From his way-above-average Yale exit interview:
The next few years are going to be very positive, because we are coming out of a terrible time, and people will be more profitable with their assets. But later on, we have to worry about these macro themes – the likelihood of overleveraged balance sheets, including banks, things like this; and also long-term risks, like increased government borrowing and trade imbalances that build up. These things build up very slowly over time, but we have seen inflation that goes out of control very fast. It won’t happen here, but I don’t think that people can be unconcerned about it.
At Dalio’s $137 billion BVI-domiciled hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, the founder of the firm went on to say, “I’m very happy right now. This is a huge easy bet, I think. I think if we go from here to where I think it will go in five to ten years, it’s going to make a lot of people a lot of money.”
But if you don’t worry, you don’t have to worry, says Dalio. “The world of worry is a waste of time.” The irony, of course, is that this great wager is taking place in a world of worry—in Trumpian America, and in Brexit Britain, at a time when the global economy appears to be slowing and financial markets have crashed. Dalio, they’re said to have said, “Worry does not make you money, worry just adds risk.” Which is probably why they put profits in profit-sharing.