Even major short sellers have started paid groups.

Author: Liam Deep Tide TechFlow

Once upon a time, "opening paid groups" was seen as a way to exploit followers. If there were a poll for the person least likely to "sell courses and open groups," Michael Burry would definitely be on the list.

This legendary fund manager, etched into the public's memory by the movie "The Big Short," once disliked the media, refused interviews, and ridiculed Wall Street's emotional speculation. He became a legend by shorting subprime mortgages against the tide, without relying on traffic, without engaging in publicity, and even less inclined to cash out from retail investors.

In 2025, he attacked Nvidia and even the entire AI wave, calling it a new internet bubble, and publicly shorted it.

But to everyone's surprise, even the handsome Michael Burry has started a paid group. On November 24th, Michael Burry announced on X the launch of his paid Substack channel, "Cassandra Unchained," with an annual fee of $379. It currently has over 60,000 subscribers and has generated over $22.74 million in revenue. Coincidentally, not long ago, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of Donald Trump, launched a paid club, creating the high-end membership club "Executive Branch," with a membership fee as high as $500,000. From WeChat groups for cryptocurrency and stock trading to Wall Street and the White House, this world is a giant paid community. Even big shots need cash flow. Why do many KOLs, investors, and even celebrities, who are already financially independent and making a fortune, still enthusiastically run paid groups, membership programs, and private clubs? Seemingly paradoxical, the answer lies in the basic logic of cash flow. Speculating in stocks and cryptocurrencies doesn't guarantee profits, and starting a business has a high probability of failure, but teaching others how to trade stocks and guiding them in starting a business is a sure-fire way to make money. Investing, in essence, is a form of capital expenditure. Even top investors like Burry face uncertain investment returns. The market can offer substantial returns or leave you penniless. In 2022, Burry's fund, Scion Asset Management, suffered significant losses due to its bearish stance on tech stocks like Tesla. In contrast, paid groups, subscriptions, and memberships generate real positive cash flow—stable, predictable, and with virtually zero marginal cost. This isn't a new concept. Warren Buffett's fondness for the insurance business stems from the fact that insurance companies provide stable cash flow, continuously funding Berkshire Hathaway's investment activities. However, in the digital age, paid knowledge services have become a more asset-light form of "insurance." For traders, KOLs, and investment gurus in high-risk markets, paid subscriptions are not only a source of income but also a risk hedging tool. The stability of subscription revenue is especially valuable when investment portfolios are highly volatile. In short, market capitalization does not equal cash flow, and even those who are financially independent need cash flow security. In highly volatile markets, smart people turn their influence into a money-printing machine. The Art of Filtering Kevin Kelly famously proposed the "1000-Fan Theory," which states that you only need 1000 die-hard fans to make a living independently. Paid membership is the best filter. For example, Trump Jr. set a $500,000 membership fee for his club; this threshold automatically filters out most ordinary users, leaving only truly high-net-worth individuals willing to follow him. The difference in engagement between paid and free users is enormous. Psychological research shows that when people pay for something, they experience a strong "sunk cost mentality," making them value the content they receive more. An investor who pays tens of dollars a month to subscribe to Burry's paid content is bound to pay more attention to his opinions than a casual Twitter user who just likes something. More importantly, the paid barrier creates a relatively homogeneous community environment. In Trump Jr.'s $500,000 club, members have similar wealth and social status, making it easier for them to resonate and trust each other. This stratification effect is far more valuable than simple fees; it builds a highly loyal core support group. When everyone invests real money to join this circle, they will naturally be more inclined to maintain the group's reputation and influence. Even if the "group owner" fails in their investments, as long as the paid subscriptions continue, their influence will not disappear. For example, Shuiku Ou Shen, who heavily leveraged real estate speculation, has high debt and tight cash flow, yet still maintains his balance sheet by running paid groups, offering courses, and borrowing money from fans. The times are changing. When more and more paid groups, private clubs, and membership-based circles emerge, this is not something to celebrate for ordinary people. Those who can afford a paid subscription to Burry's or the Trump Jr. Club already possess more investment resources, a higher risk tolerance, and more established social circles. The stratification of investment information is accelerating. In the past, everyone seemed to be on the same informational starting line, scrolling through Twitter, reading news, and following trending topics on the same timeline. But now, a classic Matthew effect is forming: The wealthy not only have money, but also access to better investment advice and networks, and earlier access to investment opportunities. And what about ordinary investors? We can only "pick up spilled information" from public channels and use this secondhand, thirdhand, and potentially outdated information to make investment decisions. The public information market is gradually evolving into a "secondhand information pool"; real opportunities flow silently only within closed circles. In a sense, we are witnessing the end of the era of free information. In the early days of Twitter, Weibo, and Zhihu, we truly experienced a brief "era of information democratization," where ordinary people could obtain the insights of experts immediately. But now, influential figures are either silent, reducing their output, or relegating their genuine viewpoints to paid private domains. KOLs' need for monetization is rapidly increasing, and high-quality content continues to migrate to "closed small circles." Public platforms are gradually becoming stages for showcasing and attracting traffic, rather than venues for discussion; truly valuable judgments are withdrawing from the "public space." What is the result? Ordinary people hear more and more noise and slogans, but receive no crucial information. This is not a healthy ecosystem. In such a structure, the inevitable consequence of information asymmetry is rampant insider trading and collusion among those within the same social circle. If the wealth gap of the previous era stemmed from asset prices, the gap of the next era will come from "information barriers," where the winner takes all. Perhaps years from now, when we look back at 2025, we will realize: When Burry and Trump Jr. both started creating paid groups, the era of free information quietly came to an end.