At 53 years old, Michael Burry remains one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in finance. With a net worth of $300 million as of 2025, he’s best known as the hedge fund manager who predicted—and profited from—the 2008 housing market collapse. Immortalized in the Oscar-winning film The Big Short, Burry’s story isn’t just about money; it’s about foresight, conviction, and standing firm in the face of widespread doubt.
So how did a former doctor with an eye condition become one of the most legendary investors of our time?
Who Is Michael Burry and What Makes Him Unique?
Michael Burry was born on June 19, 1971, in San Jose, California. At the age of two, he lost his left eye to retinoblastoma, and has worn a glass eye ever since. Despite this challenge, Burry excelled academically, earning degrees in economics and pre-med from UCLA, followed by an M.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He started a neurology residency at Stanford, but never completed it—instead, he became obsessed with investing during his downtime.
Even though he technically still holds a medical license in California, Burry chose to pursue a different path—one that would change his life, and arguably the financial world, forever.
How Did Michael Burry Start His Investment Career?
While still in medical school, Burry began writing investment blogs and stock analysis posts online. His detailed, value-based approach caught the attention of prominent investors and firms, including Joel Greenblatt, who would become one of his early backers.
In 2000, Burry launched Scion Capital LLC, his first hedge fund, using a combination of inheritance money and family loans. Despite the dot-com crash, Burry made brilliant calls, shorting overvalued tech stocks. By 2004, Scion was managing over $600 million in assets.
He wasn’t following hype—he was following the numbers. That strategy would soon pay off in a way no one expected.
How Did Michael Burry Predict the 2008 Housing Market Crash?
In 2005, Burry began to analyze the growing instability in the subprime mortgage market. He saw the writing on the wall: risky adjustable-rate mortgages were going to reset, and millions of homeowners wouldn’t be able to afford the new payments.
Using this insight, Burry made a bold and unusual move. He persuaded major banks, including Goldman Sachs, to sell him credit default swaps—basically, bets against the subprime mortgage market. His investors were skeptical, even furious, as they saw their money tied up in what looked like losing positions. Some demanded their money back.
But Burry held firm. When the housing bubble finally burst in 2007–2008, his fund exploded in value. Scion earned $700 million for its investors, and Burry personally made $100 million.
What Was Michael Burry’s Role in The Big Short?
Michael Burry’s incredible story was chronicled in Michael Lewis’s 2010 bestseller, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. In 2015, the book was turned into a hit film starring Christian Bale as Burry. The movie earned five Academy Award nominations and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Bale himself was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
The film highlighted Burry’s socially awkward but brilliant personality, his unconventional thinking, and his unwavering dedication to logic over groupthink—qualities that still define him today.
What Happened to Scion Capital After the Crash?
After successfully navigating the 2008 crisis, Burry closed Scion Capital and turned his attention to personal investments. But in 2013, he returned to professional investing with Scion Asset Management, where he began focusing on long-term trends like gold, water, and farmland.
His more recent trades include big bets on Facebook, Google, and GameStop, as well as controversial short positions on Tesla and ARK Invest.
How Much Did Michael Burry Make From GameStop?
In March 2020, Burry revealed a large position in GameStop, holding about 3 million shares. At the time, the stock was trading for just a few dollars. He later reduced the stake to 1.7 million shares.
When the stock soared during the infamous Reddit-fueled rally in January 2021, peaking at $480 per share, his stake could have been worth over $800 million. Though it’s unclear exactly when he sold, Burry likely made tens of millions, if not more, from the trade—further cementing his reputation for spotting under-the-radar opportunities.
What Is Michael Burry Doing Now?
Today, Michael Burry runs Scion Asset Management and continues to make headlines for his contrarian bets. He’s known for deleting his Twitter account frequently, but when he’s online, he’s not shy about sharing concerns over market trends, inflation, or debt levels.
In recent years, Burry has shorted Tesla, expressed doubts about cryptocurrencies, and remained vocal about what he sees as financial bubbles forming across various sectors.
What Is Michael Burry’s Personal Life Like?
Michael Burry is famously private. He lives in Saratoga, California, with his wife and son. His son was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and Burry believes he may be on the spectrum as well. This has informed his highly focused and analytical nature.
Despite his media portrayal, Burry isn’t driven by fame or greed—he’s driven by truth, logic, and numbers.