CNBC: Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Klarman Issues Dire Warning on Global Economy

Article by Marilyn Haigh in CNBC financial website

Seth Klarman, a hedge fund billionaire some call the next Warren Buffett, wrote a sobering letter warning his investors of the economic impact of global tension, rising debt and pervasive political divide.

"It can't be business as usual amid constant protests, riots, shutdowns and escalating social tensions," Klarman wrote in the annual letter to investors, according to a New York Times column filed by CNBC "Squawk Box" co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin.

The letter caused buzz during the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

In the letter, Klarman expressed confusion at investors' reaction to the U.S. retreat from international leadership and President Donald Trump's Twitter outbursts. Trump scrapped plans to attend Davos due to the government shutdown, which is in its 32nd day with no clear end in sight.

"As the post-World War II international order continued to erode, the markets ignored the longer-term implications of a more isolated America, a world increasingly adrift and global leadership up for grabs," he wrote.

Klarman also warned about growing debt levels, pointing out that total U.S. government debt now exceeds GDP, a level that other countries like Canada, France, Britain and Spain are approaching.

"The seeds of the next major financial crisis (or the one after that) may well be found in today's sovereign debt levels," he said.

Klarman runs Baupost Group, which manages $27 billion and counts some of the world's wealthiest families as investors, according to the Times.

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