The Monetary Flood Is Here—Who Will Survive?

SUMMARY

Egon von Greyerz warns that central banks' excessive money printing, echoing historical follies like Louis XV's era, will lead to currency collapse, urging investment in gold for wealth preservation.

STATEMENTS

• Central banks' strategy of printing more money to rescue the financial system is doomed to failure, merely postponing an inevitable collapse.
• Historical precedents, such as France under Louis XV, show rulers debasing currency through unchecked printing, leading to national ruin.
• The 2008 financial crisis was not resolved but delayed by central banks printing hundreds of trillions, resulting in unmanageable global debt.
• No debt crisis can be solved by incurring more debt, as this only exacerbates the underlying problem of currency debasement.
• All past monetary systems have ended with their currencies losing nearly all value, and the current era is approaching its final stage.
• Western currencies have depreciated by 99% since 1971, with the remaining 1% poised for rapid erosion.
• Gold does not increase in intrinsic value; instead, it reveals the relentless decline in the purchasing power of fiat money.
• The gold price, measured in dollars, has risen from under $300 at the start of the century to over $4,000 today due to paper money's fall.
• Precious metals like gold and silver will see significant price multiples as debasement accelerates over the coming years.

IDEAS

• A satirical painting by a Swedish artist renames historical figures as "Louis the 15th Obama" and "Madame Bananka the Pompador" to mock modern leaders' money-printing excesses.
• The phrase "After us, the flood" from Madame de Pompadour foretells disaster from fiscal irresponsibility, paralleling today's central bank policies.
• Central banks flooded the world with worthless printed money during the 2008 crisis, depicted as people drowning in a torrent of fiat currency.
• What appears as economic salvation through quantitative easing is actually a temporary bandage on a gaping wound of systemic debt overload.
• Every historical monetary cycle concludes with total currency failure, suggesting the post-1971 fiat era is nearing its zero-value endgame.
• People face not death from inflation but profound suffering as their lifetime savings evaporate into worthlessness.
• Valuing gold in depreciating paper dollars distorts reality; true measurement should use stable commodities like livestock.
• Despite gold's century-long climb in nominal terms, its real strength lies in outlasting fiat currencies during trust breakdowns.
• It's still an opportune moment to acquire precious metals, as their values are set to multiply dramatically amid accelerating debasement.
• Gold functions not as a speculative asset but as vital insurance against economic, political, and geopolitical upheavals.

INSIGHTS

• Reckless money creation by authorities mirrors ancient follies, inevitably culminating in societal floods of economic ruin that spare no one.
• Fiat currencies' engineered scarcity illusion crumbles under endless printing, exposing how debt-fueled "growth" devours genuine wealth.
• Tangible assets like gold transcend monetary illusions, serving as silent witnesses to—and safeguards against—paper empires' decay.
• Systemic failures amplify personal vulnerabilities, making decentralized real-money holdings essential for familial resilience in chaotic times.
• History's verdict on undisciplined finance is unanimous: debasement erodes trust, power, and prosperity, leaving only enduring stores of value intact.

QUOTES

• "After us the flood."
• "Debt cannot be cured with more debt."
• "Gold never goes up. It's paper money that goes down."
• "You can't save a debt problem... by printing more money because a debt problem can't be solved by more debt."
• "Own some gold, own some silver, store it safely outside the banking system."

HABITS

FACTS

• Central banks have printed hundreds of trillions of dollars since the 2008 crisis to delay financial collapse.
• Global debt levels have become utterly unmanageable and impossible to repay using conventional currency.
• Western currencies have lost 99% of their value since the end of the gold standard in 1971.
• France's defeat in the 1750s war against Prussia signaled the beginning of its imperial decline.
• Ben Bernanke, as Federal Reserve chairman, orchestrated the largest money-printing expansion in U.S. history during the financial crisis.

REFERENCES

• Satirical painting by a Swedish artist, depicting Louis XV as "Obama" and Madame de Pompadour as "Bananka," inspired by discussions on historical money printing.
• Historical reign of Louis XV in France, marked by fiscal mismanagement and currency debasement leading to the French Revolution.
• Ben Bernanke's tenure as Federal Reserve chairman and his role in post-2008 quantitative easing.
• Barack Obama's presidency, coinciding with the great financial crisis and expanded money printing.
• Madame de Pompadour's famous quote "After us, the flood" as a prophecy of impending catastrophe.

HOW TO APPLY

• Identify signs of currency debasement through rising debt and central bank interventions to recognize the approaching monetary endgame.
• Reject reliance on fiat savings by shifting focus to assets that retain value independent of government policies.
• Acquire physical gold and silver as core holdings to hedge against accelerating inflation and loss of purchasing power.
• Secure precious metals in private storage outside the banking system to avoid risks from institutional failures or confiscation.
• Educate and involve family in wealth protection strategies, ensuring collective preparedness for economic and geopolitical turbulence.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Embrace gold as insurance against central banks' money flood, which will render fiat currencies worthless and unleash economic chaos.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Invest in physical gold and silver immediately to capitalize on impending price surges from fiat debasement.
• Store holdings in non-bank vaults or personal safes to safeguard against systemic banking risks.
• Allocate at least a portion of wealth to hard assets, avoiding overexposure to depreciating paper currencies.
• Monitor global debt trends and central bank actions closely for timely adjustments to preservation strategies.
• Prioritize family financial security by discussing and implementing tangible asset diversification now.

MEMO

In a world awash with freshly printed dollars, Egon von Greyerz sees echoes of 18th-century France, where King Louis XV's lavish excesses and currency manipulations hastened the empire's fall. A custom painting by a Swedish artist captures this grim parallel: a modern "Louis the 15th Obama" and his consort "Madame Bananka" (a jab at Ben Bernanke) crank a colossal printing press, drowning the masses in worthless bills. Von Greyerz, a veteran investor, argues that the 2008 financial crisis wasn't averted but merely deferred through trillions in quantitative easing, ballooning global debt to unsustainable heights. "Debt cannot be cured with more debt," he insists, predicting the post-1971 fiat era's currencies—already down 99 percent—will soon hit zero.

Gold, in von Greyerz's view, isn't soaring to new heights; it's fiat money plummeting to irrelevance. Priced in depreciating dollars, the metal has climbed from under $300 at the century's dawn to over $4,000 today, a rise he expects to multiply as debasement accelerates. This isn't speculation, he clarifies, but insurance against the "flood" Madame de Pompadour foresaw after her king's follies. While no asset shields against all woes—economic slumps, political unrest, or geopolitical strife—gold offers a lifeline for savings, stored safely beyond banks' reach. Von Greyerz urges action now: it's not too late to buy, but delay invites suffering as pockets empty of value.

History's ledger is unforgiving, von Greyerz warns, with every monetary regime collapsing under its own weight. Central banks' printing presses may postpone the deluge, but the verdict remains: trust in paper will erode, leaving tangible wealth as the sole survivor. For families eyeing preservation amid uncertainty, his counsel is stark—own real money, protect what endures.