Early Life and Education
Michael Burry was born in 1971 in San Jose, California, and graduated from Santa Teresa High School in 1989. He earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993, followed by an M.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1997. He completed a residency in pathology at Stanford University before leaving medicine to pursue finance full-time.
Burry founded Scion Capital in 2000 with personal capital after passing the Series 7 and Series 65 exams. The firm operated from Los Altos Hills, California, and focused on deep-value and distressed debt investing. He used the fund to build a concentrated portfolio of small-cap and special situation investments before gaining wide attention for his subprime mortgage analysis.
Investment Career and Key Decisions
Burry first drew major attention in 2005 by identifying risks in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. He built large short positions through credit default swaps on mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations. His fund returned more than 400 percent from 2001 through 2008, with a peak net asset value reported above 600 million dollars.
Burry closed Scion Capital in 2008 and returned capital to investors, citing difficulties in maintaining performance and liquidity constraints. He later managed personal capital through his own accounts and diversified into other areas. He has publicly discussed his investment process in interviews and filings, emphasizing fundamental analysis, margin of safety, and contrarian positioning.
Later Activities and Public Profile
Burry has been active in value investing and activist campaigns in public equities. He has taken large positions in companies such as Tesla and has filed disclosures with the SEC when his stakes crossed reporting thresholds. He also launched a Twitter account in 2020 that became a platform for market commentary and critiques of market trends.
Burry has continued to publish letters and commentary on his investment views, including warnings about market valuations and monetary policy. His early career is frequently cited in finance textbooks and case studies on distressed debt and contrarian investing. More details on his career and public filings can be found on the SEC page and in profiles on Forbes.