How Countries Go Broke

How Countries Go Broke (2025) offers a sweeping tour through history, tracing the recurring patterns that shape the rise and fall of national economies. It shows how financial, political, and social forces repeatedly converge, creating cycles that drive countries toward prosperity… or ruin. While we can’t predict the future with perfect accuracy, we can see that certain warning signs – like mounting debt and systemic vulnerabilities – consistently play a central role in economic collapse.

• Anyone curious about economic history and financial crises
• Investors and financial professionals
• People concerned about the world’s economic future

Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest investment firms. He's known for his deep research into economic history and his practical frameworks for understanding markets, debt cycles, and global power shifts. He’s also a bestselling author, sharing insights from decades of investing and studying the rise and fall of empires.