레이 달리오는 미국이 향후 ‘매우 어두운 시기’에 들어섰다고 경고하며 2026년 2월 기준 약 38.7조 달러에 달하는 국가 부채를 주요 위험 신호로 꼽았다. 좌우 이념 갈등과 부와 가치 관점의 격차가 제도 신뢰를 약화시켜 시장 안정성을 떨어뜨릴 수 있다고 진단했다. 또한 미·중의 기술 전면 경쟁이 심화되며 충돌 가능성이 높아지고, 유럽이 지정학적 충격 후 미 국채 등 미국 자산을 대량 매도할 경우 자본 공포가 급증해 ‘자본 전쟁’으로 번질 수 있다고 경고했다.

원문 링크: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hedge-fund-billionaire-ray-dalio-140000672.html

Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio warned that the US is heading into ‘very dark times.’ How to protect your portfolio

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

America has long been the world’s dominant economic power. Yet, Ray Dalio — founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates — is sounding an unmistakable alarm about the country’s future.

In an episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast, host Steven Bartlett asked Dalio if he felt optimistic about the future of the U.S. (1).

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how

Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP

Most Americans earn a dismal 0.39% APY on their cash at big banks. Unlock up to 4.05% APY and pay $0 in account fees instead with a Wealthfront Cash Account

“No,” was Dalio’s blunt reply.

To back up his response, he pointed first to America’s swelling national debt — hovering around $38.7 trillion and climbing, as of February 2026 (2). In fact, Dalio has long warned of a looming “debt death spiral,” where the government must borrow simply to service existing obligations — a dynamic that accelerates over time (3).

On the podcast, however, he also highlighted deepening internal rifts in the U.S. “There’s a fight between the left and the right due to wealth and value gaps and people not believing that the system will work for them,” Dalio said (1).

If that wasn’t bad enough, he went on to flag the intensifying “great power conflict” with China, marked by high-stakes competition in technology: “We have a great technology war, which can be used to create great advances but at the same time could be used for great conflicts,” he cautioned.

“The winner of the technology war is going to win all wars.” For historical context, Dalio reached back to World War II: “Nuclear. Nuclear won World War II.”

It seems war is really on Dalio’s mind these days. In February 2026, Dalio warned that the U.S. is on the brink of a “capital war” with its largest trading partners.

“We are quite close to [capital war], and it would be very easy to go over the brink into a capital war, because there are mutual fears,” he told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on stage at the World Governments Summit in Dubai (4).

Referencing the Trump administration’s recent threats to Greenland, he warned that many European holders of U.S. assets could dump their holdings and create a “reciprocal fear on the part of the United States that it could not get the capital, or not get the buy [from Europe].”

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hedge-fund-billionaire-ray-dalio-140000672.html