He predicted the 2008 financial crisis — now he warns turbulence is ahead on the economic roadmap

Steven Eisman, the American investor who rose to fame through the book and film The Big Short — which tells the story of how Eisman and a small group of investors made a fortune betting on the collapse of the U.S. housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis — is once again sounding the alarm with a grim forecast for the global economy.

“Trade wars are terrible”“The problem is that everyone in our social class has read Economics for Beginners, and we all learned the same thing: trade is good, tariffs are bad, trade wars are terrible,” said Eisman, the former senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, in an interview with CNBC on Monday. “Now we have a U.S. president who doesn’t seem to accept that view of the world — and people find that extremely unsettling.”

Despite his pessimism, Eisman doesn’t believe Trump’s new trade policy will lead to a full market collapse. He predicts that several key trading partners — including Canada, Mexico, and the European Union — will eventually align with the U.S. to help bring control and stability to the global economy. Even so, Eisman admits that he himself has taken a financial hit amid recent market volatility. “There are people in the markets who are frustrated because they’ve lost money,” he said. “I won’t pretend otherwise. I’m one of them. I only invest for the long term. I’ve lost a lot.”

People aren’t used to this kind of market upheaval

While all markets have been affected by Trump’s economic measures, Eisman acknowledges the widespread frustration among the public as stock market losses pile up.

After the financial crisis, Eisman launched his own investment firm, but shut it down after years of underwhelming returns. Now, he warns that the public simply isn’t used to such sudden, sweeping changes — and that this could lead to a major new economic crisis.

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