Billionaire investor David Einhorn explains why gold will keep rising — and it's got nothing to do with inflation

Filip De Mott

Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:57 PM 3 min read

• "Gold is not astir inflation," David Einhorn told CNBC.

• The billionaire capitalist says golden is rising connected shortage fears.

• His money crushed the S&P 500 past 4th acknowledgment to a large stake connected gold.

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital crushed past 4th by betting large connected gold, and the hedge money brag said the metal's large rally isn't done yet.

Einhorn said that helium sees golden continuing to emergence adjacent aft a record-setting tally truthful acold successful 2025, but helium besides said he'd beryllium acrophobic if the terms roseate importantly higher.

"I'd beryllium truly blessed if it went to $3,500 oregon $3,800; I'd beryllium truly unhappy if it went to $30,000 oregon $50,000," the billionaire capitalist told CNBC connected the sidelines of the Sohn Investment Conference successful New York.

Bullion concisely peaked astatine $3,500 per ounce successful April, a determination galore person tied to tariff-linked ostentation concerns. Gold is historically considered the premier hedge against runaway terms growth, which could warrant the metal's 22% surge truthful acold this year.

But adjacent arsenic prices person eased to a one-month debased amid softer ostentation data, Einhorn sees golden continuing to rally for different reasons.

"Gold is not astir inflation. Gold is astir the assurance successful the fiscal argumentation and the monetary policy," helium said, suggesting that the authorities has go assertive connected some fronts, altogether contributing to a shortage policymakers are mostly ignoring.

In his view, gold's appreciation reflects disappointment successful the efforts to slim the $1.9 trillion national fund deficit.

Einhorn pointed to the Department of Government Efficiency, an bureau that initially promised to slash $2 trillion successful federal spending.

"A fewer months person gone by — It's similar $150 billion, maybe," Einhorn said. "That's capable to screen adjacent year's defence backing spending increase; that's going to get eaten up really, truly fast."

The aforesaid goes for tariffs, which the medication touted arsenic a monolithic boost to authorities revenue. But Einhorn said the caller duties look acceptable to bring successful astir $100 billion.

Fiscal concerns volition besides proceed to turn with the caller taxation policy, with Trump expected to widen his 2017 tax cuts. The measure unveiled by Congress this week is expected to adhd trillions to the shortage implicit 10 years.

"We're not truly acrophobic astir the deficit. There's a bipartisan statement to bash thing astir the shortage until we really get to the crisis," Einhorn summarized.

If this continues to propel golden higher, that should proceed to boost Greenlight's portfolio. The hedge money bushed the S&P 500 with an 8.2% summation successful the archetypal quarter, antecedently noting that gold's 19% beforehand made it the fund's "biggest winner."