Michael Burry Asks ‘Who Wants To Be The Next George Soros?’ As Bessent Moves To Calm Treasury Market

Burry warned that the economy’s heavy reliance on AI investment echoed the dependency that preceded the global financial crisis.

• Michael Burry asked, “Who wants to be the next George Soros?” as Treasury moved to stabilize long-term bonds.
• Burry’s remark highlighted a role reversal for Bessent, who helped Soros research his historic 1992 pound short.
• Treasury doubled long-dated bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation, with Bessent signaling they could grow further.

‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry revived the memory of George Soros’ Black Wednesday triumph as Washington moved to contain surging Treasury yields and worsening liquidity in the 30-year bond.

The intervention comes as the 30-year Treasury yield remains around 5.2%, liquidity in the long end deteriorates, and U.S. federal debt crossed $40 trillion. 

Burry Flags A Soros Echo In Treasury Market 

“Who wants to be the next George Soros?” Burry wrote on X on Thursday, spotlighting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s statements that buybacks could exceed $4 billion per operation, long-term yields do not reflect economic fundamentals, and 30-year liquidity is “especially poor.”

Bessent previously worked at Soros Fund Management and contributed to the research behind its 1992 short against the British pound. The trade reportedly earned the firm more than $1 billion and established Soros as “the man who broke the Bank of England.” Burry's reference highlighted an unusual role reversal: Bessent, a former Soros lieutenant, is now overseeing efforts to improve liquidity and stability in the Treasury market. 

Bessent Signals Bigger Treasury Buybacks

Treasury doubled its planned purchases of securities maturing in 10 to 30 years from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation on Wednesday. Bessent said the program could grow further. “We’re going to increase the size of the buyback,” he told CNBC. “It could be more than the $4 billion per issue.”

Bessent said Treasury wants to “make a market” in longer-dated securities but is not targeting a particular yield. The 30-year yield was recently around 5.235%, while the 10-year yield stood near 4.704%. “All we’re trying to do is get people to focus on the fundamentals and not trade the headlines during a quiet period in a thin market,” he said.

Yardeni Pushes Back On Bond Crisis Fears 

Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni said Treasury is not trying to force yields lower. The buybacks target older, less-liquid “off-the-run” bonds, freeing dealer balance sheets and improving secondary-market functioning. “Bessent isn’t trying to lower bond yields,” Yardeni said. “Rather, he is trying to stabilize them so Treasury auctions go smoothly.”

Yields dipped after Wednesday’s announcement but edged higher on Thursday. However, Yardeni rejected the interpretation and maintained his forecast for the 10-year yield to remain between 4% and 5% through the end of 2027.

Bessent Faces $40 Trillion Debt Test 

Long-term yields have climbed amid widening deficits, higher term premiums, overseas competition and heavy corporate borrowing tied to the AI data-center buildout. Federal debt crossed a record $40 trillion this week, but Bessent said that stronger growth could help manage the burden.

“There’s nothing magic about the $40 trillion number, and we can grow our way out of that,” he said. “Global growth is the way to take care of this mountain of debt.” Bessent called 30-year liquidity “very poor,” adding: “We have a big toolkit… we believe that the yields don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals.”

Burry’s Other Warning: AI Dependency Echoes The GFC 

Burry separately warned about the economy’s reliance on AI investment. 

Citing Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok, he noted that traditional rate-sensitive construction weakened after the Federal Reserve began hiking in 2022, while data-center spending continued surging because anticipated AI returns outweighed higher financing costs.

 “This is the dependency of the economy on one thing that got us the GFC,” Burry said.

How Retail Traders Feel About The Bond Market

The iShares Core 10+ Year USD Bond ETF (ILTB) fell 0.6% on Thursday, while the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) declined 0.8%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for ILTB amid ‘normal’ message volume and ‘bullish’ for TLT amid ‘high’ message volume.

Among major index-tracking ETFs, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.8% on Thursday amid ‘neutral’ retail sentiment. Meanwhile, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) gained 0.7% and 1.34%, respectively, though Stocktwits sentiment for both remained ‘bearish’.

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