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Paul Tudor Jones says the 1979–80 Bunker Hunt silver squeeze taught him liquidity…
Brief
Paul Tudor Jones recounts an early-career lesson from the 1979–80 Bunker Hunt silver saga that taught him the difference between investing and trading: massive, rapid moves and forced liquidations (Hunt’s position ran to ~$50 then fell below $10 in ~8 weeks) seared a focus on liquidity and short-term trading. Jones, who correctly called the 1987 crash and shorted Japan’s 1990 bubble, runs a flagship macro fund long criticized as a pure alpha generator and reportedly has maintained a negative correlation to the S&P 500 for over 40 years. He says today’s market mirrors 2000—'the easiest bear market I've ever seen'—prefers long USD/JPY, ranks Bitcoin above gold as an inflation hedge, and pairs his market views with a disciplined lifestyle (wakes at 2:30 a.m., two‑hour workouts) that sustains his trading intensity.
Why it matters
Paul Tudor Jones says the 1979–80 Bunker Hunt silver squeeze taught him liquidity is paramount: Hunt bought about 200 million oz of silver at an average of ~$3.50 (and later ~20 million oz at $35), silver ran up to ~$50 then collapsed to under $10 in roughly eight weeks, nearly bankrupting Hunt and convincing Jones that long-term ownership was 'laughable' compared with short-term trading.
Key details
- Jones has a long track record as a macro trader: he correctly predicted the 1987 crash, shorted the Japanese bubble in 1990, and—per Patrick O’Shaughnessy—his flagship fund has been negatively correlated to the S&P 500 for over 40 years with '100% of his returns are alpha.'
- Jones argues today's market resembles 2000 and calls it 'the easiest bear market I've ever seen'; he advocates going long USD/JPY, believes Bitcoin is a better inflation hedge than gold, and admits he was wrong about Warren Buffett.
- At 71, Jones maintains an intense daily routine that supports his trading edge: he wakes at 2:30 a.m. to trade the London open, works out two hours a day, walks nightly with his wife, and channels deep passion into markets and philanthropy (topics in the interview include AI risks, Bitcoin, bubbles, and the Robin Hood Foundation).