- Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio tweeted on Sunday that the US could fall into a ‘terrible’ civil war if the political and economic challenges are not addressed.
- “Our country is still in a dire financial situation and terribly divided,” he wrote.
- He called on Democrats and Republicans to work together to address the wealth gap, government debt and political bias.
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Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said Sunday he believes the United States could turn into a ‘terrible civil war’ if political, economic and social divisions are not addressed.
“I believe we are on the brink of a terrible civil war,” the hedge fund billionaire wrote in a statement. series of Twitter posts.
“We are at a turning point between entering a kind of battle or retreating to work together for peace and prosperity,” he said. “Our country is still in a dire financial situation and terribly divided.”
Dalio’s harsh assessment comes as the US faces enormous challenges, including the pandemic-induced economic crisis, income inequality, deep political divisions and massive government debt. It also comes weeks after a crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, fueled by unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the presidential election. Five people were killed in the violence, and dozens of rioters were arrested.
Read more: Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio warns that political and wealth gaps in the US could lead to conflict – and even a ‘form of civil war’.
Dalio praised newly sworn President Joe Biden and said he was “excited to hear what President Biden said during his inauguration. This is in line with the direction history has shown the country needs to move in.”
During his inaugural address, Biden called for unity among Americans and said “democracy has prevailed” after the unprecedented attempt to reverse the results of the presidential election and the storms of the Capitol.
This was not the first time Dalio had warned that the US could fall into a kind of civil war if political and prosperity gaps were not addressed.
He often warned that a lack of opportunities, income distribution and underinvestment in education could cause irreversible damage.
“I have studied the past 500 years of history and cycles: large wealth gaps with large value gaps at the same time that there is a lot of debt and there is an economic downturn, causing conflict and vulnerability,” he said in an interview with Poppy Harlow of CNN said. broadcast last month.
Dalio also likens the recent exodus of CEOs and companies from business centers such as New York and San Francisco to Florida and Texas as a kind of ‘civil war’.
“We are seeing a form of civil war: people are leaving to go from one place to another, partly for tax purposes, but also partly for other reasons,” he said in December. “The worst alternative is for one side or the other to say, ‘This is not my country anymore. This is not my people.'”
On Sunday, Dalio said both Democrats and Republicans need to bring about change.
“Good words and spirit are not enough,” he wrote. “People will have to agree on how to grow the pie and how to divide it well. It will require revolutionary change.”