After boldly betting against the AI frenzy, Michael Burry—the real-life inspiration behind "The Big Short" who accurately predicted the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis—suddenly announced that his Scion Asset Management had deregistered with the SEC. Burry stated in a letter: "My assessment of securities' value has diverged from market trends for some time."
Since March, Scion Asset Management, which managed $155 million in assets, has seen its bets closely scrutinized for signs of emerging bubbles and market exuberance. JPMorgan Asset Management noted in September that AI-related stocks accounted for 75% of S&P 500 earnings since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022.
Bruno Schneller, Managing Director at Erlen Capital Management, commented: "Burry’s move is less an 'exit' and more a withdrawal from a game he views as fundamentally rigged. But don’t count him out—expect him to operate differently, possibly shifting to a family office model."
Here’s a look at the history of this renowned contrarian and why investors are paying close attention:
**The Early Years: The "Big Short" Era (2004–2008)** In the mid-2000s, Burry foresaw the U.S. housing market collapse long before it happened. He founded Scion Capital in November 2000 and later used credit default swaps to bet against subprime mortgage bonds. By Q2 2005, Scion had a $1 billion short position, which paid off massively during the 2007–2008 crash. His story was chronicled in Michael Lewis’s *The Big Short*, later adapted into a film starring Christian Bale as Burry.
After the hype faded, Burry shut down Scion Capital in 2008 amid lawsuits and IRS audits, pausing his fund management career.
**The Comeback (2013–2020)** Burry returned in 2013, rebranding his firm as Scion Asset Management. This time, he warned of an "index fund bubble," comparing passive investing’s rise to pre-2008 CDOs. He also reportedly bought GameStop (GME.US) before its meme-stock surge but sold out in late 2020, missing its 2,000% rally in 2021.
**The Tesla Bet (2021)** In May 2021, filings revealed Scion held significant put options against Tesla (TSLA.US), signaling Burry’s view that its valuation had detached from fundamentals. By Q1 2021, Scion had puts on 800,100 Tesla shares. Burry also criticized the GameStop short squeeze as "unnatural, insane, and dangerous," calling for regulatory action.
**2025: The AI Warning** Burry re-emerged with critiques of AI and tech giants, renaming his X profile "Cassandra Unbound"—a nod to the Greek prophetess cursed to speak truths no one believed. On October 31, he shared a *Big Short* still with the caption: "Sometimes we see bubbles. Sometimes we act. Sometimes, the only sane move is not to play."
By November 4, Burry had ramped up attacks on Nvidia (NVDA.US) and Palantir (PLTR.US), questioning cloud infrastructure growth and accusing firms of inflating profits via accounting tricks. He disclosed a $9.2 million put option on Palantir, betting its stock would fall to $50 by 2027 (it traded at $178.29 that week).
Palantir CEO Alex Karp fired back, calling Burry’s short "bizarre" and defending chip stocks.
**November 10: Accounting Concerns** Burry doubled down, alleging big tech (Oracle, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon) artificially boosted profits by extending asset depreciation cycles. He estimated this could understate $176 billion in depreciation from 2026–2028, distorting industry earnings. More details, he hinted, would come November 25.
**November 13: Scion’s Deregistration** SEC filings confirmed Scion Asset Management terminated its registration on November 10. A leaked October 27 letter revealed Burry was winding down his fund.
**Awaiting November 25** In his latest post, Burry cryptically teased: "After November 25, better days ahead." Investors are left guessing what’s next.