Elite investor Ray Dalio says risk of US civil war is up to 40% — and thinks Taylor Swift could be a good president

• Ray Dalio sees up to a 40% chance that political division in the US escalates into civil war.
• The hedge fund billionaire has repeatedly warned about US debt and internal and external conflicts.
• Dalio half-jokingly endorsed Taylor Swift for president, citing her ability to unite people.

Ray Dalio warned the probability of a US civil war is as high as 40% — and said he might back Taylor Swift if she ran for president.

"We are now on the brink," he told the Financial Times in a recent interview, raising the prospect of "much more turbulent times."

Dalio is the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, and the author of "Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail."