- Inflation will rise regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the presidency, Paul Tudor Jones said.
- The legendary investor is holding bitcoin, gold, and commodities in order to hedge.
- He said the US will need to inflate its way out of debt if neither candidate addresses runaway deficits.
Paul Tudor Jones is holding gold, bitcoin, and commodities to hedge against inflation, as neither presidential candidate has a plan suitable for tackling US debt, the legendary investor said.
The billionaire hedge fund manager told CNBC that inflation risk looms large after November's election, as each contender has pledged tax cuts and spending proposals that turn a blind eye to Washington's deficit problem.
If left unaddressed, the US will need to inflate its way out, he cautioned.
"All roads lead to inflation," Jones said on Tuesday. "I'm long gold. I'm long bitcoin. I think commodities are so ridiculously under-owned, so I'm long commodities. I think most young people find their inflation hedges via the Nasdaq; that's also been great."
Jones generally noted that he has repositioned his portfolio toward more inflation trades on the notion that Donald Trump may win.
Though he did not offer more details, economists have projected that Trump's administration will boost inflation, given the Republican candidate's plans for steep tariff increases and the extension of the 2017 corporate tax cut.
But Jones considers both candidates a reason for worry, as neither seems to take the country's ballooning debt seriously enough. Regarding the US budget, both Trump and Kamala Harris are "least suited for the job ahead of them," Jones said.
If the next White House executive doesn't adjust policy to tackle Washington's rising debt-to-GDP ratio, "the playbook to get out of this is that you inflate your way out," Jones said.
He added that this would be in addition to measures to increase consumer taxes and slash interest rates as much as possible.
Jones — who has warned of a "debt bomb" before — is staunchly pessimistic about the country's fiscal trajectory. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the debt ratio will reach 122% of GDP by 2034, though Jones projects this is a significantly conservative estimate.
Once the election passes, the next president will have to address this issue or else face revolt in the bond market, Jones predicted. "Bond vigilantes" had already made a scene last year over this by rejecting US debt, causing the 10–year Treasury yield to touch 5% last October.
"Under Trump, the deficit goes up by $500 billion per year; under Harris' plan, it goes up by an additional $600 billion per year. I have a feeling all those are just pipe dreams," he said. "The Treasury market won't tolerate it."