From Scion Capital to GameStop: Michael Burry's Net Worth Through the Years

Michael Burry is among the most followed hedge fund managers. He has been critical of Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk on more than one occasion. He also shorted Tesla stock but has since covered up his positions. What’s Burry’s net worth and how did he make his money?

Michael Burry is a famed investor and former hedge fund manager who built his fortune through his uncanny ability to spot undervalued stocks. Born and raised in California, Burry's passion for investing started at an early age, and he went on to earn degrees in economics and medicine before entering the world of finance.

In 2000, Burry founded his hedge fund, Scion Capital, which he ran until 2008. It was during this time that he gained notoriety for predicting the housing market collapse and profiting from the ensuing financial crisis, a story that was later popularized in Michael Lewis' book, "The Big Short."

Burry's investment strategy at Scion Capital was based on a deep analysis of financial statements and company data, and he was known for taking contrarian positions and making bets against popular market trends. His strategy paid off, and by the time he closed the fund in 2008, Scion Capital had generated an average annual return of over 20%.

In recent years, Burry has continued to invest through his own fund and has made headlines for his involvement in the GameStop short squeeze, in which he took a contrarian position against the popular stock. As of 2023, Burry's net worth is estimated to be around $300 million, cementing his place as one of the most successful investors of his generation.

Burry hasn’t really been friends with Musk. He has been critical of Tesla’s valuations. In 2020, he mocked Musk about selling more Tesla shares to raise cash. Shortly after, Tesla announced a $5 billion share sale, which was the third for the year. Musk is known to take bears head-on even though the community of Tesla bears has been shrinking after traders raked in billions of dollars of losses betting against Tesla and Musk.

It isn't certain whether Burry lost money on his Tesla short positions because we don’t know about the expiration date or the strike price. All we know is that he bought puts on Tesla. Puts offer downside protection and the maximum downside is limited to the premium paid. The upside is contingent on the price action of the underlying stock.

While Burry has covered his short position on Tesla, he hasn’t stopped taunting Musk. Burry has mocked Musk for selling Tesla shares. He thinks that Musk isn't selling shares because he needs funds, but because of the valuation.

Tesla stock has surged over the last month and despite the recent correction, its market value is near $1 trillion. As Burry has done previously, he deleted his Twitter account after the spar with Musk.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Burry has a net worth of $300 million. Burry made most of his wealth through his investments. He founded Scion Capital in 2000, which he ran until 2008. He made a personal fortune of $100 million through his bet against the CDOs. He founded Scion Asset Management, a fee-only hedge fund, in 2013.

Burry has made several predictions in his investing career. At one time, he was bullish on water but has since closed his positions. In 2020, the CME launched the world’s first water futures linked to the California spot water market. In 2019, Burry also predicted that passive investing would lead to the next big stock market crash. Recently, he made a famous bet against Tesla.

In 2020, Burry predicted that cryptocurrencies are in a bubble. However, Burry said that he isn't short on cryptocurrencies. He warned that the speculative activity in the markets is at the highest level since the 1920s while the market is more overvalued since the dot-com boom days.

Apart from Burry's bet against the CDOs, most of his recent predictions haven’t been correct, at least so far. Cryptocurrencies have continued to rise while Tesla has added a few hundred billion dollars to its market cap since Burry shorted the stock.

While Burry has many ardent followers, many others see his investment style as too old school. After Burry bet against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF, Wood said that Burry doesn't understand the innovation space. Burry has also closed his short position against Wood's fund, Scion's latest 13F revealed.

Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management invests in a wide array of companies across various industries. His top nine holdings as of February 14, 2023 are listed below.

source: https://whalewisdom.com/filer/scion-asset-management-llc#tabholdings_tab_link

It's no secret that Michael Burry is a wealthy man. But by utilizing his investment talents, intelligence, and risk management, the legendary short seller will likely see his net worth grow over the coming decades.