a Tower of Babel, and Gen Z atheists can’t get enough
By Krysta Fauria and The Associated PressJune 2, 2026
6 hours ago
Trump tells Netanyahu, ‘You’re f—ing crazy’ and Wall Street sees it as a sign he’s losing patience with the war and wants it done
InvestingMarkets
Trump tells Netanyahu, ‘You’re f—ing crazy’ and Wall Street sees it as a sign he’s losing patience with the war and wants it done
By Jim EdwardsJune 2, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
Environment
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
1 day ago
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
Energy
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
By Melissa HancockJune 1, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 1, 2026
1 day ago
After issuing more than $20 billion in tariff refunds, the Trump administration is now pursuing legal action to bring the process to a standstill
Law
After issuing more than $20 billion in tariff refunds, the Trump administration is now pursuing legal action to bring the process to a standstill
By Sasha RogelbergJune 1, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 1, 2026
1 day ago
Cognizant CEO is swimming against the tide on AI: he's hiring over 20,000 graduates this year and says AI tokenmaxxing is a 'vanity metric'
Conferences
Cognizant CEO is swimming against the tide on AI: he's hiring over 20,000 graduates this year and says AI tokenmaxxing is a 'vanity metric'
By Preston ForeJune 1, 2026
19 hours 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.