If you’re a fan of The Big Short from 2015, you might wonder if Michael Burry is a real person. He is! But who’s the real Michael and what’s he doing now? Let’s uncover the story!
The Big Short, directed by Adam McKay, features a stellar cast with Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. It’s adapted from Michael Lewis’ book, published in 2010, giving insight into the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the real estate market of the 2000s.
The movie hit theaters in December 2015, scoring big with both critics and audiences. It raked in $133 million and even nabbed the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Big Short ©Disneyplus
Christian Bale portrayed a guy named Michael Burry, who runs a hedge fund called Scion Capital. He’s like a financial fortune-teller, predicting that the US housing market is going to crash.
Unlike some characters in The Big Short, Michael Burry kept his real name. Yep, he’s a real guy!
Source: Yahoo
In the movie, they show him as a bit quirky, opting for shorts and bare feet over fancy suits. He’s convinced the US housing market is a bubble ready to burst.
He aims to set up a market for credit default swaps to cash in on the housing crash. Banks initially scoff but later agree to bet against him.
He wagered over $1 billion, leading some clients to push him to flip his stance. But he stayed firm, sticking to his belief without wavering.
Turns out, he was right! The fund soared by 489% from 2000 to 2008.
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Burry was born in 1971 in San Jose, California. He studied economics at the University of California and later earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
In his free time, he delved into investing. Eventually, he quit Standford Hospital to launch his own hedge fund, Scion Capital, in 2000.
He kickstarted it with inheritance and loans from family. But as his success spread and the fund’s profits climbed, more investors came knocking.
In his book, Michael Lewis says:
“In his first year, 2001, while the S&P dropped, Scion soared by 55%. Even when the S&P fell again the next year, Scion still managed a 16% gain. In 2003, the market rose, but Burry outpaced it with a 50% return. By 2004, he had $600 million under management and was rejecting investors.”
In 2008, Burry cashed out his short bets and shut down Scion Capital to concentrate on his own investments.
In 2010, he penned an article for The New York Times, highlighting how the subprime markets from 2003 to 2005 were showing alarming signs of risk. He criticized federal regulators for listening to a limited set of advisors and ignoring other cautionary voices.
Burry started a new hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, in 2013. By 2020, it had $121 million in Alphabet Inc. and $24.4 million in Facebook.
Burry invests in farmland, gold, and water, stressing the importance of fresh, clean water, saying, “We shouldn’t take it for granted.”
In 2021, Burry said he was betting big against Tesla, seeing a bubble ready to burst. But by year’s end, after Tesla doubled in value, he disclosed he’d exited his short position.
Source: Investopedia
According to IMDb, Christian Bale sported Michael Burry’s real cargo shorts and t-shirt in the movie. Bale even expressed a desire to attend the LA premiere with Burry, joking, “I want to sit next to him and see if he’s going to punch me in the f**king face.”
Related Post: Who Is Mark Baum From The Big Short?