Market bears Grantham and Burry face a reckoning from skeptics

The tension boiled over during a CNBC Squawk Box segment where cohost Joe Kernen confronted Grantham over his repeated predictions of a market collapse. While Grantham warned that AI investors face losses mirroring the railroad and internet booms, Kernen challenged the GMO cofounder’s credibility, noting that investors who followed his advice since 2010 have missed out on a massive bull run. Grantham’s dismissal of bitcoin as worthless speculation only fueled the on-air confrontation, leaving the veteran investor to fend off accusations that his bearish stance has become a disservice to his audience.

Simultaneously, Michael Burry is fighting to protect the legacy of his defining trade. Following social media skepticism regarding his status as a lone wolf during the 2000s housing crisis, the Big Short investor asserted he was the original architect of the credit default swap strategy. Burry claimed he shared his methodology with figures like John Paulson and Peter Thiel, an account supported by derivatives expert Janet Tavakoli. Despite this legacy, Burry’s recent pivots—including short bets against Nvidia and Palantir—have drawn sharp rebukes from corporate leaders like Alex Karp. As the market continues to defy their warnings, the divide between these legendary bears and their modern critics has never been more pronounced.