By: Brooke Bouma Kohlsdorf
Edited by: Dave Price

Kyle Bass is the kind of person who has strong opinions and doesn’t mind sharing them. You never have to wonder how he really feels about an issue.
“President Biden is the first President in United States history to actively & intentionally compromise the national security of our country.”
Bass posted on X/Twitter January 7, 2025.
That criticism was leveled at Biden for failing to better secure the country’s southern border.
Bass also blames the outgoing president for monetary policies that fueled inflation. Last February, he posted his complaint about the cost of his breakfast.
“My first $85 breakfast for one at a NYC hotel. After signing this bill, I have decided NEVER AGAIN.”
Bass posted on X/Twitter on February 28, 2024.
He called out Biden and said that the bill was a “terrible inflation milestone.”
Social media users trolled Bass to point out the cost of the high-end hotel where he ate that breakfast: a nightly rate of about $1,000.
Controversial or not, Bass has found substantial success for his insight and judgment, which made him a highly anticipated speaker at the 2025 Land Investment Expo Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa.
His directness adds to that anticipation as he continued his criticism of Biden’s job as president.
“The wheels have come off on spending. Hopefully Elon Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) will be able to slash costs out of this budget.”
The past two decades made Bass a well-known name and voice.
He was one of the key figures featured in Michael Lewis’ 2010 book, “The Big Short.” Bass accurately sensed a financial collapse of the subprime mortgage market (it did in 2008) and led his investors’ strategy to short the housing market. It paid off.
The housing market plummeted. And Bass’ investing strategy that counted on that made those involved a fortune.
But his latest endeavor is the one he loves to talk right now. He co-founded a company in Texas called Conservation Equity Management. It’s a private equity firm that takes land and enhances its value through environmental stewardship and mitigation.
In other words, he takes property that’s in bad shape – whether it’s from mineral extraction or neglect -- restores it and sells it.
This project has Bass closely watching land values. But he said that you must first understand current inflation to determine how it impacts values. He believes – like many others who have studied the issue – that government spending is the main culprit.
Bass says it started in 2008 and hasn’t stopped. “And last year, our government ran about 1.8 trillion in the deficit.”
He believes inflation runs parallel with how much money the government pumps into the economy and thinks the COVID-19 pandemic-related spending explains why everything costs a lot more.
Bass says he’s hopeful the incoming Trump administration can act and start bringing down that number. “I’m fairly certain they will be able to slash costs out of defense, pharma, and a few other places where there is so much that they won’t cut muscle for a while.”
Bass wants people to know that inflation hit just about everything, from cola to construction. He used a ground water construction project in his home state of Texas as an example.
“These projects are between 10 and 20 million a mile for a 96-inch pipe. Five years ago, they were 2 to 5 million a pipe.”
Evan as some states report slight dips in land values in 2024, Bass thinks inflation will keep land prices, especially farmland, moving higher.
“I think farmland is a really interesting, great hard asset investment,” Bass said and points to China and its need to buy a lot of its food from other countries as just one reason for this.
“I wouldn’t let the fear mongering about, ‘Oh, that the tariffs are going to destroy the farmland and China.’ Guys, it’s a global commodity and people have to eat.”
Bass says there is another reason why he thinks farmland values will continue to grow. “Now that we have connectivity, the ability to work and work efficiently I think forever changed land values.”
He went on to use the example of so many people moving from states like California and New York to less-expensive cost of living areas in Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee. “Man, I think the macro tailwinds in those states is going to be at their backs for the next decade or two.”
RELATED: Kyle Bass told American Farmland Owner about his history of taking risks on exploring potentials that others may not see. Watch or listen to that conversation here.