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Ripple Effect

The Cantillon Effect Remains in Full Force

Loading ...Addison Wiggin

June 24, 2025 • 2 minute, 12 second read


Cantillon Effectfiat moneywealth creation

The Cantillon Effect Remains in Full Force

Central banks set monetary policy – allowing them to create money out of thin air. Those who are closest or the first to access this newly-created money tend to be the biggest beneficiaries.

This is known as the Cantillon Effect.

And for all the progressive talk about “wealth inequality” in America, the shift off of the gold standard since 1971 has kicked this effect into high gear – not tax policy.

Wealth creation – from being able to access capital to buy assets or start a new business – has been the biggest driver of this inequality, as worker wages have been stagnant at best when adjusted for inflation.

Access to money, makes more money.

In the last three years alone, thanks to a soaring stock market, the top 1% of Americans has seen their wealth grow by 25%, or $10 trillion:

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The systemic wealth transfer isn’t a flaw of fiat money – it’s a feature.

Your best bet to protect yourself? Invest in non-fiat assets, such as gold and bitcoin.

Gold prices are still significantly undervalued in fiat terms. Bitcoin, even with its volatility, offers higher long-term return potential.

“Gold is for protection (and for love),” our friend Frank Holmes likes to say, “Bitcoin is for growth.”

~ Addison

50 Major Companies That Will Likely
Fail to Survive Trump’s MAGA Economy

Turn On Your Images.

Many have 5-star ratings.

Most are “buys” per Wall Street.

But they’re dead companies.

Click here to see the full list.

P.S.: Looking for small-cap companies that are driven by fundamentals and not just retail sentiment? Join our Fraternity!

Each week, we explore more interesting investment ideas, often brought by our contributors and special guests.

For instance, in last week’s Grey Swan Live! with Chris Mayer, we explored some of Chris’s top investment ideas, including some of the best value plays in countries such as Sweden and Poland.

For U.S. investors, tread lightly – these companies can only be bought on the pink sheets, where volume is light and prices can swing wildly. But if you’re looking for value now, going overseas may be just the place to do it.

Meanwhile, you can also join our Portfolio Director Andrew Packer at the Rule Investment Symposium in Boca Raton on July 7-11, 2025. Click here to attend and meet your future cutting-edge resource investments face-to-face.

As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)

How did we get here? Find out in these riveting reads: Demise of the Dollar, Financial Reckoning Day, and Empire of Debt — all three books are now available in their third post-pandemic editions. You might enjoy one or all three.


Autonomous Weapons

October 29, 2025 • John Robb

In the past, weapon systems took decades to build and changed slowly. Autonomy changes this. For example, new capabilities developed by field tests or simulation (testing scenarios in full physics simulators depicting actual environments) could be downloaded to existing weapon systems, making it possible to upgrade a weapon system significantly without any meaningful hardware changes. A process of improvement that used to take many years would shrink to weeks and, in time, days.

Autonomous Weapons
The Great Repricing of Power

October 29, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Markets heard what they wanted. NVIDIA’s stock surged premarket on news that Trump would discuss the company’s Blackwell AI chip with Xi, pushing it to an unprecedented $5 trillion valuation.

Meanwhile, China quietly bought its first cargoes of U.S. soybeans this season — a symbolic gesture that reminded traders that diplomacy still runs on trade.

“It’s not détente,” wrote  Bloomberg’s Jennifer Welch this morning, “It is a dealmaking with a timer.” Wall Street is ambivalent on peace, but they do like profits.

In the background, China’s biotech sector continues its ethically murky sprint forward — this week, reports surfaced of Chinese scientists creating monkeys engineered to exhibit schizophrenia and autism.

The Great Repricing of Power
About Yesterday’s Rally

October 29, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

A high concentration of capital in a few stocks at the top ranks high among the features we detailed in Anatomy of a Stock Market Bubble.  

On days like yesterday, headlines urge investors to buy. However, they also underscore the fragility of this terrifying bull market: just a handful of names can make the difference between a big up day and a big down day.

About Yesterday’s Rally
American Autonomy

October 28, 2025 • John Robb

America’s role in the world isn’t that of the world’s policeman (a temporary post-World War II role foisted upon the U.S. due to the Cold War) or as the destination of immigrants (for most of the 20th century, when we saw the most significant increases in individual incomes and quality of life, the U.S. didn’t accept many immigrants). Instead, the role the U.S. has played throughout its existence is as the world’s leader in the production, adoption, and socioeconomic integration of new technologies. We figured out how to do it successfully first, and the world followed.

American Autonomy