Gold has delivered one of its strongest performances in decades during 2025, climbing 38% year-to-date and marking its best annual gain since 1979. With the metal recently trading around $3,682 per ounce, this rally reflects deep worries among investors about persistent inflation, questions surrounding the US economy’s resilience, and the mounting burden of national debt now exceeding $37.3 trillion. These factors have prompted several prominent Wall Street figures to advocate for gold as a protective measure in portfolios.
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, points to broader shifts in how people view money and assets. “We are going to see non-fiat currencies become a more important store of wealth and money,” Dalio has said.
This observation stems from his long-held concerns about overreliance on government-issued currencies, which can lose value through excessive printing to cover deficits. In an era where the Federal Reserve’s policies have expanded the money supply dramatically, Dalio’s advice to allocate about 10% of assets to bullion serves as a hedge against such devaluation. His perspective resonates especially as central banks worldwide, including those in emerging markets, have ramped up gold purchases to diversify away from the dollar.
Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, views gold as a reliable safeguard amid currency fluctuations. “I think that is an insurance policy. It’s in a winning mode because of the weaker dollar and I believe that’s going to continue,” Gundlach noted.
The dollar’s softening, driven in part by trade tensions and fiscal imbalances, makes gold an appealing alternative. Gundlach has gone further, predicting that “Gold could climb past $4,000 by the end of the year,” which would represent an additional 8% rise from recent levels.
He argues that devoting up to 25% of a portfolio to gold remains reasonable, not extreme, given the ongoing economic pressures. Gold IRA companies can facilitate this.
Recent market movements align with this, as gold has already surged over 40% in the past year amid heightened safe-haven demand. Reports indicate that policy uncertainties, including tariff threats, have further propelled the metal’s value, with forecasts suggesting averages could hit $3,210 per ounce in 2025.
David Einhorn, head of Greenlight Capital, ties gold’s appeal directly to doubts about government stewardship. “Gold is about the confidence in the fiscal policy and the monetary policy,” Einhorn explained.
He elaborated on his firm’s longstanding position: “Since we bought gold in 2008 or so, it’s been clear to me that the US fiscal and monetary policies are both too aggressive and create a risk.”
This risk has materialized through years of deficit spending that has ballooned the national debt, eroding trust in traditional financial systems. Einhorn described 2025 as “a fabulous year for gold, which has been a core holding for us for a long time,” and indicated satisfaction if prices reached $3,800 an ounce. His stance gains added weight against the backdrop of inflation ticking up to 2.9% annually in August 2025, with core rates at 3.1%, signaling that price pressures remain stubborn despite efforts to tame them.
These veteran investors’ endorsements come at a time when global events, from geopolitical strains to domestic policy shifts, continue to fuel volatility. For instance, tariff announcements and trade disputes have repeatedly lifted gold prices, as seen in reactions to executive actions that heightened market jitters. As the US grapples with sustaining its economic position while managing unprecedented debt levels, gold’s role as a tangible asset outside the fiat system appears more vital than ever. Investors weighing these insights might find that incorporating gold offers a practical buffer against the uncertainties ahead.
