Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, billionaire investor, philanthropist and an author.

How do countries actually go broke? In a world of abundance, it’s easy to think the good times will last. But with global debt soaring, we may be nearing an unprecedented economic reckoning. History shows these cycles repeat; the question is, can we escape collapse and find a path to prosperity before it’s too late?

Expect to learn why Ray got interested in how and why countries go broke, how money and debt actually work, the 5 major forces that shaped history, how the debt cycle works to make the rich richer, how politics impact they global world order, what AI will do to disrupt the world as we know it, what most people get wrong about how countries actually fall apart, and much more…

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Moving from Macro Investing to Predicting Currency Fluctuations

(8:00) The Five Big Forces

(15:35) How Does the Debt Cycle Work?

(22:39) What Does It Mean for a Country to Not Pay Its Debts?

(29:24) To What Extent Do Economic Cycles Affect Politics?

(38:32) Why are Our Policies So Push and Pull?

(43:29) We're On the Brink of an Economic Downturn

(48:08) How Can We Understand the External Geo-Political Order?

(53:26) How China’s Ascension Relates to the First Two World Orders

(57:16) What Role Does Active Nature Have in the Modern World?

(01:02:03) The Predicted Impact of AI

(01:08:25) Is Anyone Safe From AI?

(01:13:15) Are Financial Cycles Worse Than Kinetic Wars?

(01:21:03) Is Ray Onto Something?

(01:23:56) Find Out More About Ray

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Friday, May 2, 2025