Even major short sellers have started paid groups.

Original author: Liam, TechFlow

There was a time when "opening paid groups" was seen as a way to exploit fans. If there were a poll to choose 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 consciousness by the movie "The Big Short," once loathed the media, refused interviews, and ridiculed Wall Street's emotional speculation. He rose to fame by shorting subprime mortgages against the tide, without relying on traffic, engaging in publicity, or bothering to cash out from retail investors.

In 2025, he launched a scathing attack on Nvidia and the entire AI wave, calling it a new internet bubble, and made a high-profile short-selling statement.

But to everyone's surprise, even the handsome Michael Burry started a paid group.

On November 24, Michael Burry announced on X the launch of his paid Substack channel, Cassandra Unchained, which costs $379 a year and currently has over 60,000 subscribers and has generated over $22.74 million in revenue.

Coincidentally, some time ago, Donald Trump Jr., Trump's eldest son, 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 so many KOLs, investors, and even celebrities, who are already financially independent and making a fortune, still love to open paid groups, membership systems, and private clubs?

Paradoxically, the answer lies in the fundamental logic of cash flow.

Investing in stocks and cryptocurrencies doesn't guarantee profits, and starting a business has a high probability of failure. However, teaching others how to invest in stocks and guiding them in starting a business guarantees profits.

Investing is essentially a form of capital expenditure. Even top investors like Burry face uncertain returns. The market can offer substantial rewards 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 that is stable, predictable, and has almost zero marginal cost.

This is not a new concept. Warren Buffett's fondness for the insurance business stems from the fact that insurance companies can provide a stable cash flow, offering a continuous source of funding for Berkshire Hathaway's investment activities. However, in the digital age, paid knowledge services have become a more asset-light form of "insurance business."

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 experience significant volatility.

In short, market capitalization is not the same as cash flow, and even people 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 Screening

Kevin Kelly once proposed a very famous "1000 Fan Theory", which states that you only need 1000 die-hard fans to support yourself.

Paying is the best way to filter options.

For example, Trump Jr. set a $500,000 membership fee for his club, which automatically filters out most ordinary users, leaving only truly high-net-worth individuals who are willing to follow him.

There is a huge difference in engagement between paid and free users.

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 their opinions than a casual Twitter user who just likes their posts.

More importantly, the paid barrier creates a relatively homogeneous community environment.

In Trump Jr.'s $500,000 club, members with similar wealth and social status are more likely to resonate and trust each other. This stratification effect is far more valuable than simply charging fees; it builds a highly loyal core support group.

When everyone pays real money to join this circle, they will naturally be more inclined to protect the reputation and influence of this group.

Even if the "group owner" fails in his investment, as long as the paid subscription continues, his influence will not disappear.

For example, Shuiku Ou Shen, who uses high leverage to speculate on real estate, has high debt and tight cash flow, but still relies on opening paid groups, offering courses, and borrowing money from fans to maintain his balance sheet.

The times are turning

When more and more paid groups, private clubs, and membership-based circles emerge, it's not something for ordinary people to celebrate.

Those who can afford a Burry subscription or the Trump Jr. Club already have more investment resources, a higher risk tolerance, and more established social circles.

The stratification of investment information is accelerating.

In the past, everyone scrolled through Twitter, read news, and followed trending topics on the same timeline, seemingly starting from the same informational starting line. But now, a classic Matthew effect is forming:

Wealthy people not only have money, but they also have access to better investment advice and networks, and they can get in touch with investment opportunities earlier.

What about ordinary investors?

They can only "pick up information that others have spilled over" from public channels and make investment decisions based on this second-hand, third-hand, and possibly outdated information.

The public information market is gradually evolving into a "second-hand 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 access the insights of experts immediately.

But now, the big shots either remain silent, reduce their output, or put their real opinions into paid private domains.

KOLs' need for monetization is rising rapidly, and high-quality content continues to migrate to "closed small circles".

Public platforms have gradually become stages for showcasing and attracting traffic, rather than venues for discussion. Truly valuable judgments are withdrawing from the "public space."

What was the result?

Ordinary people hear more and more noise and slogans, but fail to obtain crucial information.

This is not a healthy ecosystem.

In such a structure, the inevitable consequence of a lack of transparency is a large number of insider trading and front-running schemes, as well as collusion among those within the same social circle.

If the wealth gap in the previous era stemmed from asset prices, then the gap in 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:

The moment Burry and Trump Jr. started creating paid groups, the era of free information quietly came to an end.