Michael Burry: a free mind, a unique career, and the closure of his hedge fund in 2025
Michael James Burry was born in 1971 in San Jose, California. A reserved child, passionate about reading, he very early developed a deep intellectual curiosity. One striking feature of his childhood is the loss of an eye at the age of two, replaced by a prosthesis. Far from slowing him down, this event strengthened his introspective and methodical character, two traits that would prove decisive in his future career.
After high school, Burry began studying economics at UCLA. But he initially intended to practice medicine: he earned his degree at Vanderbilt University, then became a neurology resident at Stanford. Yet even during his medical studies, finance occupied a growing place in his life. In the evenings, he analyzed markets, dissected financial statements, and published his reflections on early online forums. His intellectual signature already appeared: a very structured form of reasoning, a demanding relationship with numbers, and a total refusal to follow trends.
His writing style and sharp sense of value quickly attracted the attention of professional managers. Several funds began following his recommendations, recognizing that this young doctor possessed a rare understanding of how markets behaved.
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The birth of Scion Capital: the beginning of a rapid ascent
In 2000, Michael Burry made a radical decision: he left medicine to create his own fund, Scion Capital, named after the novel Scion of Shannara. He used his personal savings and those of his family. From the first years onward, he consistently outperformed the market, notably during the bursting of the Internet bubble, when he avoided overvalued technology stocks.
His success rested on rigorous fundamental analysis. He read every page of the financial documents of the companies he studied, dissected business models, and never hesitated to take unpopular positions. He favored undervalued companies, special situations, and stocks neglected by institutional investors.
Very soon, his reputation spread beyond the value community. Several wealthy investors entrusted him with their capital. Burry gradually established himself among the investors worth following.
A stroke of genius: anticipating the subprime crisis
Between 2003 and 2005, Burry turned his attention to a market still little analyzed in detail: subprime mortgages. He studied every tranche, every structure, every guarantee. Where many saw a robust and lucrative market, Burry identified major structural weaknesses: declining borrower quality, loosened credit standards, and an excessive dependence on the continuous rise of real estate.
Convinced that the system was going to collapse, he had the idea of protecting his portfolio by purchasing credit default swaps on securities backed by these loans. A new, audacious, and above all deeply contrarian strategy.
The majority of his investors did not believe in it. Some challenged his choices; others threatened to withdraw their money. But Burry held firm. His analysis, based on concrete data and not on a blind consensus, remained unchanged.
When the real estate market collapsed in 2007 and then in 2008, his strategy became one of the most brilliant moves in modern financial history. His funds achieved exceptional performances, and his name became known worldwide after the publication of The Big Short — and the film adaptation in which he was portrayed by Christian Bale.
A chosen pause: the closure of Scion Capital in 2008
The colossal success of the “big short” did not prevent Burry from feeling increasing exhaustion. The constant pushback from his investors during the buildup of his strategy had deeply affected him. Faithful to his independence, he closed Scion Capital in 2008 to manage only his personal wealth. He used this period to devote himself to his passions, including music, family life, and personal research.
The return to markets: Scion Asset Management
In 2013, he returned with a new fund: Scion Asset Management. His objective remained the same: to invest in undervalued companies, focus on intrinsic value, and stay indifferent to speculative dynamics.
Over the years, Michael Burry once again distinguished himself through unconventional positions. He invested early in certain technology stocks, criticized the explosion of ETFs, warned about the risks of speculative bubbles, and maintained a strategy often completely out of step with major investment firms.
He also became an influential figure on social media, where his concise messages — often deleted only hours after posting — fueled financial debate.
2025: Why Burry is closing his hedge fund
In 2025, a dramatic announcement: Michael Burry revealed that he is closing Scion Asset Management. In a letter addressed to his investors, he explained that today’s markets reflect, in his view, an “irrational” dynamic dominated by:
– aggressive speculation around artificial intelligence
– an extreme concentration of market capitalization in a few tech giants
– massive inflows into passive strategies
– structural volatility incompatible with his method
According to Burry, the market no longer values fundamentals, making it difficult to apply his value-based strategy. Rather than bend to short-term logic, he chose to step away. This gesture, true to his entire career, once again reveals a man attached to his intellectual freedom above all else.
Conclusion
Michael Burry’s trajectory offers a powerful message for students and young professionals in finance. His story shows that exceptional success can arise from independent analysis, deep understanding of economic mechanisms, and the ability to stick to one’s convictions despite external pressure.
By closing his fund, Burry is not abandoning finance. He is repositioning himself. He wants to invest on his own terms, without constraints or external expectations. And as the past twenty years have shown, he never needed to follow the crowd to be right.
