Great article James, although it made me almost glad I dont have that kind of investment money because I would be compelled to agonize over data all day and lose money anyway :).

I am curious though about a question the article brought up but never answered: Who exactly is the loser in the “Zero-sum game” he is involved in with credit-swap securities?

Could it be that this kind of investing is precisely what made Goldman Sachs, et al. fall so hard that they brought on such a crisis and destruction of main street wealth? (of course, one could argue that the bank big-wigs didn’t really crash hard enough to warrant their taxpayer salvation, and that’s just another swindle).

In short, is this guy part of who’s to blame for how fucked up the economy is?

>”In short, is this guy part of who’s to blame for how fucked up the economy is?”

I came across an interesting comment from someone regarding your question — a comment that I tend to agree with — so I thought I’d share it with you. This person said:

“A lot of people are suggesting that it was immoral of Burry to profit from his insight instead of warning people of the impending calamity, yet what message speaks more forcefully? Saying you think the market is going to implode, vs. paying millions of dollars to insure specifically against that happening? No one would have listened to his warning, and indeed his investors didn’t like hearing it. Burry is not the bad guy in this epic catastrophe.”