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Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb shares 4 life lessons — and reveals what keeps him awake at night
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of "The Black Swan" and "Antifragile," has advice for navigating this period of economic instability, geopolitical upset, and technological upheaval: Stick to what you believe in, future-proof yourself against AI, exercise your mind and body, and have a holistic view of success. The scholar, statistician, and former hedge fund manager also shared what keeps him up at night. Here are four life lessons he shared during a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider. 1. Have the discipline to stick to what you said you'd do A cornerstone of success is having the "discipline to stick to what you promise you're going to do, and do it in the best possible way," Taleb said. Universa Investments, a "Black Swan" fund where he serves as a distinguished scientific advisor, specializes in protecting client portfolios against rare and extreme market events. It now has more than $20 billion in assets under management. The fund has spent "two decades doing the same trades, and we haven't drifted," Taleb said. "If you stick to something that you really believe in, you should never stray," he continued. 2. Future-proof yourself against AI Taleb championed the "Lindy Effect," the theory that the longer an idea, technology, or cultural practice has survived, the longer it is likely to continue to survive. "AI is not denting Lindy skills," he said, advising people to work in "robust" professions less likely to be displaced by AI. He pointed to gardening, nursing, cooking, plumbing, and masonry as "essential" skills that AI can't replace for now. The AI revolution marks the "first time in history" that white-collar knowledge professions are "in danger" relative to manual trades, he said. 3. Exercise your mind and body Taleb told BI that he does 10 to 15 hours of exercise a week, and emphasized that working both the mind and body is essential to living a good, long life. "We all underestimate how much exercise we need," Taleb said. "Being sedentary requires a lot more exercise than we think." He praised Wall Street legend Ed Thorp, 92, for remaining "athletic, in shape, mentally sharp." Now that Taleb is no longer running a hedge fund, he relishes having more free time to read widely and dig into anything that intrigues him, he said. 4. Redefine success as more than getting rich "What I consider success is looking at yourself in the mirror and not being ashamed," Taleb told BI. Taleb, who was born in Lebanon, said his concept of success extends beyond having a great career and making money. It also involves behaving ethically, being useful to others, surrounding yourself with grandchildren and other family members, and being loved by your community. What keeps him awake at night When asked what keeps him awake at night, Taleb said he fretted over the "physical and financial health" of friends and family. Taleb said it's troubling when he sees older people "realize they don't have enough for retirement." A key underlying issue is that advanced economies "struggle to keep the momentum going" as they mature, leading to slower growth and "less of a good future" for their citizens. "They don't realize the dangers," Taleb said. "That worries me." The system "worked for a few generations because people were always doing better than their parents," but that's no longer true for many, he said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb tells BI he agrees with Elon Musk on debt, saying a 'crisis' is looming
"The Black Swan" author Nassim Taleb spoke to BI about tariffs, Elon Musk, dollar woes, and crypto. Taleb raised the prospect of a "debt crisis" fueled by America's runaway deficit spending. He rang the alarm on the national debt and was dismissive of bitcoin even as it hit record highs. Elon Musk is right to worry about America's debt problem — and bitcoin is no more valuable than a flower, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb said in a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider. Taleb popularized the term "Black Swan" to refer to rare, extreme, unexpected events that are seen as less surprising in hindsight. He's a distinguished scientific advisor to Universa Investments, a "Black Swan" hedge fund that manages over $20 billion in client assets and specializes in hedging against "tail risks" — rare and extreme market events. Taleb spoke about Donald Trump's tariff fights, Musk's deficit angst, declining trust in the US dollar, and why he remains deeply skeptical of bitcoin even as it rises to new highs. Debt spiral Taleb told BI there's "plenty of risk" but it's "not necessarily linked to things you read in the paper every day." He singled out the US federal debt, which has more than tripled to around $37 trillion within the past 25 years, and is set to rise further with Trump's "big, beautiful bill" forecast to add another $3 trillion at least over the next decade. The US government paid $881 billion of interest on its debt in fiscal 2024 — more than the $865 billion it spent on Medicare or its $850 billion outlay on defense, per the Congressional Budget Office. "We have enormously burdenous debt," Taleb said. "Elon's quite justified to be upset with the two-party system," he added, nodding to the Tesla CEO and ex-DOGE boss who formed an "America Party" after falling out with Trump over his bill. Concerns about America's debt, and other factors, including Trump's tariffs, have fueled a roughly 10% decline in the dollar against a basket of global currencies this year. Taleb said the dollar "ceased to be the reserve currency" when the US said it would freeze assets with ties to the Russian government following the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many people were "uncomfortable" at what they perceived to be an overreach, Taleb said, adding this prompted several central banks to swap dollars for gold, contributing to a broader de-dollarization