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Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently issued a stern warning to Americans.
In an appearance on February 5 Dwarkesh PodcastMusk said the U.S. is heading toward bankruptcy as its national debt continues to climb.
“We are going to be 1,000% bankrupt as a country and will fail as a country without AI and robots,” he said (1). “Nothing else will solve the national debt.”
According to the Treasury Department, the US national debt now stands at $38.56 trillion – and this continues as federal spending continues to outpace revenue (2). So far in fiscal year 2026, the government has spent about $602 billion more than it has collected (3).
Without productivity breakthroughs from artificial intelligence and robotics, Musk painted a bleak picture of what lies ahead, with the country “really in total disarray because the national debt is piling up like crazy.”
He also warned that the debt alone is becoming an expensive burden to pay.
“The interest payments on the national debt exceed the military budget, which is a trillion dollars. So we only have a trillion dollars in interest payments,” he said.
And those costs could rise further. A recent report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects that interest payments on the US national debt will surpass $1.5 trillion in 2032 and reach $1.8 trillion by 2035 (4).
Musk isn’t the only one raising concerns about America’s debt and the rising interest costs associated with it. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, has warned that America is headed for a “debt death spiral,” where the government must borrow only to pay interest — a vicious cycle that feeds on itself.
But unlike Musk, Dalio doesn’t foresee formal bankruptcy.
“There will be no default – the central bank will come and we will print money and buy it,” he said. “And there is a depreciation of money.”
In other words, the government could technically never run out of dollars — but those dollars could lose value quickly. Musk has warned in the past that if current trends continue, “the dollar will have no value.”
That decline in the value of the dollar is already visible. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the purchasing power of $100 in 2025 will be just $12.06 in 1970 (5).
Good news? Savvy investors have long found ways to protect their wealth — even when Washington’s fiscal math stops adding up.
To shock-proof your investments, Dalio emphasized the value of diversification — and highlighted one-time-tested assets in particular.
“People don’t have enough gold in their portfolios,” he said. “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversification.”
Gold has long been considered a safe haven. It cannot be printed out of thin air like fiat money and is not tied to any single currency or economy, so investors often flock to it during times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, driving up its value.
Despite the recent pullback, gold prices have rallied more than 70% over the past 12 months.
Other prominent voices see more potential. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently said gold could “easily” rise to $10,000 an ounce in this environment.
One way to invest in gold that also offers significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with preferred gold.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax benefits of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an option for those looking to help protect their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
When you make a qualifying purchase with Priority Gold, you can get up to $10,000 worth of precious metals for free.
Read more: Approaching retirement with no savings? Fear not, you are not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast).
Gold is not the only asset investors need during inflation. Real estate has also proven to be a powerful hedge.
When inflation rises, property prices often rise, reflecting higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income increases, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts for inflation.
Over the past ten years, the S&P Totality Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index has increased by more than 87%, reflecting strong demand and limited housing supply (6).
Of course, higher home prices can make buying a home more challenging, especially with mortgage rates still higher. And being a landlord isn’t exactly hands-off work—renting, maintenance, and upkeep can eat up your time (and payback) quickly.
Good news? Investing in real estate today doesn’t require you to buy real estate — or deal with leaky faucets. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrive offer an easy way to gain exposure to this income-generating asset class.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrive allows you to invest in rental properties for as little as $100 without the hassle of mowing lawns, fixing leaky faucets or handling difficult tenants.
The process is simple: browse a curated selection of homes that have been vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you want to buy and then sit back until you start receiving any positive rental income distributions from your investment.
Mogul is another option. It’s a real estate investment platform that offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, giving investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for hefty down payments or 3 a.m. rental calls.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. In other words, you get access to institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the normal cost.
Each asset goes through a rigorous vetting process, even in negative scenarios requiring a minimum 12% return. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Offers often sell within three hours, with investments typically between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
You can sign up for an account and then browse the available properties here.
Prominent investors like Dalio often stress the importance of diversity—and for good reason. Many traditional assets move in tandem, especially during periods of market stress.
That message feels especially relevant today. About 40% of the S&P 500’s weighting is concentrated in its ten largest stocks, and the index’s CAPE ratio hasn’t been this high since the dot-com boom.
This is where, for many investors, alternative assets come into play. This can include everything from real estate and precious metals to private equity and collectibles.
But there’s one store of value that routinely flies under the radar: It’s rare by design, universally coveted and frequently locked up by institutions.
We’re talking about postwar and contemporary art — a category that has led the S&P 500 with a low correlation since 1995.
It’s easy to see why art pieces often fetch new heights at auction: the supply of great works of art is limited and many desirable pieces have already been snapped up by museums and collectors. That scarcity can make art an attractive option for investors looking to diversify and protect their wealth during periods of high inflation.
Until recently, buying art has been a domain reserved for the ultra-rich – as in 2022 when an art collection owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold at Christie’s New York for $1.5 billion, making it the most valuable collection in auction history.
Now, Masterworks – a platform for investing in shares of blue-chip artworks by renowned artists including Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy – can help you get started with this asset class. It’s easy to use and, with 25 successful exits to date, Masterworks has distributed over $65 million in gross proceeds (including principal).
Just browse their impressive portfolio of images and choose how many shares you want to buy. Masterworks can handle all the details, making high-end art investments both accessible and effortless.
New offers sell out in minutes, but you can leave their waiting list here.
Note that past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investment involves risk. See the disclosure of Reg A at masterworks.com/cd.
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Dwarkesh Patel and Stripe (1); Financial Statistics (2), (3); Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (4); Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (5); S&P Global (6)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
