Billionaire Eric Sprott says 98% of his wealth is in gold and silver and his bets are up 4X, though he admits 'I know nothing about rocks'

"I'm not a geologist — I know nothing about rocks, but I know about numbers...if the reward's a big reward I can afford to lose," he told Forbes (1). "I think the prices are going much higher, quite frankly. I think silver can easily go to $200, even $300. I think gold could go to $10,000."

Days later, silver dropped to $76 and gold had pulled back below $5,000, but Sprott was still unfazed.

Such equanimity is easier when you've spent four decades being right about precious metals. Eric Sprott doesn't claim to be a geologist, even after decades of success in the mining sector. When asked how he finds the next billion-dollar play, he keeps it simple: "Numbers took me there, numbers. You don't have to be a geologist (3)."

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and one of the most closely watched macro investors in the world, has been making the same argument for years — that debt-laden governments inevitably devalue their currencies, that bondholders are the last to know and that gold is where you go when you stop trusting the math. He recommends as much as a 15% portfolio allocation (4) in gold.

Sprott began investing in gold and silver in the 1980s and has built a net worth Forbes now estimates at over $3 billion (2) — with 98% of it in gold and silver. His bets in the sector have grown four-fold in just two years.

What Sprott actually thinks is happening, and why

Sprott buys gold because he has a specific view about governments.

"I think all of us know that governments have been quite irresponsible in terms of the financial system and the printing of money and the overspending," he told Forbes. "Every government, whether it's Canadian, US, UK, Japan, you name it, they've all overspent. They just think that if you can print money, let's use the printer."

The theory is that when governments keep running big deficits and pumping more money into the economy, their currencies slowly lose value. That pushes investors toward assets with a limited or fixed supply — particularly gold and silver, which can't be printed on demand.

The U.S. national debt is currently $38.9 trillion (5) and is projected to keep rising over the coming decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (6). At the same time, the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates higher than we've seen in nearly two decades (7), even after some recent cuts (8). Put all that together, and it's no surprise that gold has responded so strongly.

Gold was about $2,000 an ounce in early 2024, and by late January 2026, it had reached an intraday high of $5,595 (9) — a gain of roughly 180% in two years. According to VanEck's gold investment outlook, gold "has been the best-performing major asset class over the past two years, nearly doubling the returns of the S&P 500 over the trailing 12 months (10)." As of May 13, gold trades at approximately $4,700 per ounce (11), pulled back from its January peak but still much higher than 2 years prior.

Where Dalio fits in — and why their views aren't actually that different

Sprott isn't the only high‑profile investor worried about today's finances, Ray Dalio has also been making a similar structural point, but with far less concentration.

At the Greenwich Economic Forum in October 2025, Dalio told investors to consider parking an unusually high percentage of their portfolios in gold right now (12).

"Gold is the only asset that somebody can hold and you don't have to depend on somebody else to pay you money for," Dalio told CNBC (13).

He agrees that high debt and loose monetary policy make gold attractive, but unlike Sprott's 98% portfolio, he recommends a much smaller, pragmatic allocation (as much as 15% of a portfolio, depending on risk tolerance).

"If you look at it just from a strategic asset allocation perspective, you would probably have something like 15% of your portfolio in gold … because it is one asset that does very well when the typical parts of the portfolio go down," he said.

And it's not just private investors taking notice. The World Gold Council reports central banks added 863 tonnes of gold in 2025 (14) — well above the 2010–2021 average of 473 tonnes (15) — which looks like a deliberate rethink of dollar‑denominated reserves.

What this means for ordinary investors

The difference between Sprott's 98% and Dalio's 15% is practicality. Sprott has spent four decades learning the mining game, so he can size up junior miners and shoulder the big swings most people can't. He has the expertise to evaluate the risks and the wealth to absorb them.

For everyday investors, Sprott's all‑in approach may seem extreme. Ray Dalio's range of up to 15% is a more practical starting point because it gives you meaningful protection if fiat currencies weaken, without blowing up your portfolio if a single miner tanks.