Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has been in the global macro space for over 40 years. Over this time, the Bridgewater Associates co-chief investment officer has studied history for surprising trends that continue to inform the political and economic happenings of today. And last year, he turned his study into a book called “Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail.”
In an exclusive interview with Insider, Dalio highlighted three things he’s never seen before: the amount of debt creation and money printing with interest rates at zero; the amount of internal conflict over politics, wealth, and values; and third, the changing world order in which rising powers such as China are competing with the US.
Expanding on the third surprise, Dalio said China’s rivalry will be different from past competitors. That’s because there’s never been such a large country with a rapid rate of improvement in economic strengths that matches China’s.