Andrew Sorkin Says Great Depression 'Felt Very 2025ish:' Draws Parallels To Private Credit, Tokenization, Growing Leverage Risks

Author and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin is sounding the alarm over what he sees as unsettling similarities between today's financial landscape and the run-up to the 1929 stock market crash and the subsequent Great Depression.

Similarities Between 1929 And 2025

Speaking on The Real Eisman Playbook podcast on Monday, Sorkin discussed his newly released book “1929,” which chronicles the events leading up to the most infamous stock market crash in history. He also expressed concerns about the several market dynamics of that era, which have since re-emerged in 2025.

Sorkin said that he was surprised by the things that were “happening in 1929 that felt very 2025ish,” citing examples of several speculative excesses of the time.

See Also: Fed Has Green Light To Cut Rates After Soft Inflation, Economists Say

“Private credit has all of a sudden become the thing,” similar to the 1920s, when he said financial innovations such as the credit agency began taking shape, fueled by margin lending and leverage.

Sorkin discussed the latest trends involving the “tokenizing” of private companies, aimed at providing greater access to “stakes in private companies,” for all investors, while drawing parallels to the emergence of “investment trusts,” which he said was the “equivalent of mutual funds” at the time.

“What caused the crash in 1929, to be honest, is what causes almost every crash. It is debt leverage plus FOMO,” referring to the fear of missing out.

Cracks Emerge In Private Credit Markets

According to hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, the recent collapse of U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands could just be the beginning of more trouble in the private credit markets, as cracks begin to surface.

“I suspect we’re going to see more of these things, like First Brands and others, when the cycle ultimately reverses,” he said, adding that “private credit has put another layer between the actual lenders and the borrowers.”

Bill Hebel of 22V Research said that private equity firms are more exposed to the weakest segment of consumer credit than most banks. This, according to Hebel, makes them more vulnerable to macro uncertainties such as the tariffs, the rollback of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and tighter immigration policies.

Read More:

• World Bank Partners With Private Equity In Global Critical Minerals Race

Photo courtesy: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com