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Zell Sees Economic Risk in Rising U.S. Debt
Sam Zell said Thursday that he’s worried about trillions of dollars in stimulus spending by Congress and a resulting rise in U.S. debt. Ultimately, that could undercut the U.S. economy, he told Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian, who was interviewing him for the annual Chicago Invest for Kids conference, held virtually this year.
“The biggest risk is the debasing of the currency,” said the Equity Group Investments founder. “We are very lucky that we are the country of the reserve currency. That gives us more flexibility than any other country in the world, but it’s this kind of debt structure and this kind of irresponsibility that could lose us that status.”
While agreeing that some stimulus was necessary following the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in March, Zell said it seems like politicians have lost their discipline on debt and that could end badly despite recently low interest rates.
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- ◦Economy