trend. Taleb added that Trump was "antagonizing" US trade partners with import taxes. He told BI that he has "nothing against tariffs in principle," but the president's use of them to strike deals is "not very coherent and spooks the rest of the world." Deteriorating trust in the dollar and America is "bad because we have to borrow and we don't want a debt crisis," Taleb said, pointing to soaring interest costs that make the debt a "source of fragility." Crypto critique Taleb has been a vocal critic of bitcoin for years, calling it a "cult," a "tumor," and a "magnet for imbeciles." Speaking as it continued to hit record highs of more than $120,000, Taleb told BI that bitcoin was an "electronic tulip" — a reference to the Dutch Tulip Bubble in the 17th century that saw a speculative frenzy lift the price of tulips to eye-watering levels. Taleb again said that bitcoin "cannot be a currency," highlighting its volatility and crypto fans' desire for it to keep rising, when stability is core to being a reliable medium of exchange. He also questioned how the coin could be widely adopted when many governments would be loath to undermine their currencies by supporting it. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb tells BI he agrees with Elon Musk on debt, saying a 'crisis' is looming
America has a massive debt problem — and bitcoin is no more valuable than a flower, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb said in a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider. Taleb popularized the term " Black Swan" to refer to rare, extreme, unexpected events that are seen as less surprising in hindsight. He's a distinguished scientific advisor to Universa Investments, a "Black Swan" hedge fund that manages over $20 billion in client assets and specializes in hedging against "tail risks" — rare and extreme market events. Taleb spoke about Donald Trump's tariff fights, Elon Musk's deficit angst, declining trust in the US dollar, and why he remains deeply skeptical of bitcoin even as it rises to new highs. Debt spiral Taleb told BI there's "plenty of risk" but it's "not necessarily linked to things you read in the paper every day." He singled out the US federal debt, which has more than tripled to around $37 trillion within the past 25 years, and is set to rise further with Trump's " big, beautiful bill" forecast to add another $3 trillion at least over the next decade. The US government paid $881 billion of interest on its debt in fiscal 2024 — more than the $865 billion it spent on Medicare or its $850 billion outlay on defense, per the Congressional Budget Office. "We have enormously burdenous debt," Taleb said. "Elon's quite justified to be upset with the two-party system," he added, nodding to the Tesla CEO and ex-DOGE boss who formed an "America Party" after falling out with Trump over his bill. Concerns about America's debt, and other factors, including Trump's tariffs, have fueled a roughly 10% decline in the dollar against a basket of global currencies this year. Taleb said the dollar "ceased to be the reserve currency" when the US said it would freeze assets with ties to the Russian government following the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many people were "uncomfortable" at what they perceived to be an overreach, Taleb said, adding this prompted several central banks to swap dollars for gold, contributing to a broader de-dollarization trend. Taleb added that Trump was "antagonizing" US trade partners with import taxes. He told BI that he has "nothing against tariffs in principle," but the president's use of them to strike deals is "not very coherent and spooks the rest of the world." Deteriorating trust in the dollar and America is "bad because we have to borrow and we don't want a debt crisis," Taleb said, pointing to soaring interest costs that make the debt a "source of fragility." Crypto critique Taleb has been a vocal critic of bitcoin for years, calling it a "cult," a "tumor," and a "magnet for imbeciles." Speaking as it continued to hit record highs of more than $120,000, Taleb told BI that bitcoin was an "electronic tulip" — a reference to the Dutch Tulip Bubble in the 17th century that saw a speculative frenzy lift the price of tulips to eye-watering levels. Taleb again said that bitcoin "cannot be a currency," highlighting its volatility and crypto fans' desire for it to keep rising, when stability is core to being a reliable medium of exchange. He also questioned how the coin could be widely adopted when many governments would be loath to undermine their currencies by supporting it.
Bloomberg
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Odd Lots: Nassim Taleb on Living a Good Life in an Age of Volatility
Every day we're inundated with headlines that are seemingly unbelievable. Multiple major wars are ongoing. Politics is erratic. Markets are scrambling everyone's brains. So how should we live and feel good? How should we think about the world around us, and the various perceived risks out there. In yet another episode from our live Odd Lots special in New York City last month, we speak with famed author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the scientific advisor at Universa Investments, who shares his perspective on all things.
Bloomberg
04-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Nassim Taleb on Living a Good Life in an Age of Volatility
Staying prepared for Black Swans. By and Joe Weisenthal Save Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Subscribe to the newsletter Every day we're inundated with headlines that are seemingly unbelievable. Multiple major wars are ongoing. Politics is erratic. Markets are scrambling everyone's brains. So how should we live and feel good? How should we think about the world around us, and the various perceived risks out there. In yet another episode from our live Odd Lots special in New York City last month, we speak with famed author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the scientific advisor at Universa Investments, who shares his perspective on all things.
