Michael Burry, Of "Big Short" Fame, Closes His $1.6 BILLION S&P Short Position At A 40% Loss

Jim Spellman. Getty Images.

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Back in August, keen-eyed investors like myself and Nate were troubled when billionaire prophet Michael Burry took up a gigantic short position against the S&P 500:

Well, good news today—Burry just dumped his short position to the tune of a 40% loss. That's $640,000,000 down the drain. Hopefully that'll provide some soothing tonic for those of you fretting about the money you lost betting the fucking Bills MONEYLINE last night? 

Interesting choice. 

The Big Short probably made us all believe that Michael Burry is a man who sees the board 10 moves ahead. When the housing market collapsed in 2008, he was one of only a select few who profited from it. His prescience was immortalized in film and books, such that any moves he's made since then are scrutinized and followed by legions of fans and doubters alike. So, when he took that gigantic short position against the S&P in August, I remember feeling… deeply troubled. Granted, I'm a stock sheep and grow fearful when others are fearful, greedy when others are greedy, exactly as Warren Buffet advises. 

Who knows? Maybe this means the stock market is just peachy. Maybe ol' Mike Burry dumped his SPY shorts because he sees a robust, healthy market trending upwards for years to come. 

Or maybe he needed to free up cash to shift his doom and gloom to the semiconductor industry…

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Which probably means China is about to invade Taiwan, precipitating a global war for the all-important semiconductor chip factories that power pretty much every single piece of technology we use. 

Couple fun ways to look at this. Choose your own adventure!