Why Is Michael Burry in News Again? The Big Short Investor Returns With a New Playbook

Michael Burry is back in the spotlight. And this time, it’s not because of a new short position, a market crash prediction, or a viral warning on X. The Big Short investor has launched a paid newsletter on Substack called Cassandra Unchained, a move that signals a major shift in how one of the world’s most followed contrarians plans to influence the financial ecosystem.

The newsletter went live in late November 2025 and quickly became one of the fastest-growing finance publications on the platform. It added over 23,000 paying subscribers on Day 1, making it one of Substack’s most successful launches in the investing category, according to Reuters and BI reports.

This pivot has thrust Michael Burry back into global headlines, prompting the question: why is he trending again, and what does this mean for investors?

Michael Burry: From Hedge Fund Manager to Independent Commentator

Before analyzing the new buzz around Burry, it helps to understand the strategic transition under way.

Michael Burry recently deregistered Scion Asset Management with the SEC, closing the hedge fund to outside capital and effectively freeing himself from regulatory reporting requirements. As of early 2025, Scion managed roughly $155 million, but the regulatory burden of 13F filings limited the flexibility of his investment moves.

By shutting down the fund and shifting to independent writing, Burry now operates without quarterly disclosures, offering long-form research, macro commentary and deep-dive analysis directly to subscribers. This move marks his evolution from a private hedge-fund manager to a public intellectual voice shaping discourse on bubbles, valuations and structural risks.

Why Michael Burry’s Newsletter Matters: The AI Bubble Thesis

In the first few posts on Cassandra Unchained, Burry goes straight to his central thesis: the ongoing AI investment frenzy resembles the dot-com boom, particularly 1999–2000.

He warns that:

• Global AI-related capital expenditure plans are reaching unsustainable levels.
• Tech giants are using aggressive depreciation schedules to spread out AI hardware costs, which in his view artificially boosts earnings.
• AI chip and server lifecycles are shorter than current accounting reflects, which may distort profitability.
• This creates inflated valuations across the AI ecosystem.

He explicitly compares Nvidia today to Cisco during the dot-com surge, calling Nvidia the “picks-and-shovels” provider of the AI boom.

This view is not entirely new. Burry has long been vocal about speculative surges in tech. But through Substack, he now articulates the case with significantly more depth, charts, and audited data references, something he couldn’t do effectively through a single viral tweet or quarterly filing.

Michael Burry Big Short Legacy: Why His Voice Still Moves Markets

The renewed attention also stems from the weight of his historical track record.

Michael Burry became globally recognised after correctly forecasting and profiting from the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse, the story documented in The Big Short. His ability to identify structural bubbles before the mainstream does gives his AI bubble warnings a level of credibility that investors take seriously.

Even today, Burry’s influence is outsized. His X account has over 2 million followers, and his posts regularly trigger market-wide discussions within hours. Many of his earlier tweets, including warnings about speculative excess in tech, crypto and meme stocks, went viral and contributed to broader market sentiment debates.

Using Popularity Strategically: Burry’s Modern Influence Engine

A key part of the latest news cycle is how Michael Burry is leveraging his popularity more deliberately than ever.

1. Direct Monetisation: Instead of managing outside capital under heavy compliance, Burry now earns revenue by publishing analysis directly to subscribers. At $39 per month or $379 annually, even conservative estimates place his newsletter revenue in the multi-million-dollar range based on the first-day subscriber numbers.

2. Narrative Control: Rather than issuing fragmented 280-character warnings on X, his Substack allows him to shape a cohesive narrative around market cycles, accounting anomalies and bubble psychology.

3. Influence Without Constraints: Without 13F filings to scrutinise, he can take positions privately, publish market views openly and participate in public debate without signalling trades in advance.

4. Leveraging the Big Short Brand: The “Michael Burry Big Short” trend has gained traction recently. He is now utilising that organic brand equity to build one of the world’s most visible finance newsletters.

Why Investors Are Divided on Michael Burry

The market’s response to Burry’s re-emergence has been mixed. Some analysts argue his warnings may be premature, noting strong revenue momentum in AI infrastructure. Others believe his accounting-based critiques deserve closer attention, particularly around stock-based compensation, depreciation practices and AI-capex sustainability.

Nvidia, for example, publicly refuted several of his claims and issued a memo to analysts clarifying depreciation and buyback numbers, a rare corporate response that shows the level of influence Burry still commands.

For investors, this renewed debate forces a closer look at:

• Whether AI demand is sustainably growing or front-loaded,
• If margins are overstated due to accounting choices,
• and whether infrastructure spending aligns with long-term earnings potential.

The launch of Cassandra Unchained marks Burry’s transition from hedge-fund manager to widely followed financial thinker. Coupled with his Big Short legacy, his multi-million-strong social following and his detailed critique of the AI boom, the world is listening closely.

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