Financial Meltdowns Have Something in Common

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- This week is a special occasion: We have our very first Masters in Business Live, with guest Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's biggest hedge fund, and the author of "Principles: Life and Work."

In our conversation before a gathering of guests at Bloomberg's offices in New York, he described the structural similarities of 48 of history's greatest financial crises. He discussed the process that each of these financial disasters followed, and what regulators should do in response.

Dalio doesn't mince words, answering questions in-depth and with clarity. We spoke at length about his role at the firm, and his plans for the future. Everyone who attended received a copy of his newest book, "Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises." He even stayed around afterward, signing every copy, personally. His past Masters in Business appearances are here and here.

His favorite books are here; the transcript of our conversation is posted here. Photos are here.

You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast and Stitcher. Our earlier podcasts can all be found at iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast and Bloomberg.

Next week, we speak with Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chairman of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He founded Ritholtz Wealth Management and was chief executive and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

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